Full day volunteer programmes

1 Day English teaching/nature trail (VWB 104)

Description: Teach English language skills to primary and secondary school children in the morning and spend the afternoon working with villagers on the development of the Pang Soong Nature Trails
Duration: I Day - approximately 2 hours of teaching and 2 – 3 hours of trail work
Meal: Lunch (picnic box)
Cost: THB 1,370.- (Plus transport to and from site) *

Sample Itinerary:
0800 hrs. You are collected from your hotel in the city by an English speaking guide (or interpreter), and transported by minibus to the designated school – 45 minutes from the city, at the base of the hills that separate the Chiang Mai and Lampang valleys.

0900 hrs. Meet the headmaster or the senior English language teacher, and take a brief tour of the school facilities.

Meet the class teacher whom you will be assisting for your first lesson, and go through your lesson plan with him or her. You will actually conduct the lesson under the Thai teacher’s guidance, whilst the teacher and your guide keep discipline in the class, and assist with translation as and where needed.

The morning continues in this manner, with you going through your lesson plan with a teacher, and then delivering it to a given class. Your guide (or interpreter) is there to assist wherever you want him or her to do so.

1130 hrs. Lunch with the teachers and students.

1230 hrs. Say your good-byes, take some photographs of yourself with the teachers and children, then depart for the Pang Soong Lodge, Outdoor Education & Research Centre about 20 minutes away.

1300 hrs. Arrive at Pang Soong Lodge, Outdoor Education & Research Centre.

1330 hrs. Change into your outdoor work clothes, receive your gloves, tools and drinking water, and set off along the trail, accompanied by your English speaking guide (or interpreter), and led by a community forest guide to join your village co-workers (who have been on the project since the morning)

Arriving on site, you meet your co-workers, there will be a minimum of 2 villagers, but otherwise one co-worker per voluntourist, and join them in completing the task allocated to the group for that day.

1530 - 1600 hrs. - Cease work, and prepare to return down the trail to PSL.

Note* Depending on where you are working along the trail, participants will be given the option of exploring the rest of the 4km trail with the community forest guide before returning to the city.

On retuning to the Lodge, you are served with tea or coffee, and may also opt to visit the nearby village of Ban Mae Lai – as guests of the headman, to see how your hosts live.

1700 hrs. Reboard the transport for a return trip to the city.

1800 hrs. Arrive back at your hotel – after a fascinating but tiring day.

* Cost includes: Lunch (including bottled water, coffee and tea), standard Thai tourism insurance cover, contribution to the community fund, village co-worker & VWB staff day rate.
* Cost does not include: Transport to and from the lodge. (Shared between passengers)

Additional Transport cost

General Cost breakdown:

1. Transport – Transportation in or out from Chiang Mai costs Baht 2,000 per 8 seat minibus (return trip for day tours) – you will need to pay between Baht 2,000 - 250 in cash at the start of your programme depending on how many people are in the programme.

2. Food – Lunch costs Baht 150.-

3. The VWB Onsite Team – One full time Foreign-National Project Manager plus a Thai speaking assistant, are on a 1 year contract and tasked with looking after the needs of volunteers, planning the work to be undertaken, recording job progress, communicating with the village committee, training the community forest guides and ensuring project work continuity. Volunteers contribute Baht 500.- each/per day to cover the cost of the ‘onsite’ VWB staff only.

4. Additional fees – There are a variety of fees that directly go to the community

(a) Village co-worker is Baht 200.- per day/per volunteer.
(b) The VWB development fund contribution is Baht 500.- per volunteer/per day, which goes directly a fund used for schools materials, trail development, agroforestry equipment etc.