There’s no dearth of opportunities for Volunteer travel in India. In fact, it’s one of the best parts of the world to indulge in for volunteer travelling, with different organizations, without paying a huge amount of money for the experience. There are a plethora of places for Volunteer Travel in India. These opportunities for volunteer travel n India are provided by different organizations all over the country. They are either free or come at a minimum cost involved.
Here’s a list of Volunteer travel opportunities in India:
1. Spiti Ecosphere, Himachal Pradesh:
Spiti Ecosphere has been working on the economic empowerment of the region, and aims to provide sustainable livelihoods to those working with nature and the culture’s conservation. While volunteering for them, you’ll get to see the Himalayas and its unique culture from closely and you’ll be personally involved in promoting the eco-tourism in the region. You can opt for any program lasting a week, and participate in various activities including volunteering with daily village activities, ecosphere’s office work, or building of greenhouses and solar passive structure. Spiti Ecosphere is one of the perfect places for Volunteer travel in India for mountain lovers.
Read more on https://spitiecosphere.com/
2. WWOOF India, Uttarakhand
WWOOF provides volunteering travel in India all through the country, which gives volunteers a chance to learn about organic food, farming and observe the different ways of life. At WWOOF you’ll be working closely with the people who share the common human values. While volunteering with WWOOF, along with your host, you’ll learn to lead life in an organic way. It is an exchange-volunteering program, where volunteers work for food, accommodation and learn a new way of life. This is one of the places for volunteer travel in India that revolve around farming, and it runs all over India.
Read more on http://www.wwoofindia.org/home.html
3. Fertile Ground, Assam
This volunteering opportunity has been set up to provide support to the farmers of North East India who still are dependent on the traditional farming methods, plus also to those farmers who’re looking to incorporate organic agricultural practices including composting, natural pest control and mulching. Fertile ground has been working for years while providing the necessary support to the farmers, including training, resources, they help small scale tea growers, and also provide extension staff, teachers in the state of Assam. Fertile ground is one organization for volunteer travel in India where you’ll be growing healthy food by using traditional practices based on raw materials available locally.
Read more on http://www.fertile-ground.org/
4. LHA, Dharamsala
LHA is working in Dharamsala as non-governmental and non-profit social organization for the Tibetan refugees and the local Indian population including the people from the Himalayan regions. It believes in providing the vital resources to these people by offering free English, French, Spanish and Chinese classes, there are cultural exchange programs, vocational training and IT classes. LHA is also working in health and environment sector, thus providing you with a wide range of volunteering opportunities in various programs and activities. These factors make LHA a major place for volunteer travel in India and varies from short term to long term.
Read more on https://www.lhasocialwork.org/
5. Sikkim Homestay
ECOSS or the ecotourism and conservation society of Sikkim has been working for the sustainability and conversation in the state of Sikkim for long. It’s a non-governmental organization working to establish Sikkim Himalayan homestay with the support from UNESCO. The organization has been developing various homestay destinations in the state by working closely with the villagers at different place. ECOSS has been helping villages build their skills to sustain the tourist activity in the region, and every village has a tourism management committee that overlooks the operations. You can contact them for one of the most wonderful volunteer travel opportunities in India.
6. CHIRAG, Kumaon, Uttarakhand
The Central Himalayan Rural Action group, or CHIRAG as it is popularly known, is operational in the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand. This organization works closely with the local communities residing in Kumaon on several issues, such as primary education, primary health care, agriculture, animal husbandry, community forestry, soil and water conservation and by supporting the development of youth. By addressing and working towards these issues, they aim towards bringing about an improvement in the quality of life of the rural populace, especially the women and poor. There are several fields in which volunteers can choose to get trained in, such as health, education, geology, etc. Head over to this beautiful place for volunteer travel in India.
Read more on http://chirag.org/
7. SECMOL, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir
SECMOL, or the The Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, is a NGO based in Ladakh, which was founded by a group of young Ladakhi students. Through their motto of the 3 H’s of education, i.e. Bright heads, Skilled hands and Kind hearts, they are working towards bringing about changes in the educational system prevalent in Ladakh. The different ways and activities, SECMOL aims to empower the youth of Ladakh. Its activities comprise of solar alternatives to youth camps, educational reforms and eco-tourism. SECMOL is one of the volunteer travel opportunities in India where through several fun and innovative ways, one can help bring about changes in the lives of the local people and also have an experience worth remembering. Combine your love for travelling with volunteer travel in India and plan your next trip to Ladakh.
Read more on http://secmol.org/
8. Dakshinayan, Jharkhand
Established in 1992, Dakshiniyan is set in the tribal belt of Jharkhand where the population is mainly from the Paharia tribe. The Paharia tribe has been very cooperative in Dakshinayan’s attempt to help them and improve their day to day life conditions. Dakshinayan’s focus in this region has been towards the formal education of children, and to prepare them for mainstream, conventional schooling. Not only limiting itself to education of children, they also promote health care, self-reliance and utilization of available resources, and also empower the local rural women and youth. People interested in volunteer travel in India, can take part in Dakshinayan’s teaching programmes and help in spreading the need for education among the Paharia children.
9. SSTCN, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
This organization is definitely meant for the people who are very much interested in doing their bit and contributing towards the preservation and protection of wildlife. The SSTCN or the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network, is a voluntary student organization which has been working tirelessly towards spreading awareness about the endangered Oliver Ridley Sea Turtles. Every Friday and Saturday night, they conduct walks for interested people on particular beaches of Chennai. In these walks, they usually talk about the turtles and how the changing environment is affecting their existence. They also walk the beaches every night, seacrhing for turtle eggs which they collect and relocate to a safe place. And when the eggs hatch, they release the hatchlings safely into the sea. Head over to Chennai and fulfil your love for animals by taking steps to preserve these turtles through Volunteer travel in India.
Read more on https://sstcn.org/
10. Mother’s Hope, Dimapur, Nagaland
Mother’s Hope is a residential home for pregnant women and babies. It helps in providing proper care to expecting mothers who either lack the resources and knowledge to take care of their babies, or have been victims of rape and sexual abuse. In the loving and caring environment of the residential home, these women get full medical and psychological support during their pregnancy. The medical support is completely free of cost. They also have a baby care facility and an adoption facility, by which they ensure that every child gets a loving family. You can volunteer here if you’re interested in learning about baby care, counselling, or just love babies in general.