It is not necessary that you have to travel just for the sake of experiencing new places or for leisure! All those selfies, instagram filters, likes and reactions will mean nothing in few years down the line. What will remain is your experience and how the place made you feel! So why not travel responsibly and contribute to the place we are traveling to? Here is a list of 9 places that I wish to travel to and volunteer for a better cause:
1. Spiti Ecosphere - Well when its Spiti, its got to be exotic. What a pleasure it would be to know the place in depth and help the place develop and protect its culture from extinction. You can volunteer for a variety of causes depending on your interest. Requires no additional Skill. http://www.spitiecosphere.com/
2. Chirag -Central Himalayan Rural Action Group - Centered in the region of Kumaon, Uttarakhand at the tri-junction of Nepal, India and Tibet, You can contribute in the areas of education, health, natural resource management and provide services to better livelihood activities. http://chirag.org/
3. LHA - This is an NGO, which is awarded and well recognized. They provide long term education and rehabilitation resources to the Tibetan refugees. The range of activities is huge and the duration ranges from 1 week to more than a month. Headquarters in Mcleodganj and location in Dharmshala. http://www.lhasocialwork.org/
4. Ladli - Located in Jaipur, this initiative works towards bettering the lives of the children and avert them from adopting livelihood through begging, child labor or prostitution. One can volunteer through teaching English, playing with them, engaging in sharing knowledge and techniques in textile or jewelry making etc. They do not charge for volunteering. http://www.ladli.org/
5. Grassroot Journeys - This is a unique type of travel program designed in a village in Orissa for the people wanting to contribute while holidaying. One gets to adopt the rural lifestyle for the period chosen. One can engage in workshops, learning and exchanging knowledge, play rural sports etc. This way you contribute to increase the income of the rural people and help in conserving their culture. http://www.grassroutes.co.in/
6. Sadhana Village - Located at 30 kms away from Pune city, this organisation focuses on extending educational facilities to the children, disabled, women etc. Any help regarding this core are is welcomed.http://sadhana-village.org/
7. Kabani This is a private company offering tourism with a foresight to benefit the community they are working with. Locations to choose from are Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu. http://www.kabanitour.com/
8. Aranyak - This is a registered society in Northeast India, for the conservation of Biodiversity. If you are skilled in the field of conserving biodiversity, then this society is apt for you. https://www.facebook.com/aaranyakindia/
9. Druk White Lotus School - Located at Ladakh you can volunteer for imparting education to the Druk school, for this you have write to them before hand. All your expenses are to be self financed. http://www.dwls.org/
There are more places than these listed here, its not exhaustive. Hope you contribute to the society and immerse yourself in goodness!