Amie Holt

The term is an inversion of “service-learning”, which is what volunteering is often called in academic settings – because we believe that for effective volunteering, “learning” needs to come first. This means not rushing into action as soon as you land in a country, but taking the time to explore and understand the complex issues facing that place and seeing where your skill set best fits. This means taking the time to understand the culture of the place you are visiting, spending time (and money) in local places with local people, and taking steps to minimize the social and environmental impacts of your visit. People willing to pay for a certain type of volunteer experience means that unscrupulous individuals can set up opportunities that cater to the demand – fake animal sanctuaries, projects that paint the same wall over and over again, and medical volunteering for those with no health background – all fall into this category.

Negative impacts can be new westernized restaurants put in place above mom and pop shops, countries relying solely on tourism for money, mass-produced souvenir shops overtaking local artisans and creating large amounts of environmental waste, it all comes full circle and goes directly with how we spend our money, and we want to put our money towards local guides, local shops, and not contributing to over tourism. The other steps I will be taking to offset my carbon emissions while traveling is by donating to carbon offsetting projects (as I mentioned before), flying with more sustainable airlines, take more direct flights, walk more, carpool, hire local drivers rather than hiring my own car, support sustainable companies and products, reducing my waste, reusing and repurposing old products, and recycling the waste that I do create. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

We are the world’s first online marketplace with payment tech for fashion artisans who don’t have bank accounts. We also enable collaborations between international designers and artisans, so artisans are expanding their product range and learning new design skills as they work with us. We have set up relationships with bodies that are already working with artisans, including UNHCR, World Vision, and local NGO’s and artisan dealers. As they didn’t have a bank account, they couldn’t access the payment systems that Etsy, or any online shop, required.

In order to keep my capsule wardrobe minimal, I bought two sets of coat hangers ( about twenty in total ) and have decided that if I don’t have a hanger in my wardrobe for a piece, I won’t buy it. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)