Fairtrade Organisation Aims to Bring Transparency and Standards to Voluntourism

(Dive Travel Business News - January 9, 2012) -- With the increase in popularity of Voluntourism as a saleable travel product, there has been a substantial increase in the range of experiences, destinations and projects  available for the prospective dive traveler.  With the majority of these, volunteers are expected to make a payment for their placement, which may go towards covering their living costs, support while on placement, ongoing support for the project or as a fee to the organisation which has placed them.  This niche has become particularly popular where a portion of the travel costs are tax deductible.

According to GreenTravelerGuides.com, in a recent poll, 60% of travelers who consider themselves very eco-conscious said they are interested in volunteering on a future trip, though only 25% said they had actually done it. Other research notes that nearly 5 million Americans have already taken the plunge, and 1 million of these experiences involved foreign travel. The most common reasons for doing so were giving back, cultural immersion, and seeking camaraderie, bonding and educational opportunities.

While more people are choosing to make a socially and environmentally conscious difference while on vacation, the growth and diversity of voluntourism has also brought a great deal of negative coverage of volunteering, with the sector being criticised for exploiting volunteers and overseas projects for commercial gain.

To uphold the positive aspects of this tourism niche, Fair Trade Volunteering (FTV) was created to establish certain  standards which member organizations must meet and maintain to ensure that traveling volunteers' money and presence benefit the local community during short term overseas volunteering.

Standards are as follows:

• MINIMUM "LOCAL INVESTMENT" LEVEL Organisations provide investment into the project itself above and beyond the volunteer's time and work. This can be in the form of finance, resources or training.
• LONG TERM COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT (MINIMUM 3 YEARS) Organisations have a direct relationship with the host project or community, and develop the project in joint communication with their project partners.
• CLEAR AND HONEST PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND THOROUGH VOLUNTEER PREPARATION Organisations give clear, comprehensive and honest descriptions of their projects. They also have an appropriate pre-departure selection, preparation and training programme.
• IN-COUNTRY SUPPORT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Volunteers receive constant support and regular communication while on site at their project.
• 100% VOLUNTEER EXPENSES COVERED BY THE PLACEMENT ORGANISATION, NOT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY Organisations ensure that 100% of volunteer expenses on site (food, accommodation, transport) are covered, and are not in any way the responsibility of the local community.

Any organisation which organises structured volunteering placements can apply to become associated with FTV. Interested organisations must send through details of how they meet each criteria, then following a meeting with the head of the organisation and references from project partners and ex volunteers, they are able to use the FTV logo.

FTV members will have a page on their website which explains how they meet each of the criteria and will be able to use the FTV logo in any of their promotional material. There is no charge to approved members.

For more information visit FairTradeVolunteering or email info@fairtradevolunteering.com

Photo: Courtesy GreenTravelerGuides.com

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