Hands On Volunteer Vacations

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They all have their projects. What's yours?

Travel philanthropy provides flexible volunteering and travelling opportunities while providing equal emphasis on the service-learning component of volunteer experiences and the fun element of vacations.

Vision

Travellers who have a greater sense of responsibility, caring and awareness.

Goal

HOVV’s goal is to provide meaningful experiences to travellers by combining fun, education and volunteering in their vacations.

What type of activities can I join?

To enhance the traveller's experience, HOVV's projects are classified into three themes:

ENVIRONMENT

Volunteer activities are aimed at raising awareness and protecting the environment - one of the best ways to get away while giving something back to Mother Nature.

LIVELIHOOD

Volunteer activities provide travellers with an experiental trip to the countryside by living and working in community, and helping train the locals to become productive in their daily lives.

HERITAGE

Volunteer activities are focused on preserving and restoring historical sites. Travellers will learn to appreciate the history and culture of the different communities.

VOLUNTEER VACATION PROJECTS:

MANILA

Volunteer Opportunities:

Breakfast Club - An opportunity for volunteers to share a morning meal with street children. Volunteers may also help facilitate activities like group dynamics on value formation, arts and crafts, and games for the children.
Youth Build - Join Habitat for Humanity's flagship project in addressing the challenges of sub-standard housing in the country.
School Refurbishing - Provide a positive atmosphere for children through beautification, renovation and repainting projects.

*Volunteers may also choose form the other service projects of the Hands On Manila Calendar of Activities.

ORIENTAL MINDORO

Volunteer Opportunities:

Production of Planting Materials - Volunteers will be involved in seed and wildling collection, in the process of preparing seedbeds and of sowing seeds, in potting seeds and wildlings, and in planting processed wildlings in pots.
Plantation Establishment - Volunteers will be involved in the preparation of planting sites - site brushing/clearing, staking, hole digging, and hauling of plating materials. Volunteers will also be involved in planting indigenous and endemic tree species for the Forest Museum.
Biodiversity Inventory/Monitoring - Volunteers will be involved in the documentation of plant and animal life in Mt. Halcon Heritage Forest Museum. Activities for the documentation are the setting up of sampling plots, collection of Flora and Fauna specimens and the processing of collected specimens.
Mangrove Planting - For those who are not into trekking, volunteers can help in the expansion of the mangrove area in order to sustain the mangroves along the coastline of Punta Beach. Protecting the mangroves is vital in providing the people living along the coastline with livelihood.

Other Places of Interest

Puerto Galera, Tamaraw Falls, Tukuran River

ALAMINOS, LAGUNA

Volunteer Opportunities

Clearing of farm land (cutting of grass and plants);
Farm maintenance (watering of plants, weeding, harvesting of fruit crops and flowers)
Tree and crop planting.

Other Places of Interest

Villa Escudero, Salud Gallery Cafe, Ugu Bigyan's Pottery

AKLAN

Volunteers may assist in various activities and projects in the area such as:

Mangrove Planting, Aklan

Engage in mangrove planting at the most successful mangrove reforested area in Asia! Take time out form the white powdered beaches of Boracay to help fight the degradation of mangroves. The Bakawan Eco-park covers 106 hectares of mangrove forest in Aklan. There are 36 hectares of mudflats that need to be planted. This project is in partnership with Uswag Development Foundation, Inc., a provincial socil development foundation that helps build, educate and support self-sufficient, empowered communities of subsistence farmers, marginal fisher folk, urban poor and the disadvantaged women and youth in Aklan.

Jawili Falls, Tangalan, Aklan

Enjoy trekking ot one of the many falls in the country. Experience Jawili Falls, long known to locals as the home of the Seven Basins. Ascend to seven pools created by a seriesw of waterfalls. Join the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in maintaining the watershed of the falls.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Clean-up and maintenance of the 7 basins of the Jawili, Tangalan
Reforestation project for the protection of the falls' watershed.

Piña Village, Kalibo, Aklan

Heritage is not only limited to historical and cultural sites. It also includes the preservation of indigenous products like piña cloth and teh piña fiber which are important products of Kalibo, Aklan.

Visit the Piña Village in the Bakhawan Eco-Tourism Park where a small group of families have dedicated themselves to creating the most intricate piña cloth: from the picking of the piña leaves to the weaving. A must-see for all to appreciate, understand and know the reason behind the high price of the product and the ecologically-sound materials that go into it.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Assistance in the actual weaving of the piña fiber
Promotion of the use of piña fiber
Development of marketing plans for piña production

Other Places of Interest:

Boracay, Jojo's Christmas Cottage, Jawili Falls

BOHOL

Bohol is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. The province is a popular destination for its beaches, resorts and historical churces. The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formation, is Bohol's most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is listed as one of the famous diving destinations. Numerous world-class resorts which dot this area cater to intrepid divers around the globe.

HOVV Bohol inlcudes three scenic and interesting sites - Dauis, Baclayon and Pamilacan Island.

Dauis

Dauis is one of the two towns on the island of Panglao and one of the oldest municipalities of Bohol. The Assumption Dauis church was erected in 1863 and its convent in 1884.

Baclayon

The oldest town in Bohol and the mother town of Alburuerque, the Baclayon has natural exotic sights, unspoiled landscapes and engineering wonders. Baclayon is 7 kilometers east of Tagbilaran City.

Pamilacan Island

Pamilacan is an 45-minute boat ride from Baclayon. It is home to a rich marine biodiversity and features white powdery sand.

Volunteer Opportunities: