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Volunteer With Us

Living an eco-friendly lifestyle is not expensive or inconvenient at all! It’s very easy being green and giving the planet a helping hand is just a matter of making one simple change at a time. So do you want to make a difference in people’s lives and do your part in conserving the planet we live in?

We at Experiential Journeys offer great opportunities to our Tour Operator partners and clients to get involved in actual field research, in-situ conservation, community development and capacity building and conservation programmes. We welcome and value every volunteer from all walks of life. Volunteering as a means to help conserve and protect the environment comes with a lot of benefits. The first is that you’ll be taking care of our planet, which definitely needs a little love given the countless ways in which it’s currently being destroyed.

Our strong community and Government institution ties, logistical capabilities and experience with in-situ research also enables us to effectively partner with trained individuals and groups from universities and conservation groups to conduct research and hold community development programmes.

Whatever your interests, experience or skills, we assure you that we do have a role for you and since we offer programmes ranging from half a day to few months in duration, we will be able to train, mentor and support you in whatever role you choose to play.

 

Our policy in discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

Animals Are Friends Too: Discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

We at ExJ stay away from tourism experiences that are staged and involve animal cruelty and shopping traps that are contrived to exploit and deceive clients.

Even though some of the popular ‘attractions’ are not included in our programmes due to the above reasons, we have no objections in our clients making their own arrangements with our Drivers to visit these places.

 

Why we do not promote following attractions

 

Turtle Hatcheries

As this concept has serious negative aspects in terms of conservation, we do not encourage our visitors to patronize the turtle hatcheries, as not all of them are really turtle-friendly. We instead encourage them to observe turtles in their natural habitats.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

When we became aware that the animal welfare standards there were questionable, we stopped encouraging our clients to visit the orphanage. We are pleased to observe that the Born Free Foundation has now adopted similar measures.

Elephant back rides – Habarana

There’s uncertainty surrounding the attitude of this place towards animal welfare. There may be a few ethical operators, but in general, we are not in agreement with how the place is run. We all would love a photo of us riding an elephant, but is a lifetime of pain caused to these magnificent mammals really worth a few fleeting likes on social media?

Traditional Village Tour with a Canoe Trip and Bullock-Carts – Habarana

This is a tourist trap where a lot of the trip is ‘staged’ for commercial purposes. Such fake touristic experiences will not give our visitors an idea of what life in the country is really like, so join us as we show you the real side of Sri Lanka. And at the end of every vacation, always ask yourself, “Did you feel that your holiday was ethical, eco-friendly, and reduced environmental impacts?”


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