This is a great program to give back to the community. During our Sanitation & Water System Construction Volunteer Program in Chiang Rai you will be actively helping local hill tribe villages to build necessary water & sanitation facilities to improve the lives of the hilltribes considerably.

Many families in remote villages do not have enough water in their village for personal use and cooking. With the help of volunteers, this program will assist villagers who need additional water systems to build their own facilities, using donated pipes, concrete, sanitary equipment, etc.

As a member of a building team, you will stay in a hilltribe village with a host family, and experience village life for a few days. During the day, you will have some light duties linked to the nature of the project such as digging (using a traditional hoe), cutting down bamboo with a traditional machete, mixing cement with sand from the river bed, making "bamboo reinforced concrete", using dried straw to make a thatched roof and so on.

Your program fee includes the purchase of the building materials. Meals will be rice-based, with many ingredients collected from the forest. You can lend a hand at preparing the food if you wish. Your evenings can be spent trying to talk basic English to the village youths, and perhaps teaching them some English karaoke songs (we'll provide the disks!). The villagers will take you to see the sights around their village - including waterfalls, rivers and viewpoints. After the first week you will spend your second week in Chiang Rai city where you will be teaching at local schools teaching English.

Schedule

Start Dates : 8th of June 2008 & 6th of July 2008

Day 1
Sunday villages near Chiang Rai, visit the elephant camp and have a 20 minute ride on an villages near Chiang Rai, visit the elephant camp and have a 20 minute ride on an elephant! elephant!

Day 2 - 6
Meet your Coordinator in the morning who will take you to the hilltribe village to live with a typical hilltribe family. You will start by joining the building team an spend the week at the village finishing the construction. This could be a water system, toilet facilities or any other construction that is needed at the time. Your program fee includes the purchase of the building materials. Saturday is your last day in the village at which time the village will org anise a farewell party for you!

Day 7
On Sunday you will move to a guesthouse in Chiang Rai and spend the day exploring Chiang Rai and relaxing.

Day 8 - 14
You will be teaching English at Thai schools near the town center, the children are aged 12-18.

Prices of the Program

This program includes these services:

Volunteer Placement

Airport pickup

Accommodation
During your stay, you will be provided with accommodation based on your activity. During homestay in hilltribe villages, you will stay with a family or in a small bamboo guest hut, in each case with mattress and blankets provided. During times spent working in Thai schools closer to the town center, you will stay either in a guesthouse or with a Thai family in a simple house.

Orientation
You will receive an orientation session upon arrival from your Coordinator in Chiang Rai.

Sightseeing Tour
Upon arrival you will also receive a sightseeing tour which includes the following : city tour of Chiang Rai, visit a few hill tribe villages near Chiang Rai, visit the elephant camp and have a 20 minute ride on an elephant!. In the evening you will then visit the famous Chiang Rai nightmarket.

In-country transportation
When staying in town, we will take you to your project the first time. After that you need to make your own way to the projects, your Coordinator will explain how to get around. During time in remote villages, transport to and from the village will be provided.

Support
From the very beginning to the end of the project, your Coordinator will be available for support.

Donation to the projects
We make a donation to the projects for every volunteer we place. Also the purchase of the building materials is included.

What the program fee does not cover: airfare, food (food during the homestay is included), visa, insurance

Note : * You have to have travel insurance to join the program.
Local excursions are not included in the price, but can be arranged through your Coordinator, who will be happy to give you a list of suggested places to visit and tour companies who organize tours

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* Mention building program in the comments section of the application form