Help Exchange Travel community - Meet locals and travelers [TFT] As 'Voluntourism' Explodes In Popularity, Who's It Helping Most? : Goats and Soda hide captionHaley Nordeen, 19, is spending the entire summer at the Prodesenh center in San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala. The American University student helped build the center's new library. Carrie Kahn/NPR Haley Nordeen, 19, is spending the entire summer at the Prodesenh center in San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala. As you plan — or even go — on your summer vacation, think about this: More and more Americans are no longer taking a few weeks off to suntan and sightsee abroad. It's called volunteer tourism, or "voluntourism," and it's one of the fastest growing trends in travel today. But some people who work in the industry are skeptical of voluntourism's rising popularity. hide captionChildren learn to cook at Prodesenh, a community center in San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala. Children learn to cook at Prodesenh, a community center in San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala. All visitors and volunteers get a big warm welcome when they walk in the doors of her facility, Prodesenh.
Lieux de vie ouvert, bases nomade, collectifs, squat, ecolieux - Google Maps The Dharma House,Route de St. Sauveur de Cruzières,Mallemontade,30500 St. Brès,France.SITE OFFICIEL Bienvenue à la Maison du Dharma - une petite communauté, qui s’inspire des enseignements du Bouddha et de l’idéal de vie en connection avec d’autres, proches de la nature. La Maison du Dharma se situe dans les Cévennes, au cœur du Parc National, avec vue sur la Cèze. Nous sommes inscrit comme une association, sous le loi du 1er Juillet 1901. "Il nous faut apprendre à pratiquer la pleine conscience ensemble - en tant que famille, ville, nation ou communauté de nations. - Thich Nhat Hanh Pour visiter Nous sommes ouverts au public à certains moments de l’année (voir ci-dessous). Vous êtes bienvenus pour venir vous joindre à nous et participer au programme quotidien de la communauté qui comprend des repas en commun, de la méditation assise formelle et des périodes de travail. Nous demandons aux visiteurs de participer le plus pleinement possible aux activités quotidiennes de la communauté.
Backpacking: Budget Independent Travel - Advice, guide & packing help Post-tornado Joplin, Mo., map spurs outcry An inspirational sign at an intersection in a Joplin, Mo., neighborhood… (Charlie Riedel / Associated…) Much of the post-tornado rubble has been removed from Joplin, Mo. But for the city's residents, a six-mile scar of house foundations and turned-up dirt serves as a raw and sorrowful reminder of the epic twister that killed 161 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it swept through around dinner time May 22. While the community struggles to rebuild, a flap is playing out on Facebook over a map created by the local tourism agency that points out-of-towners to hard-hit areas in the tornado's path. Some residents in this city of about 50,000 are upset by the numbered points of interest and cheery tourism logo superimposed over so much suffering. "The vast majority of us were unaware the maps existed," says Aaron Durall, a lifelong Joplin resident and local photographer who calls the map "tacky and tasteless." Disaster tourism, as it's called, isn't new. travel@latimes.com
GEN Global Ecovillage Network Europe: Home Free Accommodation world wide through Hospitality Exchange - Hospitality Club The ethics of disaster tourism: What is the right thing to do? Removal of fuel from the Costa Concordia, which ran aground last month off Tuscany, began last week and officials say that after it’s gone, it may take seven to 10 months to refloat the ship. Meanwhile, Tuscan tourism officials are urging tourists to visit eight-square-mile Giglio, off whose coast the ship ran aground on Jan. 13, as a “gesture of love.” Not long after the accident, which killed at least 17 people (15 are still missing), islanders said people came to Giglio to gawk and not because of their affection for Giglio, one of seven islets in the Tuscan Archipelago. All of which raises this question: Is it love or is it lewd to visit a place after a disaster? After a recent story in the Travel section reported that some residents of Joplin were angered by a map showing where a tornado devastated the southwestern Missouri town last spring, we asked ethicists about tourism in the aftermath of tragedy. Fundraisers, for instance, often have at their core human suffering, she noted.
GEN Global Ecovillage Network Europe: Map Ecovillages are one solution to the major problems of our time - the planet is experiencing the limits to growth, and our lives are often lacking meaningful content. According to increasing numbers of scientists, we have to learn to live sustainably if we are to survive as a species. The United Nations launched its Global Environment Outlook 2000 report, based on reports from UN agencies, 850 individuals and over 30 environmental institutes, concluding that "the present course is unsustainable and postponing action is no longer an option." Ecovillages, by endeavoring for lifestyles which are "successfully continuable into the indefinite future", are living models of sustainability, and examples of how action can be taken immediately. In 1998, ecovillages were first officially named among the United Nations' top 100 listing of Best Practices, as excellent models of sustainable living.
Volunteer South America; Volunteer Abroad for Free Reality Tours & Travel - See the real India!