Travelfish #348: Cleaning up Bali’s trash for $15 + Volunteering + North Sumatra

Everywhere is on the way to somewhere Hi all, My apologies for the two week newsletter hiatus—health issues and a bit of travel conspired against getting it out. I’ve not however spent the entire time on the therapy couch (thankfully) and the first of our new North Sumatra coverage, to [Bukit Lawang]( and [Berastagi]( is now online—Lake Toba coming this week. [A little upriver from Jungle Inn. The water is as cool as it looks. Photo: Stuart McDonald] A little upriver from Jungle Inn. The water is as cool as it looks. Photo: Stuart McDonald This week the soapbox is with Sally Hetherington and is all about volunteering in Cambodia. Hope you find it interesting! Good travels, Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew Support Travelfish! If you'd like to chip in (if you haven’t already) for using the site, we'd love you to sign up for a year-long subscription for just A$35. [See more here](. Soapbox Would you pay US$10 to help “fix” Bali’s plastic emergency? This week a [series of news stories]( did the rounds regarding a planned US$10 “arrival tax” for foreign tourists flying into Bali. According to the news, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said that, along with tackling plastic waste, the fee would “provide better security and services for tourists”. No details have yet emerged exactly what programmes the money would go towards, but a few issues spring to mind. [The outlook from the related Kuta Langis Ecolodge. Wow. Photo: Stuart McDonald] The outlook from the related Kuta Langis Ecolodge. Wow. Photo: Stuart McDonald For starters, if such a fee is to be levied, it should be levied on all passengers—not just the foreign ones as all arrivals generate a share of the trash which Bali is struggling to cope with. Secondly, in a nation of over 200 million people, where waste disposal often leaves much to be desired right across the archipelago, concentrating the fee only on foreigners, to just one airport in the country, seems a bit like a drop in the ocean. As anyone who has been to any of the beaches in Indonesia, plastic and rubbish is a massive problem right across the country. Thirdly, Bali has a number of independent organisations running their own, relatively successful, recycling programmes, but we’ve heard of a number of these programmes which have been banned from collecting waste for recycling by the local banjars (local community organisations). Why? Because the banjar only makes a cut on the waste collection that they organise. [Gunung Sibayak is quite spectacular. Photo: Stuart McDonald] Gunung Sibayak is quite spectacular. Photo: Stuart McDonald And this third point highlights the biggest challenge to widespread acceptance of this new charge: Transparency. Where will the money go? What programmes will it fund? What does “better security and services for tourists” actually mean and what on earth do either of these have to do with plastic waste? So yes, while we applaud any step towards reducing waste on the island, we think this tax could be considerably better thought through to maximise its impact. Good travels Stuart Premium members only: Book a round the world with [roundtheworldflights.com]( (must travel from the UK via Asia, Australia, New Zealand AND the Americas) and get £30pp off your trip. Offer valid for departures to December 2019. Log in to the Member Centre on Travelfish now for your coupon code and [start designing your own round the world trip »]( Talking Travel Every week we publish a Q&A, this week we’re talking to Sally Hetherington of the [Human and Hope Organisation](. She also has an upcoming book coming out—[read more about it here](. Can you tell our readers a little about yourself please? When I was 25 with an aim to make a difference, I packed up my belongings and bought a one-way ticket to [Cambodia](. Originally running a foreign-volunteer program in [Siem Reap]( I realised I had been falsely sold the message that sustainable development couldn’t occur without ongoing support from international volunteers. Recognising my errors, I spent the next four years building up the community centre, [Human and Hope Association]( with a team of local staff. I successfully made herself redundant in 2016, and the organisation is now entirely locally-led and run. I now lead Human and Hope Association Incorporated, a registered charity in Australia that fundraises and advocates for the cause. You say that when you first came out wanting to make a difference, at that time, what was your view of volunteering? Having been a voluntourist the year before I made the move to Cambodia, I honestly thought that foreign volunteers were crucial to helping the country. I naively (and I suppose, arrogantly) assumed that there weren’t qualified Cambodians who had the education and experience to do this work themselves. And what is your view now? Now I realise that for sustainable change to happen, it needs to be the local community taking charge. They are the subject matter experts, they know the community and culture well, and they are there for the long-term. I am passionate about raising awareness about the pitfalls of international voluntourism and encouraging Australian citizens to help people in low-income countries in ethical, empowering and sustainable ways. So, what changed it? Was there a single moment when you thought, no I am doing this all wrong, or was it more of a gradual transition? There was a gradual transition over a year or so. Initially, I thought I was doing an incredibly important job. The future of Cambodia was in my hands. However, as time went by, I started to question my work and impact of it. The ethics of it and the consequences of it. I witnessed local staff who became complacent and disempowered after having foreign volunteers, mostly with no teaching experience, taking over their jobs. I sat by as children developed attachment issues due to the revolving door of volunteers. I organised activities for a group of rich philanthropists to come and play with the children for an afternoon, in the hope we could source funds to keep the organisation running for the next few months. I realised that I wasn’t solving a problem. I was creating a problem; we were sending a message to the local community that change couldn’t happen without the involvement of foreign volunteers. You mention local empowerment being so important, why do you think it is this isn’t always highlighted in volunteering organisations? Unfortunately, many volunteering organisations strive to make the volunteers happy, often at the expense of the empowerment of the local staff. Think about how you would feel if you were employed at an organisation and there was a revolving door of volunteers, often with no experience, coming in and taking over your role. It would most likely reduce your confidence; make you second-guess your ability and result in your disempowerment. Do you think people should have to pay to volunteer? Why or why not? No. If an NGO really is in need of your help, they won’t ask you to pay or fundraise for them. If they are asking for a fee, or a ‘donation’, chances are that they are only accepting volunteers as a money generating mission. What you should be looking for is organisations who, for whatever reason, don’t have local access to help and genuinely need your help to share your skills with their local team. Short time volunteering - yes or no? No, unless it is to share a skill that can’t possibly be gained from locals (i.e. a specialised surgery technique). Volunteering with kids—what are your views on how organisations in Cambodia handle this? Organisations should not allow volunteers to work directly with children. For stability and in order for the NGO to form a trustworthy relationship with community members, the local staff should be the faces of the organisation. Your work as a (preferably) long-term volunteer should focus on working directly with staff to build up their skills, fundraise or create policies that all the staff have input on. Please tell our readers about a significant challenge you faced and how you addressed it. Many people who support overseas organisations want to be involved directly; my biggest hurdle in building up Human and Hope Association was building a database of donors who trusted in the ability of the local staff and were happy to observe from far. I learnt to say no to people who wanted to volunteer or have a say over the day-to-day operations. I am proud to say I always put our values first, and over the years have built up a dedicated group of donors who understand that the local approach to development is the best approach. Although this was difficult and took time, it resulted in sustained growth. There are so many organisations doing work in Cambodia, which are a few you would like to point our readers to? [Human and Hope Association]( is of course an organisation I encourage readers to research, as they are leading the way in sustainable, grassroots development. Another favourite of mine is the social enterprise, [Cambodia Knits]( a social enterprise working with marginalized communities in and near Phnom Penh. They produce beautiful, high quality and unique hand-made products while providing fair and flexible employment opportunities. The founder, Monika Nowaczyk truly believes in the empowerment of marginalised communities and puts people before profit. Sally has a book on her experiences on the way—[find out more about it here](. Travelfish partners [Browse the internet safely]( When we travel we always use TunnelBear VPN to secure our browsing. This reduces the risk from dodgy WiFi networks and idiotic ISPs who inject ads into our browsers. Use the internet safely with TunnelBear. TunnelBear offer a free 7-day trial or use it selectively and enjoy [500meg of data per month for free](. Ten things worth reading The children growing up in a ‘motherless village’ “As the children file in, in their bright headscarves and checked sarongs, [the teacher lists the countries where their parents are](. "Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, this one Arab, this one Malaysia," she says.” Three Thais accused of insulting king have disappeared “Three Thai activists facing charges of insulting the monarchy have disappeared after reportedly being arrested in Vietnam, rights groups said on Friday, months after two exiled critics of the military and monarchy [turned up dead]( Hell Is Other People’s Vacations “What’s more, the travel industry is expected to consume 92 percent more water in 2050 than it did in 2010, and [189 percent more land]( The brutal ‘industrial enterprise’ of black-market tiger trafficking “Yes, the most amazing thing was that you would be driving down these roads in Laos that were rural, and, all of a sudden, you would come upon some gates, and beyond those gates was something of an industrial enterprise, that they could [farm hundreds of tigers in these places]( Maya Bay closure extended for ‘at least’ two more years “After the reopening, [a series of measures]( will be imposed on Maya Bay and adjacent Loh Sama Bay, located within Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, so as to limit the number of tourists and bar tour boats from entering through the front bay.” Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin Population Decreases Further “According to surveys conducted by WCS, the number of Irrawaddy dolphins found in the protection zone [was fewer than 20 between 2007-2009](. That number increased dramatically after 2010 to 86.” Northern Thailand was once a paradise. Now forest fires have made the air worse than Beijing’s. “And for Chiang Mai and its environs, that was the beginning, [not the end]( of northern Thailand’s trouble with air pollution.” A Peek Into What It’s Like To Be Queer In Brunei “The violence at home is upfront, whereas there is [a degree of separation]( from the violence you face on the streets.” Two Reuters reporters freed in Myanmar after more than 500 days in jail “The report the two men authored, featuring testimony from perpetrators, witnesses and families of the victims, [was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting]( in May, adding to a number of accolades received by the pair for their journalism.” The 14 Essential Restaurants in Chiang Mai, Thailand “Where to find pork curries, spicy fried chicken, and [bowl after bowl]( of the creamy regional specialty, khao soi, in the calm, creative haven of northern Thailand.” Something to read Dogs at the Perimeter “Dogs at the Perimeter, by Canadian author Madeleine Thien, traverses the life of Janie, a medical researcher who settled in Canada as a child [after fleeing the horror of the Cambodian genocide]( Travel shot [Are we there yet? Please? Photo: Stuart McDonald] Are we there yet? Please? Photo: Stuart McDonald Till next time [Sam and Stuart.] That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia. Travel light! Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team [( You're receiving the Travelfish newsletter because you signed up at Travelfish.org. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe Instantly](. Make sure you're getting our emails! If you're a Gmail user and would prefer your Travelfish newsletter in your Primary in-box rather than Promotions, just drag this email from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab, and click "yes" when it asks if you want to do that for all of our emails. 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