Volunteer Programs in Chiang Rai, Thailand

Poverty is prevalent in Chiang Rai, especially in rural areas and hill tribe villages throughout the province, where there is limited access to quality education. Only small portions of the population obtain quality jobs (teaching, hospital workers, etc.) and can therefore afford to send their children to private schools, where they receive a good education and often times have Western English teachers.

The majority of children go to low budget government schools that cannot afford to pay foreign teachers. This leaves most of the children lacking English language skills, in a country that continues to develop more and more jobs that require the latter skill. Those who volunteer in Chiang Rai shouldn’t have difficulty communicating with program providers however, because reputable volunteer organizations typically have at least one staff member that can speak a little bit of English. Many local teachers can speak some English as well, so volunteers can almost always get by without knowing any Thai.

Teaching English. English teaching in Chiang Rai is the most popular and prevalent type of volunteer placement. In 2015, the 10 countries (including Thailand) that make up ASEAN will begin using English as their official language of business, which makes learning English even more important for school children in Thailand, since many future job opportunities will therefore depend upon their ability to understand and make use of the English language. There are schools all across the province of Chiang Rai, and volunteer programs that are actively seeking both long and short term volunteers to teach English in Chiang Rai, as well as other subjects (art, sports, music, etc.) in English. The length of teaching placements in Chiang Rai can range from one week to one year depending on the program.

Sustainable & Organic Farming. One thing that anyone who chooses to volunteer in the rural areas in Chiang Rai will notice is that the land is extremely fertile. While people may not earn a lot of money in these areas, high quality food is abundant. There are several volunteer programs in rural areas that offer volunteer opportunities for people who would like to get involved in organic and sustainable farming. It offers volunteers a chance to learn about gardening and sustainable local food sources while contributing to the community’s food security. Often times the farming projects are often located at local schools and are used to produce the food needed to feed the children who attend the school. Some volunteer organizations in Chiang Rai offer dual placements where volunteers can teach English and do farm work in the same time period, but generally farming placements can range from one week to several months.