Certified Poop Scooper
How did I get here, on my own in a remote indigenous village with a boatload of plantains?
Volunteering is connecting me to unexpected places. Six weeks assisting tour groups in Guna Yala, aka the San Blas Islands, led me to Armila. This jungle landscape is where the rivers of Darien Gap meet the sea. It’s a unique place that moves at its own pace. It only connects to the world to pirate Champions League livestreams on Starlink.
My Guna colleagues invited me into their huts to eat with their families. They introduced me around. Everyone was a familiar face. It made this village feel like home. A feeling made possible by volunteering.
Extended travel unveils the weight of volunteering. It sources different ways to sustain the journey. It re-centres in moments of disconnection.
In travel’s transience it can make a dog shelter feel like a home. Time to connect whilst poop scooping. Space to ground (preferably post-poop scoop). A chance to dive into a niche.
Ground Time
An eye needs to stay on travel burnout. Rest is a paradox to a holiday if always moving. The itinerary fills with endless things to do and see. Load the schedule too much and there’s a forgetting to be.
Travel has endless heart-opening privileges. There are pressures to continuously seek expansions. Without integration, this gives less time to feel the gravity of the events.
I begin to struggle to sit in the beauty of where I am. Guilt rushes through. How can I not enjoy what a small percentage of people get to experience?
Volunteering is an anchor here. It encourages growth in stillness. Intention to land into a place and routine. Supporting another whilst reconnecting to purpose.
Temporary Homes
Stay in a place long enough it starts feeling like home. A familiar neighbourhood softens the body. Weeks with the same people.
Surface level travel conversations switch to deep chats. Time to discover each other’s humour. Sharing moments in silence.
Immersions
Intense environments allow parts of you to thrive. The learning curve is steep. It’s a game of catch-up until you adjust. Showing up daily offers moments of flow. What was once a struggle now feels automatic.
Volunteering can be the deep dive you need. A low pressure environment to let something grow. Surrounding yourself with native speakers to improve a language. Helping a latin dance school to deepen a connection with salsa.
Exchanging
Maybe there’s already something you can offer. Skills are transferrable. Hosts don’t ask for much. You could cut costs to let a passion breathe.
A volunteer project I’m proud to have launched is my Guna Yala Postcard Set. Six postcards from six weeks supporting tours on the San Blas Islands.
I want to keep the money in the community. All profits of this set go to resourcing Caledonia Dance School. Buying a postcard nourishes the beautiful ‘Danza Guna’. Support the next generation of dancers here.
