Voluntraveling is our take on the concept and practice of Voluntouring.
First, we are seeking to engage true travelers: those who go slowly through a place they have traveled to, engage with local culture and life, and explore beyond the popular touristic interests and sights. However, sometimes tourists, on their shorter and more well-defined journeys, may also find time for what we have to offer: a deeper and more compassionate and active engagement with host communities. If this is the case, most welcome everyone is!
Back to Voluntouring: Voluntouring popularly means to tour or travel to a place with the intent of volunteering, often at designated institutions and assignments. Normally, the voluntourist travels for the express purpose of obtaining an opportunity to volunteer at a project of their choice, on travel packages that ask the traveler to pay for volunteering at the destination. This is distinct from those who work as they travel, or those (skilled travelers) who travel to disaster and other needy sites for the purpose of providing relief. The concept is not owned by anyone, and the common practice is that voluntourists buy a package to offer their volunteering services.
There are merits and demerits of this process. On the one hand, because the need to give is a real need for certain people, therefore to ‘allow’ them to volunteer at their destination, from their view, is a privilege. Some are willing to pay for the privilege, with part of the fee often going to the project they are working at.
We believe the plan may originally intended for and catering to the need of wealthy Western tourists,
but we can be wrong.
We want to dismiss this approach in favor of our own approach and definition.
We are asking travelers to come to us with or without the intent of volunteering locally,
and volunteer when they find the opportunity (through us, now that we are working on it)
and undertake other forms of community participation including accepting our hospitality,
which we offer frequently and as an extension of our way of life and being.
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We offer you to spend your time productively and creatively while in Hunza by engaging in creative local work and opportunities to assist and develop communities.
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Our community benefits tremendously from this, and we have traditionally ever been thankful to the travelers who have taught our children, helped us how to cook world dishes, made our business cards and websites. We have, on our part, offered them food and fruit, song and dance, our ears and our company. We share our own skills.We have taught basket weaving and break-making. We show you how to wrap and raise a child. We have been involved in your lives, where you have asked us and allowed us, and we have given the long stayers their requisite comfort and privacy. We have washed tears of distress of lone travelers, and celebrated birthdays and trekking triumphs with jubilant parties.
Traveling in Hunza is like traveling nowhere else in the world. This is a kingdom of magic.
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HUNZA VOLUNTRAVELING 