Counting Caribbean Fish, Debating Voluntourism

Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 08.08.07 | 12:25 PM ET

Elisabeth Eaves recently visited the Caribbean island of St. Vincent to voluntour with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation. The scuba diver spent her underwater time identifying and cataloging glassy sweepers, barracuda and other assorted fish, all for the benefit of ecology and science. “These days, lots of organizations send travelers on ‘voluntours,’ wherein you pay for the privilege of doing a short stint of conservation work—on turtle hatcheries in Central America, bear-tracking missions in the high Andes, or wildlife parks in East Africa, to name a few projects,” she wrote in a series of stories for Slate. “What do-gooderism I possess is tied to Jacques Cousteau fantasies. Maybe, just maybe, I can contribute a tiny little bit to marine biology.” So what does she think about voluntourism now? I asked her a few questions via e-mail.

Voluntourism, like all trends, is being scrutinized. Some suggest it’s not all it’s cracked up to be—that many outfits put profit ahead of doing good work, that all the money people spend on costly voluntourism vacations could be put to much better use. Any thoughts on that?

If you compare the effects of a voluntourism vacation to the effects of an Oxfam donation, sure, the Oxfam donation probably goes farther. But for most people, a voluntour is an alternative to some other type of vacation, not some other type of charitable contribution. And compared to vacations spent sipping margaritas or staying in high-impact hotels, I’d say that most voluntours do more good.

Any advice for others considering voluntourism?

Do your research, and choose something that you’re genuinely passionate about.

Also, based on my own experience I’d consider going with a highly specialized organization rather than one of the more general voluntour clearing houses. REEF focuses just on marine conservation in three regions. Both the trip leaders and the other travelers were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. I’m guessing that other specialized groups, like Audubon or the American Hiking Society, might provide similar experiences.

Do you have another voluntourism trip planned? If so, what’s next?

I’d like to go on another REEF trip in the Caribbean, maybe to Cozumel or Bonaire. I learned a lot on the first trip, but I’d like to build on that knowledge.

Photo by World Resources Institute via Flickr, (Creative Commons).