DaLaa, International Volunteers for Social Development is a small association based in South Thailand that provides workcamps and MLTV placements for volunteers from all over the world to practice their volunteering skills through diversity. This means giving one’s genuine work for the benefits of the people around us and ultimately the society. This makes us feel more true, more alive. We are also sending local volunteers to our international partners, that we call ‘Outgoing‘.
We were born in 2004 and are proudly part of the IVS (International Voluntary Service) network which was created over 100 years ago with the objective of supporting international PEACE by gathering multi-cultural volunteers to work on a local needs project.
To summarize, our main activities can be divided between :
1- Workcamps (WCs). The WCs have a clear duration with a start and an end. It takes usually from 1 to 2 weeks but we organize week-end workcamp too. A team of Short term volunteers (STV), mix of thai and international is leaded by a workcamp leader (usually our staff or an active member). The host and local people are the co-inititiator and guarantee the benefits of the WC for the local community and the basic needs of volunteers (food, accomodation, security, community involvement and meaningful project)
2- MLTV = Middle and Long-Term Volunteers. We use ‘MLTV’ to refer to this kind of volunteering which is similar to the WC on the values but with a longer duration from over a month and up to one year. In DaLaa we have a few placements that can welcome MLTV all year around (except holidays time). These MLTV placements are led by local hosts that can be a person, a family, a School, an association… In DaLaa, the work of the volunteers is usually about education, agriculture/environment and construction. The daily tasks of the community can be for an important part of the work as well.
3- Outgoing =prepare/send and follow up local volunteers to our partners abroad. To join a WC or a MLTV program with our partners abroad, thai national/residents should apply through DaLaa. We organize introduction/preparation and technical support online and onsite for them. The follow up and evaluation is included in the service and guarantee more quality to the experience.
On a more local level, our MLTVs are often solicited to join extra activities like English camps, teaching or environmental / social events, organic agriculture planting, markets…, especially the volunteers from our Voluntary Service Community. Those add to the variety of activities, culture exchange and encounters of new people and it creates a special international atmosphere in the events we join in. Volunteer is the key word.