Sustainable Harvest International offers volunteer opportunities in southern Belize

March 17th, 2009 | By Joshua | No Comments »

In a unique partnership with Cotton Tree Lodge, a highly acclaimed eco-lodge up the Moho River in Belize’s Toledo District, Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) has a number of ongoing projects that take advantage of Belize’s rich soil and plant diversity.

Sustainable Harvest International has been working in Belize since 1999—they’re also active in other Central American countries, “providing farming families with training and tools to overcome poverty while restoring the planet’s tropical forests.” In addition to overseeing an impressive organic garden at Cotton Tree Lodge, which supplies many vegetables for the kitchen, SHI offers a Sustainable Chocolate Tour in which participants can incorporate several days of volunteer work, chocolate making, and adventure activities. Proceeds from these trips benefit SHI’s Belize programs. SHI has also offers one-day volunteer opportunities to lodge guests.

“Peace Corps Worldwide” Website Launch Today

March 1st, 2009 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Today is the 48th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Corps Act by John F. Kennedy, an event which ushered in a whole new era of travel. In celebration, John Coyne and Marian Haley Beil announced the launch of a new online community intended for “Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), their friends and families, and all who share a desire for international understanding.” Peace Corps Worldwide is a project of the non-profit Peace Corps Fund, and is not associated with the Peace Corps.

I’ll be writing a column on the new site, under “The Travel Guys”, and I’ll be joined there by my esteemed coauthor, Randy Wood.

Here is my first column: “Seeing the World and Bringing it Home.”

You’ll also find a plethora of globally themed blogs and book reviews of works by Peace Corps writers—including a review of this novel by RPCV Barry Kitterman, who served in Belize in the 1970s.

Hard, honest look at voluntourism by Lucy Corne

February 4th, 2009 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Lucy Corne’s article, “Is Voluntourism a Dirty Word?” gives a nice overview of volunteering abroad, focusing on the new trend of short-term volunteering, pitfalls and all. For instance, she advises against working directly with children on a short-term basis, since they’ll feel rejected when you move on, potentially doing more harm than good. She offers more good advice throughout, especially the roundup at the end of the article. Enjoy.

“A quest was born. A book was written.” Where Am I Wearing? promises a unique global tour

December 4th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Kelsey Timmerman’s debut book, Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes, is in stores now. The book recounts Kelsey’s “global quest to meet the people who made my clothes.” I’m always game for a travel book with a social justice bent and can’t wait to check this one out.
From the Inside Flap: “Ninety-seven percent of our clothes are made overseas. Yet globalization makes it difficult to know much about the origin of the products we buy … So journalist and blogger Kelsey Timmerman decided to visit each of the countries and factories where his five favorite items of clothing were made and meet the workers…. Whether bowling with workers in Cambodia or riding a roller coaster with laborers in Bangladesh, he bridges the gap between impersonal economic forces and the people most directly affected by them. For anyone who wants to truly understand the real issues and the human costs of globalization, Where Am I Wearing? is an indispensable and unforgettable journey.”

Where Am I Wearing Blog

Volunteer Opportunities with Room to Read

September 7th, 2008 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Room to Read is a non-governmental organization founded by John Wood, author of the must-read Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. They have a long list of accomplishments including thousands of libraries and schools built, programs to provide education to girls, and computer labs throughout the Himalaya (where they got started) and all over the world. Room to Read’s website lists a number of volunteer opportunities, most of which are domestic based (starting a chapter, organizing a book drive, etc.). They also have a few paid overseas opportunities. Read John’s book to get an overview of the inspiring history of this movement, then hit their website and get involved.

Daniela Petrova on the Pitfalls of Volunteering Abroad

August 29th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

In her recent article for World Hum, “A Tourist With a Shovel and a Hoe,” writer Daniela Petrova “looked down her nose at tourists there to have a good time. But was her own motivation much different?” She hits on the main conundrum that faces short-term international volunteers—the actual effectiveness of such programs. Having been on a dozen such trips, mostly with American Jewish World Service, I’m well aware of this issue. A group might spend nearly $30,000 to visit a village and help build a school that costs $2,000 for a local non-governmental organization whose entire annual budget might be less than $20,000. What’s the point? (more…)

Matador Volunteer Offers Ten Ways to Volunteer Abroad

August 9th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Though there are a few obvious ones here—like Peace Corps and WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms)—I definitely learned a few things as well; I’d never heard of Sudan Volunteer Programme, Turtle Teams, or Help Exchange, for example. There is also something about volunteering for the United Nations that looks intriguing. Matador Volunteer is based on recommendations of Matador Travel users (a social networking site); the site seeks to promote work “by grass-roots organizations and NGOs worldwide, and to connect you with volunteer programs and opportunities that make travel matter.” [LINK]

When given cameras, what do kids capture? Gorgeous slide show from Empowerment International

July 28th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

This is what happened when Colorado-based Nicaraguaphile Kathy Adams decided to pass out cameras in the village where she’d been working near Granada. Kathy founded Empowerment International, a grassroots development project for children which can always use your help. Enjoy the slideshow then consider donating to a worthy cause.

“Photos of Hope and Courage” from Nicaragua

June 12th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Empowerment International is a worthy non-profit organization, based in Colorado and Granada, and working with poor children in the outlying communities of Granada. Here is a beautiful post from the EI blog:

“A photograph can speak a thousand words. It can show that you do not require the most sophisticated cameras to capture the true essence of a scene. It can also show that you do not need to be a professional to make poetry out of an everyday activity. And, most importantly, it can show that children with no means or exposure can wield their cameras like paint brushes and create masterpieces out of the drudgeries of life.”

The EI website is filled with wonderful prose, inspiring images, and all kinds of ways to get involved, from volunteering at home and abroad, to making a donation. Enjoy: [LINK]

Of Bridges and Bullets: My Worldview article in the Spring 2008 Volunteer Vacation issue

May 29th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

My article in the Spring 2008 edition of Worldview, “Bridge to Somewhere,” is about a week-long alternative break trip to Guatemala. Worldview is the quarterly magazine of the National Peace Corps Association. The current issue is a special edition about volunteer vacations—a goldmine for anyone thinking about volunteering or working abroad. My article is about an intense visit to the dusty pueblos of Rabinal and Pacux in northern Guatemala, where justice and solidarity are the weighty issues of the day.
Here are some related links and articles:

*Bridge to Somewhere: Healing the World Begins in Rabinal, by Joshua Berman

*Two weeks among the Maya: my original blog post from the trip to Rabinal

*James Rodríguez: revisiting genocide in Rabinal, Guatemala

*Xeni Jardin: Accused mass murderer Montt to run for congress

UPDATE: Guillermo Chen, director of the Fundación Nueva Esperanza, was our host, guide, and friend during our week in Rabinal. He is featured in my article above and he has continued encouraging survivors of the massacres committed against the Guatemalan Mayan population to come forward and give their testimony. On March 5, 2008, the same day that victims were presenting testimony in a local court, two unidentified men on bicycles fired six shots into the door of his house (the same house where our group stayed the previous year).

AJWS reports that “Guatemalan human rights organizations believe the shots were a clear attempt to intimidate Guillermo, his family and his colleagues from proceeding with their efforts to enable the prosecution of atrocities.” To learn more about the threats against Guillermo and his family, visit his “fear for safety” page on Amnesty International and read this AJWS background article: “The Persistence of Historical Memory.”

To support his work, visit the Fundación Nueva Esperanza website.