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["Josh Greenman" <josh.greenman AT gmail.com>]

"The Mona Foundation (www.fundacionmona.org), a small chimpanzee
sanctuary near Barcelona, has recognised the market and is inviting
volunteers to come for just one long weekend. After two days spent
cleaning and feeding the chimps, participants have a day free to visit
Girona or Barcelona. City-break-meets-voluntourism and ticks all the
boxes for many modern tourists. The trips cost £370, excluding
flights, with all the profits ploughed back into the sanctuary."

http://society.guardian.co.uk/voluntary/story/0,,1717762,00.html

Saving the world in a weekend

Vicky Baker
Sunday February 26, 2006
The Observer

For everyone who has ever wanted to volunteer abroad but never quite
found the time comes a new type of holiday: the charity short-break.
Traditionally, going away to do charity work has meant taking a
sabbatical, renting out the house, and putting family life on hold.
Now, a growing number of charities and travel companies are offering
quick trips to do good works.

'There is a definite shift towards people wanting to help overseas,
but also wanting to incorporate their trip into their annual leave,'
says Sarah Horner, head of communications at i-to-i, a travel company
specialising in volunteer programmes (0800 011 1156; www.i-to-i.com).
'Our bookings for one- to three-week trips have risen by 122 per cent
in the last three years.'

I-to-i has already offered some weekend volunteering trips and is
currently looking into several more possibilities, including dolphin
conservation in the Canaries and looking after baboons in Cape Town.
Independent charities are also encouraging short-term volunteers. The
Mona Foundation (www.fundacionmona.org), a small chimpanzee sanctuary
near Barcelona, has recognised the market and is inviting volunteers
to come for just one long weekend. After two days spent cleaning and
feeding the chimps, participants have a day free to visit Girona or
Barcelona. City-break-meets-voluntourism and ticks all the boxes for
many modern tourists. The trips cost £370, excluding flights, with all
the profits ploughed back into the sanctuary.

But is this just a quick fix for tourists looking to appease their
consciences and travel companies looking for a new gimmick? Liz
Harris, a 25-year-old PA from Leeds, is convinced that her work was
appreciated on an animal conservation project in South Africa.
'Knowing I was only there for a week really motivated me to give it my
all,' she says.

Moreover, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (01302 572
244; www.btcv.org), says weekenders often end up getting hooked. 'Many
people want to get a taste of volunteering over a weekend,' said a
spokeswoman. 'But they may well then go on to do a whole week or
fortnight another time.'

It looks as though 'How was your weekend?' conversations in the office
are about to get a lot more interesting.