Travel, Volunteering and Meditation

The International Volunteer Programs Association has planned a trip this year to take volunteers deep into the heart of India where they can help on conservation, eco-tourism, education, environment and other types of projects. GoNOMAD.com features the trip in their article A Spiritual Adventure in the Himalayas.

“Volunteer for an Eco-Spiritual Tour in the heart of the Himalayan Mountains in Leh-Ladakh, just next to Tibet. A charitable contribution you participate in as you travel.

In August 2006, 10 Tour Members will spend 10 days in the environmental landscape and religious culture of the Ladakh region of northern India. The combination of a strikingly beautiful, yet fragile ecology and the mystical rich heritage of the Buddhist culture provides the ideal setting for combining eco-tourism and spiritual awareness. Our non-profit tour program is based on participant funding where Tour Members will do simple volunteer work in areas of alternative energy, biodiversity, water resources, waste cleanup, agriculture, endangered species and glacial movement.

While on tour, members will be immersed in the spiritual nature of the region by visiting ancient monasteries, interacting with Buddhist monks and lamas, attending summer harvest festivals, learning Buddhist meditation and making mandalas. Global Eco-Spiritual Tours is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that contributes to educational and health care needs of children in developing countries in our tour area through our member donations.

Highlights: 2005 tour highlights included planting 36 sapling trees, bottling 80 liters of spring water, donating 3 solar panels, visiting 9 monasteries, nightly meditation sessions with our spiritual leader, making two sand mandalas, attending Buddhist meditation technique seminar, attending cultural events and a 3-day trek through the Himalayan Mountains. Our new activity for the tour includes a river raft ride down Indus River prior to afternoon tree planting. “