(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.
(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.
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.
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.

at a school in Cambodia

at a summer camp near Chernobyl, Ukraine

in Soroti, Uganda

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.

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Growth

CTO

Travel Experience Manager

Operations

Content & Ops

Social Media & Content

Partnerships & Local Relations

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Kenya

Local Coordinator Thailand

Local Coordinator Thailand

Country Manager Cambodia

Country Manager Vietnam
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 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).
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.
(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.
It doesn't work like someone shows up and, by magic, a fitting project appears for a fortnight.
The projects we work with:
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.

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:
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:
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.

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:

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.

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.

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