BootsnAll Volunteer Travel Guide

April 7th, 2007 | By Joshua | No Comments »

To keep up on various opportunities, advice, and resources, keep an eye on the Volunteer Logue, written by and for like-minded travelers. VL is part of a new suite of BootsnAll travel pages, found at this central LogueIt hub. Enjoy.

In Praise of Volunteering—and another Tranquilo Traveler

April 6th, 2007 | By Joshua | No Comments »

It was only after I’d started reading the Brave New Traveler article, “10 Reasons Why Volunteering is Better Than Traveling,” (#6. You get to know the neighborhood: In Vietnam I’d say “HALLO!” 30 times before I reached the end of my street. Even my grumpiest moods were transformed), that I realized why the face in the photos looked so familiar. I’d just met Steve Jackson, a.k.a. “Our Man in Granada,” at breakfast with mutual friends in Nicaragua. After reading the above article, I strongly encourage you to browse Steve’s  Nicaragua blog, which features scrumptious photography to illustrate the author’s practical, fun entries. The site will also undoubtedly talk about Steve’s new gig helping out at Cafe Chavalos, a worthy project that teaches ex-street kids how to be chefs and maitre-d’s. Enjoy.

Two Weeks Among the Maya

March 27th, 2007 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

My recent trips to two indigenous villages in Central America were unlike any I’ve ever taken in the region. Listening to the unique rhythms of the Yucatec and Achi tongues, I learned a little about the ancient Maya calendar, visited sacred churches and graves, and worked side by side with several proud groups of modern Maya, one of the most historically marginalized peoples in this hemisphere. Before this trip, I’d visited the Maya archaeological sites of Tikal, Caracol, Xunantunich, Copan, Lamanai, and a dozen others. But the real-life, modern-day experience of these past few weeks was infinitely more engaging than puttering about the forested ruins of fallen cities.

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The Tranquilo Traveler Rides South: Mexico, Guatemala & Nicaragua

March 3rd, 2007 | By Joshua | 3 Comments »

That’s right, amigos, I’m puttin’ my money where my mouth is, packin’ up and headin’ south — and not touching my computer for three whole weeks. My mission? To serve as Group Leader for an AJWS Study/Service Delegation from Seattle to a small Maya village on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. From there, I travel to southern Guatemala to lead a university group from Athens, Georgia on an AJWS Alternative Break Trip; not your typical booze-binging spring break for these undergrads. (more…)

Volunteering in Belize: New Transitions Abroad Article

February 28th, 2007 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Here’s a new article I wrote for TransitionsAbroad.com. (If you ‘ve never heard of this website, it’s basically the mother ship portal to all things work/study/volunteer abroad, founded in 1977 by Hampshire College Professor Dr. Clay Hubbs, and available in bookstores as a print magazine.) My article is a purely practical piece, a listing of unique travel opportunities I found while traveling in Belize last November. These kinds of experiences — combining travel with study, work, and volunteering abroad — is one of the fastest growing segments of the global tourism industry, especially in Belize, a close, safe, small English-speaking country with plenty of alternative travel programs to feed the demand.

New York Times Article on Voluntourism

December 20th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

These are good times for volunteer vacations; though publications like Transitions Abroad have been writing about alternative travel for decades, it’s good to see so much about it in the mainstream press. Like this piece from Sunday’s (December 17, 2006) NYT Travel section:
“Ecotourism: Traveling the World to Help Save It,” By Bonnie Tsui, in which she writes:

“As exotic destinations become more commonplace and travelers seek out more unusual and broadening experiences, nonprofit groups are responding. By promoting and helping to organize ecotourism, nonprofits benefit by raising awareness — and money — for their causes. The draw for travelers? Gaining access to places that they wouldn’t be able to get to otherwise. . . According to the International Ecotourism Society, the market for conservation-oriented tourism continues to grow; in 2004, worldwide ecotourism and nature tourism were growing three times faster than the tourism industry as a whole.”

Volunteerism at 30-year high, study reports

December 4th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Okay, so this new study by the Corporation for National and Community Service is about domestic service not volunteering abroad, but I think that, for many people, one leads to the other. That’s how it was for me, anyway — my service in AmeriCorps was my “gateway drug,” as it were, to my Peace Corps tour in Nicaragua which, in turn, led to travel writing, service trip leading, and all kinds of stonegroovy things.
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Tranquilo Traveler in National Geographic!

November 13th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

. . . in the National Geographic Inside Traveler Blog, that is. The authors of IT interviewed me in Boulder last week for this post about Voluntourism:

Writer Joshua Berman’s blog The Tranquilo Traveler offers a personal perspective on this burgeoning travel trend as he details his 16-month-long honeymoon volunteering in Northern India, Sri Lanka, and Africa with the American Jewish World Service Volunteer Corp.

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Volunteers wanted in Granada, Nicaragua

November 5th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

People often send me updates about volunteer opportunities, especially in Nicaragua (which, by the way, is experiencing a presidential election today). If you’ve ever volunteered for the following organization, please write to me and tell me about your experience. For other opportunities, keep an eye on the “Voluntourism and Development Work in Nicaragua” thread at the GoToNicaragua.com forum.

La Esperanza Housing & Development Casas de la Esperanza (EH&D) is a non profit, non denominational, non political NGO, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, tax exempt: 501(c)(3). It develops housing and provides technical education to families who are currently squatters, living on the outskirts of Granada, Nicaragua. Read on for more specifics:
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Voluntourism on the Rise: More Links

October 26th, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Here’s a great resource: Travel With A Challenge has all kinds of articles and links on volunteering abroad, especially for families and mature travelers. I like the way the article, “Volunteer Vacations are Contagious,” by Mary Jo Pehl, deals with the transformative nature of volunteering.

“Everyone is idealistic at first on these trips”, Ricki reflected. “Then you see real life with real people with real problems on their own territory.”

Bonus links at the bottom of the page go to Voluntourists Without Borders and The Land Conservancy.