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Himalayan non-profit project for community needs some help in the District of Kalimpong, Near Darjeeling (India)

India
Last activity : 4 Aug 2025

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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
12 Oct 2017
Feedback
21
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Availability

2025

Min stay requested: at least 3 weeks

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What's this?

Details

Description
Hi Everyone,
I'm Pawan, a Postgraduate and Co-Founder and Media Chief of the Kalimpong District Tourism Welfare Society, a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to supporting tourism stakeholders and underprivileged communities. Our mission is to empower marginalized groups through initiatives benefiting hostels, schools, daycare centres, old-aged homes, sports programmes, animal cares, farmstays, and more.
Established in 2024,our organization is currently working tirelessly to uplift the underprivileged society across the entire Kalimpong District through Voluntourism and community-driven projects.

We will be facilitating placements for volunteers based on their preferred placement location from a range of options , including Kalimpong Town, Munsong, Gorubathan, Pedong, Kumai, Todey, Rishap etc.We will work to match their interest and skills with suitable volunteering opportunities that benefit underprivileged communities in these areas.
OR
We also advise volunteers on areas where their support is most needed, ensuring that their efforts have the greatest impact.

" URGENT NEED FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS FOR SIX MONTHS TO ONE YEAR " :
______________________________________________________________________
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Help with Computers/ Internet
House sitting
Interests
Events & social
Videography
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Pets
Sustainability
Fashion or beauty
Culture
Farming
Charity work
Gardening
Photography
Plant care
Writing
Animals
History
Music
Languages
Art & design
Books
Blogging
Yoga / Wellness
Cycling
Hiking
Outdoor activities
Mountain
Nature
Fitness
Camping
Adventure sports
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
...
...
What's this?
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Volunteers / Travellers will definitely be able to get benefit from us by means of language, caste,creed,culture,food habit,etc.They can learn or understand local language,dress code,local cuisine etc.
Help
Our organization is seeking International Volunteers or Gap Year Students to support underprivileged communities cross the Kalimpong District. Volunteers will have the opportunity to contribute to various initiatives, including :
+ Teaching basic english in schools and hostels.
+ Assisting elderly individuals
+ Promoting agro-tourism and sustainable projects.
+ Preserving local arts and crafts.
+Sharing cooking skills and cultural exchange.
+ Participating in awareness programs and community outreach.
This is a wonderful opportunity for volunteers to make a meaningful impact while gaining valuable experience and insights into our community.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Hindi: Fluent
Nepali: Fluent
Accommodation
We have two double bedded rooms and one single bedded room with Indian and western bathroom for volunteers & Tourists
24 hrs water and Power supply or Charger.
What else ...
Located in the picturesque Himalayan region of INDIA, Kalimpong District is divided into fours blocks : kalimpong-1. Algarah/Lava, Pedong, and Gorubathan. With its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, our district is home to numerous tourist destinations that are sure to captivate visitors from around the world.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
This host charges a fee
read more
Why does Workaway allow some hosts to charge a fee?

Workaway provides opportunities for non-monetary cultural exchanges where hosts provide food and accommodation in return for help from Workawayers. In some exceptional cases, a small fee/ donation request (typically no more than 5 dollars per day) may be approved for hosts such as registered charities with a history of positive volunteer feedback. Any fee must directly go to the charity and can only be used to cover the volunteers' food costs. This will be clearly marked on the host's listing.
Listings by agents, "middle-men" or projects that appear to profit from a volunteer's stay are strictly prohibited. Any fees must be discussed and approved in advance by the Workaway team.
$5 towards accommodation and food

Host ref number: 526148422376

Website Safety

Feedback (10)

29 Sep 2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Gina)

Gina was a nice girl and intelligent to teach the underpriileged children.We had a nice time with her.I wish every success in her life.

(Excellent )

31 May 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Hiten)

Hiten was my volunteer friend.He was volunteering for one month with my partner project (Orphanage) at Pedong in Darjeeling District.He taught English and helped homework to the orphan children.We are very much thankful and grateful to him.
I wish him every success in his life.
Thank you Hiten.

(Excellent )

26 May 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Mirka)

Thank you Mirka for your feedback. We are grateful and thankful to your help.
Best.

(Excellent )

24 May 2016

Left by Workawayer (Mirka) for host

I spent just under a month volunteering in Gorubathan. I stayed in Pawan's parents' house which was great - I had my own room with a big double bed and got 3 delicious home-cooked meals a day. The family is very religious so you'll be expected to get involved in the daily prayer and to come home before it gets dark. I spent 2 hours every day with… read more

(Very good )

View all 10 feedbacks

Photos

The image depicts a woman kneeling beside a group of children in a classroom, with a watermark reading "workaway.info" in the center.

The image depicts two women standing on a path in front of a bridge, with a serene mountainous backdrop and lush greenery.

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The image depicts a serene landscape featuring a winding road, lush greenery, and a mountainous backdrop, with a subtle watermark in the center.

The image depicts a living room with a red wall, wooden furniture, and a window with curtains, featuring a couch, coffee table, and dining table.

The image depicts a man and woman standing in front of a bridge, with a Coca-Cola advertisement and a mountainous background. The man is wearing a striped shirt.

The image depicts a man posing with a group of children on a balcony, set against a scenic backdrop of a mountainous landscape.

The image depicts a serene landscape featuring a dirt path, lush green fields, and majestic mountains under a blue sky with white clouds.

Feedback

29 Sep 2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Gina)

Gina was a nice girl and intelligent to teach the underpriileged children.We had a nice time with her.I wish every success in her life.

(Excellent)

31 May 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Hiten)

(Excellent)

26 May 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Mirka)

Thank you Mirka for your feedback. We are grateful and thankful to your help.
Best.

(Excellent)

24 May 2016

Left by Workawayer (Mirka) for host

(Very good)

28 Apr 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Jessica)

Thank you Jess for your kind feedback.HimWeS had a great Time with you.

(Very good)

28 Apr 2016

Left by Workawayer (Jessica) for host

I stayed with tufan's family for three weeks. They treat you like family! I had three delicious meals a day. I spent 2hrs each afternoon after school working with 15-20 children, helping with homework and creating fun activities for the children when homework is completed. I also spent a few days at the school however felt this challenging.… read more

(Very good)

5 Apr 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Sabina)

Thank you Sabina for your kind words !

(Very good)

5 Apr 2016

Left by Workawayer (Sabina) for host

I stayed for 4 weeks in march at Tufan's house and had a great experience.

I got three times a day food, i really loved the food, but you have to love rice. Though I felt like a got not enough vitamins, but you can get for example fruits at the big market on every monday.
I had a room just for me and enough privacy.
5 times the week I went… read more

(Very good)

5 Apr 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Isabella & Kristy)

Thank you so much Bella and Kristy.Your words are really Praiseworthy.We are heartily Welcome again !

(Excellent)

4 Apr 2016

Left by Workawayer (Isabella & Kristy) for host

My friend Kristy and I came here in March and had an amazing time! Although we did wish we got to stay longer, it was a really great experience. We stayed at Pawan's place with one other volunteer. Pawan and his family are so nice and welcoming, and Abby cooks amazing food! The walk up to Pawan's house is very steep, and there is a lot of walking… read more

(Excellent)

31 Mar 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Mona)

Thank you Mona.
Your help was Praiseworthy.

(Very good)

31 Mar 2016

Left by Workawayer (Mona) for host

I volunteered here for a month (from mid-January to mid-February). This was an amazing experience and I feel very blessed I met amazing children.

There are two daycare centers. One in Gorubathan's market (near your house) and one in Upper Fagu (40mn away). If you stay 1 month or less, I advise you to only go to one of them, otherwise you won't… read more have enough time to create bonds with the kids.
The volunteering part with the organization occurs in the afternoon (from 3 to 5pm in Gorubathan, from 2:30 to 4:30pm in Upper Fagu).
In the morning, you can choose either to go to the daycare center in Gorubathan with the youngest, either teach in a Junior/High School, which is a private school (however it isn't compulsory because it doesn't belong to the organization).

I only stayed at the daycare center in Gorubathan so here are some advice for this one :
There, there is a teacher, Pooja, who is doing an excellent job with them. You will mostly give the children some English/Math exercices depending on their level (for example : table of 9, 567x876, I ___ to school yesterday (go), etc.). However, if you feel like teaching them something else, you are free to do so. For example, I realised that they didn't know much about countries so I bought a world map and tough them some Geography (you just have to ask Pooja before). You could also bring some "fun games", which would make them learn English by playing.

There are two homestays : one up the hills (Pawan's house) and another one 5mn away from the market (Tufan's house, where I stayed). Both were quite different. At Pawan's, there are almost all the family members, so you really feel like you're being part of the family, and you're never alone. However, I felt really lonely at Pawan's. I though I would experience living with an Indian family there, but I bearly saw family members. Furthermore, I always had breakfast and lunch alone. I was quite disappointed about that since other volunteers who stayed at Pawan's were enjoying there time in their homestay.

On the week-ends (sunday and monday), you can go visit Darjeeling, Kalimpong and other places. Gorubathan is also a nice area where you can enjoy many places. It is a very relaxing green village.

It would be better if another volunteer is already there when you come, so that he/she can explain everything to you.

Apart from the homestay, I really enjoyed my stay and loved interacting and sharing with the children. This was an amazing experience everyone should live!

(Very good)

4 Jan 2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Ruth)

Thank you.

(Very good)

3 Jan 2016

Left by Workawayer (Ruth) for host

I volunteered with the project for 3 weeks in November and overall my experience was fantastic!

Volunteering:
Running the day care centre is definitely a really rewarding experience and the children are very affectionate and most of them are really excited to learn from you whilst you're there. I would say that you must have a lot of… read more patience with the children as sometimes they can be very lively and not very good at concentrating on the task at hand but after my first week I felt a lot more confident and comfortable leading the day care centre. There are two day care centres - one in the market and one in Upper Fagu. The market day care centre is run by an amazing teacher who will help you lots with the children and also inspire you throughout your time with her. Upper Fagu, where I spent the majority of my 3 weeks, requires a lot more independence from the volunteer - running it on your own mostly. The best advice I can give to a volunteers is to come with lots of games/lesson plans/ideas but also remember you have to be flexible and remember that the language barrier may make it very difficult to communicate complex instructions. When I first arrived I wasn't 100% of what I was doing, another volunteer showed me the ropes, but other than that I didn't feel there was much guidance or support in place for the volunteers so you need to be prepared to explore and learn independently.

Homestay:
The small village in which you teach and live is surrounded by beautiful countryside and a very relaxing, tranquil place to stay. The village is very quiet and there isn't much to do other than enjoy the green but the village does come alive on a monday with the most enormous market which is great for getting lots of fruit and also just experiencing a real indian market! I loved being in such a peaceful place for 3 weeks but it is very remote and there is no internet available in the village or at the homestay unless you are able to purchase an indian sim card and even then it was very slow and often didn't connect for the other volunteer there so I wasn't able to have as much contact with my family and friends back home as maybe I would have liked.

The family I stayed with was absolutely lovely, they were caring and welcoming and made great food! The bedroom I stayed in was huge with a double bed! Which was a massive treat after living in dorms for a month backpacking.

One thing I think is important to note is that the homestay is a steep uphill 15 min walk from the village and also Upper Fagu day care centre is another 30 mins on from the village. So if you are volunteering in Upper Fagu, or really anywhere here you must be happy and comfortable with long walks daily.

You can go to Darjeeling or Kalimpong on Sunday and stay till Monday (days off from the day care centre) but they are a few hours away in an inexpensive shared jeep so I would advice asking for one day off as I did the trip with one night in Darjeeling and it was exhausting!

A great place for someone looking for greenery, rivers and to challenge their teaching abilities. Come with patience and kindness. You will gain independence and great memories with the children.

(Excellent)

17 Dec 2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Cheron)

Thank you

(Good)

16 Dec 2015

Left by Workawayer (Cheron) for host

I passed 3 weeks here but Just 2 weeks teaching because of one week holidays and after other volunteers arrived. Its important to pass more than this if you really want to build projects with the children. The class has no teaching supports so take with you what you need and connexion internet is bad here so prépare your exercices and games… read more

(Good)

17 Oct 2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Jessie)

Thank you for your feedback Jessie.
Your performance was incredible and very friendly.Hope you have enjoyed your time with us.

(Excellent)

16 Oct 2015

Left by Workawayer (Jessie) for host

I had a great time with Pawan and the crew in Gorubathan! I stayed with them for 2 weeks (which unfortunately was not enough time) and I found it a brilliant way to experience the real India whilst also giving something back. The home stays are very welcoming, providing breakfast, lunch, dinner and plenty of tea!! I spent my time working between… read more

(Very good)

15 Oct 2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Kimberley)

Thank you for your kind feedback Kim.
We are very fortunate to have you our Volunteer.

(Excellent)

14 Oct 2015

Left by Workawayer (Kimberley) for host

I came here to India in August and the hosts were very welcoming. The family that you stay with are so caring and kind and they all work so hard. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is provided for you and it is really an excellent way to experience the India culture in such a beautiful atmosphere.

The taxi journey from the airport is far, so be… read more

(Excellent)

28 Sep 2015

Left by Workawayer (Rachel) for host

I stayed a little more than a month with tufan and Pawan and teached the childeren.
I was welcomed very nicely and had a really good experince.
The idea of that projekt is good.
but when you go there you have to know that they charge something for picking you up because the aiport is really fahr away...
and also that the interacsess is only… read more

(Very good)

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Himalayan non-profit project for community needs some help in the District of Kalimpong, Near Darjeeling (India)

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Last replied

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Email verified

Badges (3)

Find your perfect host

Availability

Details

Description

Types of help and learning opportunities

Interests

UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Help

Languages spoken

Accommodation

What else ...

A little more information

Can host digital nomads

How many Workawayers can stay?

My animals / pets

This host charges a fee

Why does Workaway allow some hosts to charge a fee?

Feedback (10)

Photos

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