Seeing the World Through New Eyes with Kaya Responsible Travel

Today, GoAbroad features an interview with Heilwig Jones of Kaya Responsible Travel. Kaya is a United Kingdom based volunteer program providing short and long term volunteer opportunities focused on culturally and environmentally sustainable projects. Heilwig Jones is the Founder and Executive Director.

‘Kaya’ is the name of a Bob Marley album, why are you named after a reggae masterpiece?

Actually, when I was looking at names for the company, I was very conscious of all the many acronyms used by organizations, and how it’s really difficult for people to remember one over another. In terms of the work we were getting involved with, the communities form such an important part of what we do that I looked for words within the local languages that meant something. Kaya very quickly jumped out at us because it meant so much to so many of our communities. In Filipino Waray-Waray dialect it means “I can do it!”. In Zulu it means “my spiritual home”, or “the place that I belong”. For Buddhists it means “the enlightened one” – and I think it is this meaning that probably influenced Bob Marley’s naming choice, as it was term he used as slang for cannabis. I guess our volunteers are enlightened by their experiences in a slightly different way though!

What does ‘responsible travel’ mean?

As the world becomes easier to travel and more accessible to more people, we all have a responsibility to consider the impact of our visits. To respect a local culture, you need to first understand it. To ensure the local people benefit from your stay, and aren’t being taken advantage of, then you need to look behind the scenes. To make sure you are not destroying the very environment you have come to admire, then you have to seek out operators who care. For us, responsible travel is making sure we ask the right questions to find the ethical options for travelers. Through doing so, we can be sure to see behind the fake tourist fronts and experience the real world behind the scenes, immerse in the culture, step in the footsteps of locals and come away knowing that we have left something positive behind, whilst coming away with a unique, memorable and real experience. Volunteering is the main focus of what we do, but we also offer responsible trips and courses that allow people to travel responsibly and become better global citizens.

You were once a marketing guru in London, and rumor has it you created the Kylie Minogue lingerie TV ads? How could you leave all that for the un-glamorous world of volunteerism?

Haha, I worked on the Wonderbra account for many years, but unfortunately never got to meet Kylie! The world of advertising – photo-shoots and film sets – seems far more glamorous from the outside. It is mostly long hours and high-stress. Running Kaya is not too different from that really, but after every exhausting day I have the personal satisfaction of knowing that our hard work has actually made a difference to someone – not just sold some more products. Chasing glamor is like chasing a rainbow – anyone close to it knows it doesn’t really exist. Getting a crushing hug and a big smile from a child who was so malnourished the last time you saw him that he didn’t have the energy to stand up – that is a rush you don’t get from hanging out in celebrity parties.

You’re from Wales, Heilwig is a German name, you are based in Manchester…what are you?

I guess travel must be in my blood – the original global citizen! My parents are both Welsh and met at the local youth club – neither of them spoke a word of English before they went to school to learn it. My Dad was an engineer and we moved a lot with his job. I was born when my parents were working in Germany (hence the German name), then we moved to Brazil when I was three. I had friends who came from the local favelas, and that’s probably why our community work means so much to me. I know what those kids grow up with. We came back to Wales, then moved to England before I went to University in Manchester. It was such a great city that, when I left my advertising role in London to set up Kaya, it seemed like a great place to settle.

You have volunteers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and other countries. Who makes better volunteers, Brits or Americans?

We do get volunteers from every corner of the globe. The great thing about that is that volunteers get to know people from other cultures, as well as the cultures they are visiting. As far as who makes the best volunteer? – I have to say it has nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with attitude. Enthusiastic individuals who are looking out for every opportunity to jump in and lend a hand, who have empathy and time for the people they are working with, and who are flexible to adapt to the challenges and curveballs that working in the developing world brings; they are the best volunteers – regardless of age, gender, background or nationality. By picking a project that strikes a chord with you personally, people find that it awakens something inside them and they put in their heart and soul to the work. That’s what makes a great volunteer.

Are wildlife projects your most popular projects? Why?

It’s pretty equal. About half of our volunteers work on wildlife and environmental projects versus community projects. Within each of those halves there is so much variety though. Wildlife might be anything from marine work diving to collecting data on whale, sharks and coral reefs, to carrying out fieldwork in the conservation areas of the Amazon or the Masai Mara, right the way through to getting hands-on feeding or cleaning rescued animals that have been abandoned, injured, or rescued from traffickers. There are very few opportunities in our countries to see these animals, let alone get close to them, which is the big draw to the conservation projects. People also understand better now the issues within the environment and how important it is to do something about it – it’s not only about the extinction of a few species, but how that, in turn can change the whole balance of life. There is also a crossover. Many of our Wildlife projects also involve work with the local communities – helping them change their opinions or behaviors and even see the opportunities to secure the future of the these animals and the environment, whilst helping themselves and securing their futures.

What is your most unusual project?

We have just started to work on a great project in Nepal that provides education and a supportive environment to the children of women prisoners. When the mothers are jailed, most often the young children are locked away with them, despite having done nothing wrong, as there is no-one else to look after them. These kids are not given any form of support in the prisons and this project takes them outside the walls to school them and prepare them for a future that doesn’t lead to them following in their mother’s path. We also have a really unique project in Peru working with a jewellery cooperative that teaches ancient Incan techniques to disadvantaged youths that needs volunteers to help them market their products to the tourists as an alternative to the tourist ‘gem shops’ that we all hate to get taken to.

At the height of your career you quit your job and went and worked in the Tsunami relief in Thailand. Did that forever change you, can you ever return to the same existence before that experience?

My volunteering experience changed my life. I came back to the United Kingdom and went back into advertising for a while. To be honest I was better at it than before I went because I had this better world view and because I had got my energy and enthusiasm back that ten years in industry can so easily sap from you. But the one thing I had realized from my experience was that, despite being nothing but an office worker when I got to the project sites after the disaster, I had been able to make a real difference. My project management and team leading skills were as valuable as other, more practical, skills of other volunteers. I was springing out of bed in the morning – which is unheard of! Before I got involved in that, I hadn’t really know much about volunteering, and I thought it was important for people to realize that here was this great travel option, that wasn’t just for skilled people or for gap year students, but was open to everyone. Could I go back now? Probably not. If I wasn’t doing this, I would be on the ground working hands-on the projects myself. Only this way, I am not just one set of helping hands, but am ensuring hundreds of people go out and make a difference. And all those little drops can make a big splash.

You recently got married and went to volunteer in Africa with your new man. You have programs for newlyweds to volunteer together. Newlywed volunteering, will it forever replace fondu sets as wedding gifts?

My husband and I were together for six years before we got married – which apparently in the UK is the average time people are together before getting hitched. We have already visited some awesome places and laid on beautiful beaches, so for our honeymoon we wanted to do something that was different from any other holiday – one that we would never forget. We are not the only couple in that position. What we are doing is setting up options for couples like us that want to do something more important and more memorable with their honeymoon. By organizing options with your own room, or with an upgraded room, or by including some romantic trips in the weekends around a project, a couple can get the best of both worlds. And because being together so long generally means you already have a toaster and a fondue set, then you can get your wedding guests to contribute to your honeymoon volunteering experience and they can dig deep knowing that they are contributing to something worthwhile as well.

Will you be blogging from your honeymoon? Where can we follow it?

There is a weekly blog that you can read on http://kaya.goabroad.net/. We did so much on our trip that I am doing a week per country. The internet connection in Africa wasn’t always great, so I am collating my experiences since my return to match them to the best photographs and show everyone all the sights and experiences from our trip – the only thing edited out are the ones of me in a bikini – no-one needs to see that!

Every famous Welshmen I know (Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Jones and Heilwig Jones) are Jonse’s. Not a question, I just wanted to point that out.

C’mon, you’ve missed Ryan Giggs, Shirley Bassey and …..and…. OK – we have a lot of Jonses! You can see my favorite Jones clip here on You Tube – yes we really do call people “Jones-the-post”

Can you quote the ‘non-Jones’ Welshmen, Dylan Thomas, with some travel advice?

Dylan Thomas had some great insight into the bottom of a bottle, lost love and his love-hate relationship with Wales, but not a lot to say about travel. There is a great quote, though, where he stops in the middle of a rant and says “Somebody’s boring me…. I think it’s me!” I always think, if it gets to the point where you are even boring yourself, get up, get out and do something interesting instead.

If someone participates on a Kaya program what will be the thing they will remember for the rest of their life?

For the rest of their lives, whatever situations they find themselves in, they will always remember how fortunate they are. Once you have seen the way that people have to get by in some of these countries, and what they have experienced, yet how happy and positive and inspiring they can be, you put your life in context. We have projects led by the most selfless, committed people who often themselves are facing hardship – how can you care about a bad hair day or worry about trivial things after that? They will also find their eyes wide open to seeing more and doing more, because the experience plants a seed that just grows and grows, because you know that you were able to make a difference.

Tagged as: Australia, community projects, eco-travel, education abroad, environment projects, environmental, Germany, GoAbroad Interview, Heilwig Jones, international education, international experience, international volunteer, Kaya Responsible Travel, Nepal, Peru, responsible travel, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), University of Manchester, volunteer abroad, volunteer opportunities, volunteer programs, Wales, Welsh language, wildlife volunteer