Why we exist

(and why we do what we do)

We're here to help build a more open, thoughtful society, starting with travel that connects people and supports local communities.

Travel is a brilliant thing.
But tourism, the way it often works today, can do more harm than good.

  • Overcrowded cities.

  • Flying visits.

  • Places used as a backdrop for photos.

  • Trips built to be posted, not lived.

We're here to do the opposite.

Travel, brought back to what it's for

For us, travel means:

Time well spent, not a tick-list

People, not just photos

Being there, not consuming

It means living in a place.
Getting to know the people who call it home.
Sharing everyday life, not just the highlights.

So the kind of travel we believe in is made of:

Building skills

Practical support for local projects

Friendships that last longer than a week

That's why HeyLocals exists.

For people who want to travel thoughtfully, openly, and on a human scale.

How we got here

HeyLocals didn't start with a marketing plan.
It started with first-hand experiences.

We spent long stretches living in places that were very different from where we grew up.

Valentina at a school in Cambodia

Valentina

at a school in Cambodia

Trips that changed how we see the world, our differences, and our privilege.

Different places, different stories, same common thread.

When you actually live somewhere new, with new people, you don't come back quite the same.

That's where the seed for HeyLocals was planted.

Our Team

Giovanni Sala

Giovanni Sala

Partnerships & Local Relations

Some of our local coordinators and country managers

Quyen

Quyen

Country Manager Vietnam

From idea to working project

HeyLocals was officially founded in 2025. A few months in:

active projects around the world

people have joined our community

Not because we promise miracles.

But because the way we see travel is a little different, and more and more people feel the same way.

Our travellers at the environmental project in Nusa Penida, Bali.

Our travellers at the environmental project in Nusa Penida, Bali.

Our travellers with the local team at the community project in Nakuru, Kenya.

Our travellers with the local team at the community project in Nakuru, Kenya.

Our travellers with the local team at the community project in Vietnam (with our local coordinator, MJ).

Our travellers with the local team at the community project in Vietnam (with our local coordinator, MJ).

What we believe

We're not here to change the world with a slogan.

We're here to change how people travel.

Because when you change how you travel:

  • you change how you see other people

  • you change how you experience places

  • and a bit of you shifts too

That's how we think a more open society starts to form, not from grand gestures, but from lots of people travelling, living somewhere new, and coming home with a different perspective.

Why we're different

(and why we might not be right for you)

We're building the kind of organisation we wish we'd found when we first started travelling and spending time in different cultures.

That means letting go of a few habits the industry treats as normal, and being clear about what we do, how we do it, and what difference it actually makes.

What we do differently, in practice

It doesn't work like someone shows up and, by magic, a fitting project appears for a fortnight.

The projects we work with:

  • already exist, often for many years (15 on average)
  • run year-round
  • are led by local people, with 100% local staff
  • are active on the ground every day

Simple idea: the project doesn't exist because travellers turn up, travellers join something that already works.

If an activity looks like it's been built just to make someone feel useful, or sits in an ethical grey area, we leave it alone.

Better to pass on a project than to tell a story that doesn't stand up.

No projects invented for the occasion

We're not "Barbie Saviors".

We don't set out to "save" anyone. And we won't promise to "change someone's life" in a few days.

What actually happens is more practical, and often more interesting:

  • you join activities that already exist
  • you help where it's useful, with what you can offer
  • you learn a lot, often more than you expected
  • you share time, routines and everyday life

It's not about being "better". It's about being there, properly.

When people from different backgrounds spend time together doing real things, something good comes out of it: new ideas, new perspectives and proper exchanges.

You could call it positive cross-pollination. And that's where slightly more open, thoughtful societies start to grow, not from grand symbolic gestures.

The place matters, of course. But the people often matter even more.

So even if you travel solo:

  • you're never really on your own
  • there are local coordinators on the ground every day
  • you get practical, logistical and human support

Not someone who just "manages", but people who become real points of reference while you're there.

Many of the projects sit within international networks, so travellers from different countries arrive throughout the year. That makes for a naturally shared environment built on conversation and exchange.

When that isn't the case, we do something simple: we organise group trips, so people with the same motivation travel together.

No one left on their own

Every meaningful trip has a real cost.

And if you want that work to last, how the money is used matters.

That's why a significant part of the fee:

  • goes back into the local project
  • helps pay coordinators and local staff
  • supports the growth and continuity of projects, funding infrastructure and activities directly
  • lets the project improve facilities, take on more people and run with stability
No race to the lowest price

We work to keep fees as accessible as possible, including the things that often aren't standard on a regular trip, like meals, accommodation, transport and on-site coordination. We also want what travellers pay to come back to them in support, safety, comfort, and the contribution to the local project.

We don't sell "free volunteering", because more often than not, that ends up being a cost for the host organisation.

What we offer is a complete experience, with support, safety and a community side, that builds a healthy cycle: local projects can work well and with continuity, and we can keep growing this way of travelling through our team's work.

No race to the lowest price

Example: Greenway School in Cambodia is a non-profit we work with, set up to support up to 500 students in rural areas. Following the Covid crisis and the funding cuts that came with it, it currently supports around 250 students. With the help of volunteers and the financial support we provide, the goal over the next two years is to be back to supporting all 500.

Doing things well on a small scale matters. But our goal goes a little further.

There are plenty of organisations doing valuable social work. What we want to add is something that's often missing: the ability to grow and involve more people without losing what makes the work matter, so the change actually scales.

So we have a simple but ambitious idea.

By 2035, one in ten young people should have done at least one social-impact trip.

Not because it's a tagline, but because we believe in the way these experiences spread.

On average, a person has a close circle of about a dozen friends. If, in every group, one person has actually been on a trip like this, that story starts to circulate, raise questions and shape other people's choices.

It's not forced growth. It's organic.

When a trip really sticks with you, it doesn't stay private. It changes how you see things and, without you trying, it shifts the people around you too. That's how we imagine change actually happens: not from a handful of perfect examples, but from many lived experiences that quietly add up.

An ambitious goal

Ready for a trip that actually means something?

Have a look at our volunteering projects and find the destination that fits.

Work with us

A young company, a clear mission, lots of responsibility. We're always on the lookout for people who want to join the team.

See open roles