Watch Nora talk with the Gap Year Association of Canada all about consent in travel. Consent in the local community hosts, consent in the animals we volunteer with and consent in our own bodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P9f5-sLTDI&ab_channel=CanadianGapYearAssociation
While you can always travel solo with AEI we wanted to highlight two group trips, one with AEI and one not officially with us. We don't normally highlight trips that aren't run with our official partners but we can't think of a more important project right now.
Project Red Shed is looking for volunteers in June to help rebuild and better the infrastructure at a domestic animal rescue at the boarder of Hungary and Ukraine. This shelter was already poorly funded, under-resourced and overcrowded BEFORE the war. It is now unable to cope with the amount of Ukrainian animals it has been asked to take in and Red Shed is looking to help them. If you are good at building, carpentry and getting your hands dirty, this is a project for you. Again, you won't be travelling with AEI but we believe in this project so much, we wanted to help anyone who could volunteer, learn about this opportunity. For more details please visit: https://projectredshed.com/
If you want to volunteer *with* AEI in 2022, you should come to Nepal with us to volunteer with dogs, cats and cows!
This will be our 4th Expedition and this time we are going to the roof top of the world. Come with us to Nepal for 10 full days of volunteering with dogs, visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hiking through terraced fields and taking part in activities that don't just help animals- they help the local population, too.
For all accomodation, meals, in-country transportation, access and administration to all UNESCO sites, fully guided day trek, full volunteer fees and donations to the centres, the trip will be $2495 Canadian.
Doesn't sound like your thing? Remember that you can sign up to travel independently throughout the year. Most of our programs are offered year round, so you can plan an adventure that works best for you. We help with your airport pick up, pre-departure training, accommodation is always included and remember we have visited all the placements first to make sure we know they are safe, ethical and authentic.
Elephants aren't your thing? Check out our other programs
No experience needed!
Remember, you don't need any experience to volunteer- there are vets and nurses already there! If you can sweep your floor, you can sweep a gibbon enclosure! If you can cut a watermelon, you can help make breakfast for a bear!
All our programs have been chosen because of their high standards of animal welfare, trust from the local community, investment in the local conservation professionals, safety and of course: authenticity in their benefit to the animals!
We are very happy to announce all of our programs are open and accepting volunteers! Many countries are still requiring a negative Covid-19 test to enter the country, don’t worry we will work with you if that is the case.
All of our programs will be requiring full vaccinations and masks while volunteering with the animals and while on the program. Covid-19 is a virus that has spilled over from a wild animals and we have seen numerous cases of both domestic and wild animal infections from humans. To protect the health of the animals you are volunteering with and the communities you are living in- we ask that you respect all the new and developing rules and polices of our partners. Our commitment to you is that they will never be a surprise. Once we know something, you will know something as well as the rational behind it.
We are all in this together, we will continue to act like it!
If you have paid your deposit for a trip in 2020 or 2021 but could not go because of Covid-19, remember it still is waiting for you. Our deposits are non refundable but they are transferable. Normally we hold them for a year but of course, these circumstances were completely different. We will be holding deposits for another full year. All deposits from 2019, 2020 and 2021 will be held in trust for the client until 23 March 2023.
Please, do not hesitate to ask us any questions to get clarifications.
Take care friends!
Are you thinking about a Gap Year- from school, from work, from life??
Well, this just in: LinkedIn now has a section so you can register your Gap Year. If you took a gap in your education or professional life and want to explain it- you can. If you don’t want to- that is okay, too. If you want to show off that you travelled, took part in volunteering, learned in the experiential classroom that is life or something else- you can do that!
Thinking now about gap years and perhaps the ethics behind them? Don’t panic! We do that for you! Here is us in conversation with Jazz from the Canadian Gap Year Association talking about all things ethics, consent and gappy! Canadian Gap Year Association x Animal Experience International.
Let us know what you think and if you want to talk more about your Gap Year!
Consent somehow is the gold standard, not the baseline of interactions in every day life and while the world is (thankfully) changing, we want to make sure that travel is changing, too. We are working hard to make Consent Based Tourism not aspirational but the standard of all travel interactions.
With Consent Based Tourism, all parties in each interaction are giving a 'full body yes'. They want the interaction to happen, or they don't and they are free to leave and feel safe doing so.
The three main parties are the local community members, the animals in the area and the traveller.
In order for a community and it's members to consent they have to not just accept the traveller, they have to welcome and invite the traveller. In a time of a pandemic there are some communities who legally are allowing visitors but their members may feel unsafe, uncomfortable or like they have been coerced into having international visitors. Consent Based Tourism makes sure it's not about the entitlement of the traveller but the safety and comfort of the hosts.
The second individual that we must consider are the animals. Animals must consent to any interactions so there can't be chains, tethers or leashes on wild animals. This means no intimidation or violence as a tool of behavior control or modification. If an animal is in an enclosure (perhaps at a sanctuary) the animal can interact with the traveller if it wants but it can leave the interaction and has space to hide and be comfortable. Animals have the right to privacy and comfort and Consent Based Tourism makes sure they get it.
The last individual to think about in Consent Based Tourism is the traveller. Does the traveller want to be part of the interaction or can they leave without feeling like there is coercion? If they want to travel somewhere and are feeling a 'full body yes' they will enjoy it more, be more willing to take part in immersive experiences and even consider things like volunteering and public service along with their engagement.
Consent Based Tourism may be a new idea but we hope we hope it grows and becomes an ‘obvious’ idea. Something that goes without saying because without consent how can tourism be a force for good?
11-18 June 2022.
Wildlife husbandry in the Central American jungle. Our last Expedition before 2020 was Expedition Guatemala. We didn’t know it at the time but it would be one of the last times we personally would travel internationally. Even though we had no idea we really did live each day like it would be our last trip: watching the sunrise over the pyramids of Tikal National Park, cleaning the enclosures of beautifully singing ducks, assisting with the intakes of tamanduas, putting out folded green enrichment for baby howler monkeys, sipping cool drinks on beach side cafes in Flores. We loved this expedition so much we wanted to share it with you- everyone who wants to help animals but maybe wants some reassurance that travel can still be safe, comfortable and as always ethical. This isn’t just us helping animals again, this is us celebrating the end of this very difficult time. Come celebrate with us while doing real authentically beneficial volunteering to conserve these endangered wild animals.
-Amazing pre-planned adventures helping community based conservation groups!
-Authentic animal volunteer activities.
- Travel insurance that extends beyond your return date (just in case there is a flight change or unexpected anythings).
- Guaranteed safe and sanitized housing.
- Guaranteed meals. Why is this important? Around the world cafes, restaurants, shops and stores have had to close temporarily, or even permanently, due to a lack of travelers. This can make travel stressful for those trying to make a plan before they are in country! We set up all your accommodation and meals before you have even left to make sure you are safely and happily taken care of.
- Ongoing supportive care from travel experts who have travelled during the pandemic and can walk you through all the steps. Want to zoom before you go? Would you rather email? We are here to talk as much or as little as you would like - we aren't comfortable until you are!
-VIP Arrival Plans to make your trip safe and comfortable. PCR tests, hotels and shuttles booked by us so you just have to plan your in country selfies and post cards!
Travel is once again within your reach – you will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and then we will help you with the rest! You can be traveling safely to Costa Rica (sea turtles!), Spain (horses!), Guatemala (wildlife!) or Thailand (elephants!) right now with more countries opening up in 2022 – many of them with us leading the trip (Mongolia, Malawi, Australia...)! We look forward to helping you plan your Animal Experiences as travel becomes a reality again.
Looking for something completely different? We partnered with the luxury travel group Girls Guide to Paris to offer a *luxury* Croatian adventure featuring truffle hunting, island hotels and of course dolphin conservation. See what everyone is buzzing about: Girls Guide to Paris: Croatia Edition.
We have a lot of people asking if only vets can volunteer. And we always say: *NO*, in fact most of our volunteers are not veterinary medical professionals and we like it that way. Why? Because there are so many ways to help animals! And by encouraging people from all walks of life to volunteer, we ensure that local professionals stay employed by good and trustworthy conservation programs. We aren't taking jobs from members of the community and this means the professionals that helped animals before we were there will continue to help them once we leave.
What kinds of volunteering could you possibly do with animals that isn't high level medical volunteering? Actually some of the most important volunteering opportunities are the things that take the pressure off vets, freeing up their time so that they can provide the more specialized care. Making enrichment for animals who are in temporary enclosures before they are released into the wild, socializing dogs who have been rescued from the street, making breakfasts for elephants in sanctuaries. All of these are things you can do right now - and if you do them you are helping these animals AND the team members who have been there throughout, and even before, this pandemic!
If you want to help animals the best way to help are the easy but time intensive tasks: cutting up mangoes for orphaned howler monkeys, sweeping out elephant paddocks, scrubbing (empty) bear pools, handing out dishes of kibbles to hungry dogs - YOU can do this and you should! Giving back while you go on vacation isn't just a nice thing to do for the animals, it can be life changing for you. Volunteering changes how you feel about yourself, the world and your place in it.
Travelers have a massive role to play in stopping the trafficking and exploitation of animals. We have been thinking a lot recently about imposter syndrome and how it can show up in conservation. Travelers, recreational adventurers, and volunteers can be just as big proponents for conservation as biologists. Travelers spend their whole lives learning (when they travel with their eyes open) and through this experiential education they can be witnesses to the very best and very worst of humanity. If you don’t have formal training in conservation, you may discount yourself and pass at the opportunity to be an advocate. But you don’t have to be an animal professional to recognize that animals in cages and on tethers aren’t happy. Oftentimes it’s the traveler who is limiting their own voice, not speaking up because of feeling like an “imposter”. People don’t think they know enough, or feel that it’s not for them to say anything – but violence is violence and we don’t need a degree to recognize it and speak up against it. In fact we need all the stakeholders to come together so that we can conserve our natural world!
We encourage every traveler this year to think about the voice they have and how they use it. You do not need to have a formal education to change the world, you just need to speak out about injustices you see and throw your support behind organizations that are doing positive things. There are no imposters – everyone has their lived experiences and we should speak up for what we believe in. Do you need to be a vet to help animals? No. Do you need to be a professor of animal behavior to help animals? No. Both of these professions WILL help animals but so will you if you are willing to volunteer, observe and share what you learn with the world.
Travel is once again within your reach – you will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, then we will help you with the rest! You can safely travel to Costa Rica or Guatemala starting this month, and to more countries in 2022 (Mongolia, Malawi, Costa Rica, Thailand...) – many of them with us leading the trip! We look forward to helping you plan your animal experiences as travel starts to open up again.
Why is paying to volunteer all about ethics and how does that relate to a solar company?
Everything you consume, at home and while traveling has a cost. The water from your tap costs money. The food in your breakfast bowl costs money. Your sweatpants and button up shirt- creating the perfect Zoom mullet combo costs money. Your computer costs money. The training you got when you first were hired at your job costs money. The supervision you have at work now (while sometimes annoying) costs money.
So, if we are paying for things when we are home, we *must* pay for things when we travel. Our kind intentions, cultural exchange, volunteer tasks and projects are all valuable in their own way- but they do not pay the bills. They do not offset the cost of what you consume- electricity and water in your host's house, materials and training to make sure you are safe while volunteering, potable water throughout your time away from home... we could go on.
If your volunteer materials, housing, transport, food, insurance, training, water and everything else are free for you, then someone else is paying for them. You are costing the community you came to be of service to. It's no longer a relationship of consent and mutual service and benefit- you bring financial insecurity. What you bring as a volunteer IS valuable but again, it does not pay those bills that *do* need to be paid, so just like at home where you pay for water, electricity, gas, clothing, transport, Wi-Fi, and everything else, you need to pay when you are away.
What on EARTH does this have to do with Solar?!
Well... just like there are ethical ways to travel, there are ethical ways to live at home. You put fair trade, shade grown, women owned, co-op coffee in your cup but have you thought about what goes in to your electricity? Have you thought about who is paying for your energy? Yes, you pay the monetary fee but what about the environmental fee? Does your energy come from gas, coal or hydro? What if it could come from a source that is environmentally friendly? What if it could come from a source that doesn't just care about the environment but also the community and the people who work for the company?
What if you could power your home through solar and that company was a B Corp? A company that was audited every three years to make sure they had the highest standards of company and worker welfare, environmental benefit, community outreach and more? Obviously this isn't just us waxing on poetic. These companies EXIST! We have B Corp buddies all over North America who are helping people divest from environmentally, worker and community unfriendly (or at best, neutral) companies and investing in real and true GOOD for the planet, good for the workers, good for the communities companies. One of them we want to highlight is of course, our besties over at ReVision Energy They helped us realise this reality and we want to shout our love from the rooftops. We aren't from Maine so we can't get be their clients but that doesn't mean our friends from Maine can't. If you want a better way to get your energy, head over to their page, check out their Sunsquatch and give them a call.
Your consumption will cost you money, make sure you put that money into the hands of people doing the *best* they can for you, the community and the environment.
Thanks for coming to our Ted Talk, we will take questions in the lobby.
B Corps are certified by the non profit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We have been a B Corp since 2013 and since then we have always been in the top 10% of quantifiable benefit to the environment and the communities we operate in.
