How we choose volunteer projects
For many people this is their first volunteering experience abroad, and often also their first trip outside Europe. The right questions are simple: how do you understand whether a project is serious? Who is there on site? And how do you prepare me before I leave?
Here you will find a simplified version of the method we use, together with our local partners, to select and monitor projects. It is not the full operating manual: it is a readable explanation of the criteria, questions and checks that make a departure clearer, better prepared and better suited to the person travelling.
The goal is not to scare you with procedures. It is to show you that behind every project there are real people, roles, rules and references.
The funnel: the 5 filters every project must pass
In our catalogue you will find a selection of projects in more than 15 countries. What you do not see is everything that is not there: the projects that did not enter, or that left. Every project, to enter and remain in the catalogue, must pass five filters, in order:
A project that stops passing even one filter leaves the catalogue.
The 5 criteria, explained one by one
1. Real need
The founding question, which you have already read on our page about where the money goes, is this: would this project work without volunteers? If the answer is no, if the project exists only to host foreigners, it is out. We look for schools, centres and programmes that the community has built for itself, where the volunteer amplifies work that already exists.
2. Local leadership
The stable staff is local: coordinators, teachers, host families, cooks. This is not only an economic choice; it is a safety choice. The people who welcome you know the language, the area and the community, and can read situations that a foreign escort would not even see. People working in contact with volunteers are checked, trained on the code of conduct and subject to precise rules (for example: staff do not enter volunteer accommodation without notice and a reason). And it works both ways: as you will see below, you also sign a code of conduct.
3. Clear volunteer role
Before leaving you know what you will do, with what hours and what limits. You support the staff; you never replace them. No educational, health or technical responsibilities that require qualifications you do not have. On projects involving minors this criterion becomes even stricter: activities are always alongside local staff, never as an emotional reference figure. This is why you will never find certain formats with us, such as short-term orphanage volunteering, as we explain in the red flags of our guide to organisations.
4. Accommodation and safety standards
"Accommodation included" can mean almost anything, so we define it: facilities visited and reassessed over time, rules on food and water hygiene, basic safeguards (fire extinguishers, evacuation plans, first-aid kit, mosquito nets where needed) and a safety briefing during the arrival week, with emergency contacts given to every volunteer. It is not hotel comfort, and we say that immediately: it is a safety standard, not a luxury standard.
5. Continuous monitoring
Selection never ends. For each risk area there is a formal assessment updated periodically, and every volunteer who returns is effectively an inspector: the feedback of those who come back is our strictest audit, because testimonials cannot be controlled. A problem reported twice is a pattern, and a pattern opens a review.
Risk management, explained simply
Safety does not come from a reassuring sentence at the bottom of a page. It comes from practical choices: where we operate, who we work with, what rules we give, how we prepare you and who you can call if something is wrong.
For each area we assess two things: how serious a problem would be and how likely it is to happen. Then we put simple, concrete controls in place. A road accident remains serious anywhere in the world; using authorised drivers, checked vehicles and limits on travel makes it much less likely. That is the point of the system.
| Risk area | Likelihood without controls | With controls | Examples of active controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Authorised drivers only, checked and maintained vehicles, limits on speed and driving hours |
| Food and water | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Kitchen hygiene, checked water, clear guidance on risky street food |
| Mosquitoes and tropical diseases | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Treated mosquito nets where needed, repellents and prophylaxis decided with your doctor before travel |
| Petty theft | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Rooms and bags locked, no phone in hand on the street, document copies, rules on evening movements |
| Weather and external events | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | Alert monitoring, local-authority guidance, evacuation plans, water and food supplies |
Method note: the table is illustrative and simplified for readability. Real assessments are made by country and project, with formal severity and likelihood scales, and are reviewed periodically.
We do not work in contexts of war, active emergency or humanitarian crisis. The areas where we send volunteers are normally calm, inhabited and often crossed by travellers, students or tourists too. This does not remove the need to prepare well, but it means we are not asking people to enter high-risk contexts by default.
Two honest things to add. First: the most likely risks are the most ordinary ones. In practice, what actually happens to volunteers is usually a few days of upset stomach at the beginning, sunburn, or an object lost or stolen through distraction: annoying, manageable and almost always preventable if you follow the briefing. Second: the single most serious risk in many countries is the road, not the exotic thing you imagine. That is exactly why transport rules are among the strictest in the whole system.
If something happens: the protocol
When a serious unexpected event happens (an injury, illness, theft), nobody improvises. A precise sequence starts, always the same, and every coordinator knows it by heart.
The absolute priority is the person: first aid, emergency services and medical facilities are activated immediately, before anything else.
The local coordinator and programme managers are informed at once and take charge of the situation on site. You never have to work out what to do alone.
Passport, policy and medical information (of which you always have copies, as explained in the briefing) are put to work: travel insurance exists for exactly these moments.
We are informed straight away and support you from Italy, in Italian, for everything needed. If necessary, or if you want it, we keep your family updated.
And for small issues, which are the vast majority? The local coordinator is your first call, and we are the second. Emergency contacts are given to you on arrival, together with the safety briefing, and remain within reach. You can find the full preparation framework in the before you leave section.
Your part: rules and adaptability
Safety is a system, and you are part of it. So, with the same frankness as everything else: here is what you sign and what we ask from you.
The rules, few and non-negotiable
- Code of conduct: you sign it on arrival, during the briefing. Respect for the community, staff and other volunteers.
- House rules: agreed return times, accommodation locked, external guests not allowed. They protect you and the people living with you.
- Zero tolerance: drugs and violent or aggressive behaviour mean programme termination. It is a clear rule, stated in advance, because it protects you, the group and the project.
- Coordinator guidance is followed: if they tell you to avoid an area or stay home one evening, there is a reason they can see and you cannot.
Adaptability, the part nobody puts in reels
Not every day will be as comfortable as home. There may be a cold shower, a power cut, slow wifi, a lunch different from what you expected or a programme change. This is not neglect: it is the fact that you are living inside a real community, not in a bubble built for travellers. Preparing for it in advance makes the experience simpler and often more beautiful.
- You like the idea of living in a real place, with support and clear references
- You are willing to follow rules designed by people who know the place
- You prefer to know in advance how the house, project and rules work
- You are mainly looking for a comfortable holiday with a few solidarity activities
- You prefer travelling without shared rules
- Practical unexpected events put you in real difficulty
These standards apply to us, but use them as a benchmark with anyone: a serious organisation can tell you who the local reference person is, how the staff was selected, what the emergency protocol includes and what rules you will sign. If you receive vague answers to any of these questions, you already have your answer. The other red flags are in the guide to organisations.
Choose with the same criteria
Each project page states activities, accommodation and conditions clearly. And if you do not know where to start, the questionnaire points you in the right direction in two minutes.
See the projects Take the questionnaireFrequently asked questions
Our projects take place in normally calm areas, with local partners, accommodation and routines that are already known. Before leaving, you clarify contact person, house, rules, transport and useful contacts. Safety comes mainly from this: choosing the project well, preparing in advance and having people on site who know what to do.
The four-step protocol starts: immediate medical assistance, activation of the local coordinator and managers, handling of documents and insurance, and immediate information to us with support from Italy. You receive emergency contacts on arrival and they remain available.
It depends on the destination, and the decision belongs to you and your doctor or travel clinic, not to us. We give you practical information about the project and area; health choices must be made with a professional before departure.
A code of conduct signed on arrival, house rules, agreed return times and zero tolerance for drugs and aggressive behaviour, which means immediate exclusion. These are the same rules that protect you, the other volunteers and the project.
Speak to the local coordinator immediately: most situations are solved on site in a few days. In parallel you always have our support from Italy. Adaptation is part of the experience; feeling alone or unheard is not.