Some gap and career break programmes send their travelers straight into volunteering schemes. You might initially find the idea of getting stuck in straight away attractive, but our years of experience have led us to the belief that this is far from the best approach. This is why, before you join a VentureCo volunteering project, we arrange time for you to acclimatise to local conditions, learn about why the project is required, and understand how your effort fits in to the grand plan. We believe understanding the background behind your hard work is essential to getting the most out of responsible travel.
How does the Trust Work?
It’s crucial that local economies are respected. We ensure that rather than taking jobs from local people, equal input comes from our hosts, and we buy in skilled technicians where needed, creating jobs that work in harmony with existing social structures.
The opportunity to work alongside the host community in this way is very special. The hands-on nature of your role will enable you to witness first-hand exactly where and how your money is being used. You’ll gain an understanding of the day-to-day realities of local life, as well as long-term difficulties faced by local people. All our projects are continually evaluated to make sure they are continuing to provide both the best aid for local communities and the most rewarding experience for volunteers. On no project will your enthusiasm feel misplaced. These projects are genuinely sustainable, properly planned and adequately funded: there is a reason for the work we do and you will be able to see the benefits to the communities first hand. Each project week is costed at $250, which is paid directly to the Trust. The fund created pays for materials, local labour and the cost of your accommodation and food whilst on the project. In our experience the amount of money spent is not as important as the targeted way it is spent.
VentureCo has supported over 70 projects worldwide since 1999
Some of our partners include...
- Mandore, Rajasthan, India:
A local development project with the Vishnois communities - Wildtracks, the Belize jungle:
An animal preservation project with Manatees on Caribbean coast - Jatun Sacha, Galapagos:
A habitat conservation programme on the unique Galapagos islands - Puerto Lopez Community, Ecuador:
Helping to improve the child-care infrastructure
VentureCo connects people, organisations and resources to enable development projects to take place. We employ practical solutions to solve human-scale social and environmental problems.
The VentureCo Trust funds the many projects that we complete every year. The Trust is a charity registered in England and Wales. The charity bears no administrative costs and 100% of the money it receives is spent on projects overseas.
Volunteering with VentureCo and the VentureCo Trust
The VentureCo Trust’s ethos is to help others help themselves by bringing together a local need, enthusiastic volunteers and Trust funds.
Our projects are community-based and aim to provide a means, or a facility, for local people to improve their quality of life and protect the surrounding environment. The work can be hard, you’ll probably be doing things you never thought you’d do. But the sense of achievement on completing the project is immeasurable and your contribution will be appreciated long after you and your team have moved on to the expedition.
Project Selection - over 20 years experience of working in the developing world
VentureCo directors David Gordon and Mark Davison have been travelling and leading expeditions in the developing world since the early 1980’s; for more than 20 years they have encountered conflicts, crises and dilemmas in need of a “fix” that has been beyond the reach of the local community.
Through a well-established network of personal contacts and friends, David and Mark set up the first VentureCo project to address the needs of street children in Ecuador. Since then, VentureCo have supported over 70 projects in Africa, Asia and South America.
A great deal of thought, research and planning goes in to project selection, not only must projects be a worthy cause, but they should provide an opportunity for Venturers to see a community in its “working clothes”.
Some of the criteria we take into consideration include:
- The project is not funded from central government.
- We favour human-scale, private initiatives where the aims are realistic and the stakeholder matches our input.
- Projects must be definable and of sustainable benefit to the indigenous community
- Projects should be inter-denominational or non-denominational.
- We are continually developing our project programme and we look forward to strengthening the excellent reputation that VentureCo has gained for selecting projects that provide maximum benefit to local communities while simultaneously being stimulating, revealing and challenging for Venturers.
Working with Project Partners
One of the key elements to any project is the human interaction between the Venturers and the local population; good public relations opens many doors and is often the difference between the “possible” and the “impossible”. On every project, VentureCo work in association with an in-country project partner. Our partners are usually non-governments organisations (NGO’s) who nurture contacts with local communities and develop our projects from the proposal stage, right through to completion.
Your role in making the project work
VentureCo projects provide direct aid to worthy causes in many parts of the developing world. So where do the Venturers fit in to all of this? There’s no doubt that it’s the hard work, dedication and teamwork from our Venture groups that gets each project started and from then on in, every Venturer plays a vital role in making the project a success. We find that within every group are a wide range of skills and talents that can be drawn upon to complete the project. For example, interpersonal skills that help the group “bond” and form an effective team, practical skills such as languages, experience using basic hand-tools or maybe an aptitude for cooking are all vital ingredients to a successful project. The team needs to be self-sufficient and look after not only the project, but themselves too. In the field, raw talent in the fields of art, music and sport make all the difference during project “down-time” (especially at our remote sites!) and a positive approach fired by the desire to help others will provide the motivation to keep the group on track until project completion.
What about the local community?
Your interest in the local community will be matched by their interest in you. When you join a VentureCo project you will be integrated into a completely different way of life; one that allows you to witness the realities of life for many of the planet’s people. We ensure that rather than taking jobs from local people, equal input comes from our hosts. We also buy in skilled technicians, “Maestros”, where needed, thus creating jobs. The experience of working in tandem with the host community to provide a solution to a local problem is a unique opportunity to savour the richness of the area and to understand the predicaments faced by the people. Venturers will have a hands-on role and will witness exactly where the Trust is spending the money. We evaluate each project every autumn based on feedback from leaders, project managers, our own site visits and most importantly returning Venturers. This process determines which projects are completed, which projects require continuing support and reveals new project opportunities.
Project Continuity
It's essential that the projects we support are more than transitory ideas so careful consideration is given to what happens after the group move on. We need to be able to answer “Yes” to the question, “Is the enterprise that we are creating self-financing once we leave?”
The VentureCo Trust
(Charity Number 1111268)
Funding for the projects comes from the VentureCo Trust, a charity registered in England and Wales, and a proportion of the money you pay us is channelled directly into the Trust. It’s all in-house, so we know that all the money, every penny, the Trust receives is spent overseas. VentureCo (the company) bears all the staff and admin costs. The Trust is also open to private donations and fund raising efforts, so bear us in mind if you’re running a uni’ Rag Week, or looking for a good cause to support!