Community Connection
Accessible from any hotel in the region, including Phuket, Khao Lak, Khao Sok, and Ranong.
Mangrove Restoration
Not everyone can get away from it all for months at a time, yet increasingly people want to make a genuine contribution to the communities they visit when they travel abroad.
To help fulfill this altruistic intention, Andaman Discoveries has created Study and service tours for small groups that provide authentic volunteering experiences.
Projects are community-led and focus on sustainable development, education and environmental conservation. Specific efforts can include:
- Working with local – teaching, building skills, and improving infrastructure
- Conservation – reforestation, organic gardens, nature trail development
- Crafts – help women’s groups with herbal soap, traditional batik, and tie-dye
- Special Customization and Tour Extensions
Livelihood Activities
We work closely with our field coordinators and villagers to ensure that the projects serve an actual need in the community. For this reason, the activities that we offer change frequently depending upon local needs at the time. Please contact us to enquire about current opportunities.
Open Hearts and Helping Hands
We offer project placements for groups of six or more people from five days to two weeks. No specific skills or experience are required. The only requirement is that participants are open-minded, enthusiastic, and willing to work hard. We welcome people of all ages; having hosted volunteers from 7 to 70 years old!
Gardening
We provide ongoing support from arrival to departure, and our friendly, bilingual team is always on hand to help. Accommodation is provided in local resorts or village homestays.
And to make your trip totally unique, why not add a visit to the beautiful Koh Surin — one of the best snorkeling sites in Thailand; a visit to a secluded island eco-lodge; or go jungle hiking at Khao Sok National Park.
A Leader in Community Development
Andaman Discoveries has an extensive network of contacts, partners and experts in the region. If you have a particular skill you would like to share, or a specific project you would like to support, we can facilitate your work with the villagers.
Teach Your Hobby
Our programs provide genuine benefit to local people, and enable volunteers to engage directly with youth education, village-led conservation, and community development.
For example, 11 students from the University of Birmingham’s International Volunteer Society raised funds to assist local youth with mangrove reforestation in tsunami-impacted habitats.
Working with Local Community– Teaching or Improving Facilities
Key skills you will develop: leadership, teamwork, communication, creativity, planning & organizing
- Orphanage – teach art, baking, computers, writing, sewing, and much more
- Burmese Learning Centre – help youth build skills that assist them to find better jobs
- Disabled School – provide a stimulating environment for autistic and deaf children
- Drainage construction – implement effective barriers to prevent flooding in schools
- Organic garden – help ensure the children have access to vital vegetables
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Conservation – Challenges to Sustainability
Key skills you will develop: research, teamwork, problem solving, natural resource management, citizen science
- Animal/Plant conservation – protecting endangered water lilies and sea turtles
- Recycling – waste management, recycled art and beach conservation
- Forest Trail and Nature Center Development – promote conservation and education
- River restoration workshop – planting species that support the river ecosystem
- Reforestation – planting Nypa palm in the mangroves and nurseries for deforestation
- Sustainable agriculture – traditional techniques being lost to commercial plantations
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Community Development – Fair Trade Livelihoods and Crafts
Key skills you will develop: project management, market development, design, poverty alleviation, local sourcing
- Water capture construction – building dams to capture water for the dry season
- Handicrafts – learn how to make natural soap and batik, then help with marketing
- Thai herbs – learn about the extraction and use of local herbs as medicine
- Textiles – make baskets, sarongs and tie-dye with natural ingredients from the forest
Note: We work closely with our partners to ensure that the projects serve an actual need in the community. For this reason, the projects we offer change depending upon local needs at the time.
Request Booking
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Customize Your Trip!
Why not combine your Cultural Tour with a snorkeling trip to Koh Surin National Park, one of the finest snorkeling sites in Southern Thailand; a stay at an island ecolodge; or a visit to the pristine rainforests of the Khao Sok National Park? Contact us today!
