Last night, my colleagues asked me how I rated this volunteering experience compared to others I have participated in. I had to say, ” really up there”, and as I toasted them a farewell over a Laos dinner, I thanked them all for renewing my faith in this form of travel after being the aged outcast on my last trip.

I could well be repeating what I have said before. That these things work best when there is: good leadership, a real vision and the work you do as a volunteer is meaningful and challenging. This project had all of this….and in spades.

Firstly, I had huge respect for the Director. Not only passionate about wildlife and about Laos ( through one of his parents), but also about the huge financial risks he was taking and the responsibility for the livelihoods of so many locals. I will guess that many people will underestimate the strain that this must put on him.

His vision is to restore Laos’s wildlife. No mean feat. Also, to have an ecotourism-type operation, but at the same time, a place where locals could come and play Mahjong.

He already (loosely) partners with an upmarket resort next door, agreeing to push business each other’s way. To this end, there is already a visitors centre from which tours start and provide refreshments and a shop for the return. An AC hideout, too, for the volunteers at the end of a long, hot day! The resort next door, interestingly, also provides pool facilities for LCTW volunteers and two hot vegetarian meals a day. The food was fabulous.

The Director’s vision and personality take people along for the ride with him, and he has managed to attract and retain highly qualified staff, experts in the field and covering all roles. He also provides free English lessons to all the local staff, most of whom were recruited from the local village. I, too, have thrived in this environment where I have worked alongside like-minded people.

This was also the first time, as a volunteer, I was invited to staff barbecues, given the afternoon off for a little sightseeing trip (pics below), and, most importantly, asked to reflect on my experience. What was good? What would improve the experience? Only two weeks before, a couple of volunteers had suggested that a microwave would be an advantage. A microwave was installed by the time I arrived.

Daisy leaving the project before she even started had caused undue hurt and a lot of reflection. My initial thought was to, “ignore it and move on”, but the team here saw it differently, and in the end, I concurred. It is important for their future that they successfully attract young people to volunteer here. Good suggestions came: single beds are better than bunk beds, and more storage needed for your clothes. Should the joining information be more descriptive about the physical side of the work? I think what the youngsters really want is AC and en-suite bathrooms 😀…cheeky!

My only thoughts were to reduce lighting outside the volunteer areas at night to save on power, be able to order half portions of food ( I threw half of every meal despite being ravenous at each sitting), and I would have liked more information about the trafficking of the animals and how they came to be there. As it was, the Director gave me two hours of his valuable time ( in his lovely AC office) to impart his knowledge and perspective on this.

Truthfully, this was a very different experience from my previous ones. I personally like roughing it, but if you are looking for a home-from-home type of experience, this is exceptional. Made so by the people involved.

Much of what I have written about this week has been critical of us humans and the devastating effects we have on wildlife. I need to counter this by saying, though, that some of the humans I have met this week have been… humbling.

Goodbye LCTW.