Earth Month Special: Planeterra Offers Volunteer Vacation Discounts

Proceeds raised during Earth Month for the Kenya Community Tourism Project go to purchasing freshwater tanks for Kowour Village.

We’ve been a proponent of voluntourism since high school, when we spent a summer in Mexico as part of the Amigos de las Américas program. Now, after hearing from a friend who recently helped save leatherback turtle eggs to aid conservation efforts in Tobago, we’re considering taking another volunteer vacation. It’s a great way to see the world and have a positive impact while you’re there.

Throughout the month of April, travelers who book one of the 18 trips offered by Planeterra, the nonprofit voluntourism foundation of Gap Adventures, will receive a 10 percent discount. Those booking a voyage during Earth Month through either company also have an option of adding a $5 donation to the Kenya Community Tourism Project, where all funds will go toward purchasing and installing new water tanks in Kowour Village. Céline Cousteau, celebrity ambassador for Gap Adventures and Planeterra during Earth Month, will highlight freshwater conservation and offer water-saving tips on the organizations’ websites through the end of the month.

“It is commendable that a travel company such as Gap Adventures chooses to raise funds to help support the Planeterra Foundation’s Kenya Community Tourism Project,” Cousteau says. “With their outreach, they are able to bring much-needed help and attention to important causes and thus provide a good example of what travel companies can do to positively impact the places they visit.”

The project’s goal is to raise $5,000 to purchase 3,000-liter (800-gallon) freshwater tanks for the rural Kenyan village. Women typically spend several hours a day hauling water from the nearest source; tanks would allow for more time and energy devoted to education, agricultural production and other economic activities. To see the project firsthand, book the Cultural Kenya and Safari package, which allows you to stay with members of the Luo tribe.

Travelers who want to volunteer in the field have a variety of countries and projects to choose from, such as the 13-day Project Tanzania and Safari, which offers marine and beach conservation projects in Zanzibar; the weeklong Project Argentina, where travelers work with Argentinian youth in an organic farm and restaurant, or the two-week Project China, where you can spend time at the world’s largest panda reserve. Gap Adventures and Planeterra specialize in sustainable tourism, with the goal of conserving and replenishing the natural environment, improving the lives of local people and preserving cultural heritage. Planeterra also follows The International Ecotourism Society Code of Conduct.

We think the attention to water conservation and issues is much-needed, especially in light of the recent discovery of a new swirling garbage patch in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Check out VIVmag’s November/December 2009 issue to read “Under the Sea,” a Q&A with Cousteau, and “Travel for a Greater Good,” a feature with inspiring voluntourism stories! Do you think you will include voluntourism in your upcoming travel plans?

Tags: 800-gallon, Adventure travel, Ambassador, Atlantic Ocean, Céline Cousteau, Ecotourism, energy, Entertainment, Environment, G.A.P Adventures, Hospitality/Recreation, Human behavior, Kenya, Leisure, Mexico, Planeterra Foundation, Sustainable tourism, Travel, travel plans, Types of tourism, Under the Sea, USD, Volunteer travel, Zanzibar