The idea is to bring foreign volunteers to Cambodia, experience culture, gain work experience and contribute towards new impulses and fresh ideas that may be useful in Cambodian and the volunteers' home society. All volunteer placements are individually developed and the volunteer's activities will be arranged in advance. The responsibility of the volunteer depends on his/her skills and interests. For example: A law student supports a community by sharing information on their land rights or a volunteer with skills in development work supports an organization to write reports and proposals for fundraising.

To work in our volunteer Cambodia program, the volunteers should be genuinely interested and committed to the Cambodian country and culture and work hard to improve the lives of poor people. The volunteer should be at least 18 years old. You should also be flexible and open-minded during the program as working conditions and the mentality of people in Cambodia will be very different from what your used back home.

Rustic Volunteer Travel arranges volunteer meals, accommodations and strong field supervision for the duration of projects and optional travel packages. In Cambodia, most volunteers stay in a guest house. Our guest house in Cambodia is located in a pretty community, in a very safe and clean neighborhood. There are internet cafés, restaurants, local bus stations, a police station and supermarkets near our guest house. The guest house provides is a comfortable place to relax after a long day. There are several bedrooms (which may be shared with a same-gender volunteer) and community areas. There is a shared kitchen, television and shared bathrooms, which have running water and “western-style” toilets.

Depending on the influx of volunteers or a rurally located project, accommodations could be with a host family. Host family accommodations are simple and clean homes in safe neighborhoods. Volunteers usually have a private bedroom, but occasionally rooms will be shared with a same-gender volunteer. Our host families are well screened and are respected members of their communities who live in affluent neighborhoods. Most of our host families have experience with hosting international volunteers. Host family stays are a great chance for cultural immersion and exchange.

Volunteers receive three local meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). We can provide vegetarian meal options, but needs must be detailed in a volunteer's application. Snacks and beverages outside of mealtimes are not provided; however, there are local restaurants and grocery stores near the residences in which we place volunteers.

Rustic offers unparalleled field support to volunteers to ensure a safe and rewarding experience. There are many layers of support for you. The most important support comes from our country coordinator/field staff. The secondary support comes from the host project staff and members of host families and/or a guest house staff. Volunteers will have access to our country coordinator's mobile number and they are available 24/7. Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Our field staff will visit regularly (every 2-4 weeks) to make sure things are going well and as planned. However, if placement is far from our local offices, staff members will stay in touch via email/ phone. Volunteers are also welcome to stop in the offices at any time.

Specific details regarding accommodations, food and contact details for our local coordinator will be provided in personalized volunteer placement documentation prior to arrival.

Community Development projects are available in Phnom Penh (known as the “Pearl of Asia” is home to Royal Palace , Wat Phnom, National Museum , and Toul Sleng Genocide Museum) , Pursat (temples of Angkor Wat and the Tonle Sap ) and Kampot (Bokor Mountain close to the beautiful beaches and islands in the gulf of Thailand), with shops, banks & internet cafes nearby. Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia. Khmer or Cambodian is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is pleasure of the local people to show the volunteer around and to give the volunteer an idea of country life in Cambodia. Full of distinction from traditional culture and history of the Khmer people to modern urban infrastructure infused with traditional architectural influence, still, there exists many of the amenities you would expect from a city.

Volunteers can organize different possible excursions during and after the project to visit places of interest. There is a tourist infrastructure already in place the volunteer can use during weekends. For example: markets, internet cafes, temples, boat racing festivals, Kampot Zoo, waterfalls (rapids), kampot pepper farms, art, restaurants, beaches, hotels, and many more.

Rustic Volunteer and Travels offers a variety of volunteer projects and travel packages in Cambodia . You can customize or upgrade this travel itinerary to meet your specific interests. Please contact our travel advisor for more details.