Voluntours in Peru’s Sacred Valley

When traveling to remote parts of the world, most people will agree that meaningful interaction with local residents takes an experience to the next level. The concept of “voluntours” has grown recently with more globetrotters signing up for rewarding trips that involve helping a local culture.  The Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit committed to sustainable community development via travel and voluntourism, has some 30 projects across the globe. From a women’s weaving cooperative in Peru, to a water tank initiative in Kenya, you can actively get involved and make meaningful contributions to a community in need.

One of their latest efforts is a smoke-free outreach in Ccaccaccollo located in Peru’s Sacred Valley where volunteers will assist the villagers in constructing adobe stoves with chimmney pipes that channel harmful fumes away from living spaces.  These new stoves will replace the locals’ traditional open-fire ones that belch toxic smoke and cause respiratory problems and eye infections. Voluntourists build such stoves during a home stay on Project Machu Picchu, a 13-day trip from Lima to Cuzco that also includes visits to archeological sites in the Sacred Valley. The first stoves will be introduced to the village this August, and then 10 community members will be trained to run the project. Monthly departures will take interested voluntourists into the high Andes for some serious cultural immersion and life experience. Check out Planeterra for information on this project and other global excursions that lend a helping hand.

Photo courtesy of The World Effect, LLC