The Best Workaway Experiences for Eco-Warriors
When you think of an eco-warrior you maybe picture a hemp-wearing hippy who can quote Greta Thunberg. However, eco-warriors should actually be every single one of us! We each have a part to play in protecting our planet and here at Workaway, we have literally THOUSANDS of projects that can support your Eco-warrior ways.
Many people assume caring for the planet just involves recycling and reducing our carbon footprint. This is why you may think eco-friendly projects are limited to farming or beach clean-ups and the main reason why we’ve created this guide. We want to prove we can all support sustainability and most importantly, we all should.
So, we’ve rounded up not only the best Workaway experiences for eco-warriors but how to find the perfect project that supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sounds fancy huh?
Grab your hemp hareem pants and we’ll get started 😉
What are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
If your passion for the planet has led you to the host search box, there is actually a super-easy way to find hosts that are equally as excited about the environment. Once you hit search, look for hosts with the colourful “Sustainable project icon”. This means they support the SDG’s.
Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals that the UN is committed to working towards with the hope of creating lasting positive change and freedom in the general areas of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.
The purpose of these goals is to create a framework for development programs that will focus on eradicating poverty, hunger, violence, fear, and disease. Replacing those with education, equality, human rights, sanitation and physical, mental, and social well-being.
So yeah, a lot more than a few beach clean-ups!
For hosts with the sustainable project icon, the goals which they support will be shown in a section on their profile – that way you can find a project that aligns with your mission too!
Don’t Forget to Filter
Alongside the SDG’s, another way to find your kind of folk is when you search on the host list use the filter option to select “help with eco-projects”. Don’t forget you can also filter by keywords so try terms such as “sustainable, self-sufficient, permaculture, non-profit, eco-friendly” etc.
That way, you tailor the search results to be a list of your dream projects. Talking of dream projects, we’ve rounded up a sample of examples from our fellow eco-warrior hosts to help build your bucket list.
Found your kind of people? Now it’s time to find your kind of project….
Animal Welfare
Pollution and plastic are not only ruining the planet for our future generations, but it’s causing havoc to habitats and disrupting food chains around the world for animals too. This is why animal welfare projects are ideal for eco-warriors who are passionate about protecting the planet for ALL creatures, not just us humans.
Here are just a handful of some of the amazing animal welfare projects you can be a part of with Workaway.
Whale Watching Flights in Sri Lanka
Work closely with leading whale watching researchers & organizations to gather data on whales in the wild – all from the sky!
Help create a self-sufficient eco horse and animal sanctuary in Tenerife, Spain
Help create a self-sufficient eco horse and animal sanctuary in Tenerife, Spain
Stay in the comfort of a cave house or Mongolian yurt and help to rehabilitate horses under the Spanish sun.
Help create a bushland sanctuary on beautiful Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Use your skills to help transform the land into a sanctuary for native wildlife to seek refuge and prosper.
Animal rescue help and get back into the wild at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Canada
Watch everything from a cougar to a moose as you support this non-profit to protect Canada’s precious wildlife.
Do the Rockies sound a little cold? How about the jungle in Bolivia!
Volunteer at Wildlife Rescue Center in the Jungle at Rurrenabaque. Not only will you support wildlife rehabilitation, but also work in coordination with the indigenous communities of the area.
Say Hello to an NGO
An NGO stands for a non-governmental organization. It is a non-profit group that aims to better the world in various ways such as supporting human rights, advocating for better health etc. The good news is there are thousands of NGO’s around the world, all on a mission to improve our planet. The bad news is, many charge travellers expensive fees to be part of these projects.
However, you may not realise there are many NGO hosts on Workaway. That means you can find the perfect non-profit to share your skills without the agency fees! To get an idea of the wonderful work NGO’s do, take a look at the list below:
Help with the first steps of opening an interculture Centre NGO on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
With an aim to promote interculturalism, this host proposes a new relation between humans, rich in diversity and eco-conscious, through workshops and classes. You can also learn about a socio-ecological balance living in eco-constructed cabins and learning organic gardening!
Interested in creating lasting change within vulnerable communities?
Support this NGO in Chikwawa-Malawi. Here you can join community projects in three core areas: health & agriculture, education & gender or community radio programmes.
Help a young and growing non-profit nature conservation organization in Leutenberg, Germany
Immerse yourself in the Thuringian Forest in the heart of Germany helping to harvest apples and create cider.
Plant those Sustainable Seeds in Schools
What better way to protect our planet than by teaching future generations the importance of sustainability? Children are the leaders of tomorrow, so a Workaway opportunity within a school is the perfect way to spread your message far and wide.
The joy of a Workaway school experience is that not only are you planting the seed for sustainability with future generations, but those kids will go home and discuss your lessons with parents, grandparents and neighbours. Your warrior ways will spread far when you start them young!
Experience Nepali village life with this school and NGO
From cooking to computers, this inspiring host is on a mission to provide quality education – with the help of people like you!
Help fight Climate Change by Planting Trees in Ugandan Schools!
If you want to stay with likeminded people, host Ronald is a professional environmentalist, farmer and climate change activist! His mission is to re-green depleting areas while empowering children to tackle climate change.
Teach Spanish at an ecological care and learning project for youngsters in Brummen, Netherlands
Based on ecology, permaculture and performance arts this is a school with a difference, making a difference!
Teach school kids about the environment and self-sustainable lifestyle choices in Gangapur, Rajasthan, India
Use your eco-warrior knowledge to support this school as they ensure that the next generation of kids are educated about sustainable ways of living.
Roll Up Your Sleeves on a Permaculture Project
What better way to appreciate our beautiful planet than living off-grid as part of a permaculture project. Permaculture projects focus on the development of agricultural ecosystems that are self-sufficient – essentially producing more than you consume.
If you fancy getting your hands dirty, but the planet greener these are the perfect Workaway experiences for you:
Support with landscaping, organic gardening, fruit trees, wood and bamboo projects and more in Northland, New Zealand
Stay in a house made from local clay and surround yourself with the stunning subtropical Far North of New Zealand. Assist with composting, landscaping, renovating and even brewing beer!
Help to create a mindful food forest and organise language camps for local children in Waldbröl, Germany
These inspiring hosts are on a simple mission, “We want to inspire people to become self-sufficient and live in a sustainable way”. If that’s you too, take a look at this project:
Support sustainability at a Magical Treehouse eco-lodge in Brazil
These inspiring hosts are looking for Workawayers who also want to focus on permaculture, planting organic, recycling materials to the maximum and bio-building at their retreat surrounded by hundreds of waterfalls!
Help with growing food, permaculture or teaching in San Kamphaeng Chiang Mai, Thailand
With an aim to create a permaculture education centre & playground, they need your help to promote the freedom to learn, non-violent communication, permaculture, arts, cooking and languages.
Grab Your Snorkel & Head For The Sea
If a permaculture project on land isn’t for you, perhaps your mermaid ways will enjoy a sea focused project. This round-up of hosts include a plastic scientist on a beach cleaning mission and an underwater gardener – how cool is that?
Pack your swimsuit as you’re going to love these Workaway experiences:
Help to build a house from trash while supporting organic farming and many other projects in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
With a focus on environmental awareness, these guys need your help to spread the word through English classes and creative recycling!
Work in a plastic scientist lab and promote DIY plastic recycling in Metro Manila, The Philippines
Not only does this epic host do beach clean-ups while promoting DIY plastic recycling, but they also have a scientific lab where they design and build plastic recycling equipment.
Not only will you help care for the environment from land to ocean in stunning Kenya, but these hosts turn plastic into products such as jewellery, lampshades and more!
Alongside planting trees and plastic cleanups, they educate the local community on the importance of environmental care through dance, plays and song!
Are you ready to dive into the Tioman Island Conservation Project in Malaysia?
These guys live, breathe (and swim!) sustainability with a focus on raising awareness of recycling, coral reefs, beach cleans and SO much more. Did we mention the host is a professional dive instructor, sailing skipper AND underwater gardener?
Although this is just a snippet of the insanely exciting projects available on Workaway, we hope you are feeling inspired into action. With such a variety of projects, it couldn’t be easier to get involved, educate and inspire others with your passion for the planet.
We hope the diversity of these projects also prove that every single one of us can take responsibility for the environment in some way. From counting whales in the wild to building sustainable sculptures from plastic, your next Workaway could literally, help save the world.
Now that’s what we call an eco-warrior!
About Lauren
Growing up in a small coastal village in Scotland inspired Lauren to seek adventure and challenge the norm. Armed with just her backpack and trusty travel companion Darren, she quit her day job to liv
