Quite a lot ... thanks primarily to the way we work closely with local people who are our partners, not our employees!

These partnerships enable us to be absolutely sure that every project supported by our volunteers is responsible and sustainable ... and is what the local community really wants.

people and places volunteers never replace local workers, but work with them, sharing experience and expertise.

This mutual respect also applies to the relationship between people and places and our volunteers. We don't just pay lip service to our  principles - we act  accordingly, maintaining full transparency in all that we do. Ask us anything about your volunteering and we'll give you an honest answer ... and if we don't immediately have the answer to your question, we'll find out and let you know!

This level of clarity also applies in financial matters - you'll be spending your hard-earned money, not ours, and we'll make sure that you know exactly how and where it's being spent.

Also important is the way in which we match volunteers with projects. Because we're working so closely with our local partners, we can target each volunteer's abilities and experience to the specific needs of the project. Your placement is therefore as close as it comes to being 'tailor-made'...

Last, but by no means least, is the level of support provided to volunteers - not just by us in preparing you for your placement, but also the full-time support of our local partners while you're there.

Safety is an important issue for all of us - people and places, volunteers and local communities.

Our local partners work closely with us in making all reasonable efforts to ensure your safety and that of the community, but you must also take some responsibility for your own safety. As with all societies there will be risks or dangers, but if you follow the advice of your local hosts, there is no reason for your safety to be at any risk. Our partners are responsible and professional people, and are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Each placement varies slightly as to exactly how your money is spent, but we guarantee that at least 80% of what you pay - for placements of 4 weeks or more - is spent in the host country, where it is needed most.

An example for each project is given on individual project pages, and the specific details will be fully explained to you when your placement is confirmed.

We believe that part of our responsibility to volunteers and communities is that we take all reasonable steps to ensure their safety. We therefore require 2 references for each volunteer as well as an appropriate criminal records screening for all placements where volunteers will be in contact, in any way, with vulnerable adults and children.

In the UK, such screening is carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The CRB will check their own computer, and those of individual police forces, to check for relevant criminal records.

There is a cost attached to this process - currently £20 -  covering administration and tracking. This is the only payment we request of volunteers before their placement is agreed.

The clearance document will be sent both to the volunteer and to us. We will not be able to offer a placement without this document (or its equivalent in the case of other nationalities - where costs may differ)

Read our disclosure policy

To learn more about CRB Disclosure go to www.crb.gov.uk

The principles of responsible volunteering are fundamental in all that we do, and there is plenty of information throughout the site about how we achieve it.

If you take the time to read the 'about' section, you will appreciate that we do all we can to enable you to be a responsible volunteer, and that this also entails a level of commitment on your part.

When you register with people and places, you agree to abide by our terms and conditions.

In addition, you will enter into a contractural agreement with the relevant local team - Read More.

We provide as much information and documentation as we can - as do our local partners. You will get this well in advance of your trip. You will also be encouraged to contact previous volunteers who will be able to add yet more information. Of course you can contact us at any time if you are unsure of anything.

Please contact us at any time. Even when your placement is confirmed, and you are in direct contact with our local partners, you should email us if you are unclear about anything. email us

You will need to do this yourself, but we can offer suggestions for international travel.  

Our local partners will be able to help with any travel arrangements you may want to make once in your host country.

At this early stage, we can't really help you - every country has different visa requirements for different nationals.

Once we are further along in the process of creating a match between you and a project, then we shall be able to give you advice according to where you're from and where you'll be going.

This will vary depending on the destination and the nature of the project: you may share a local family home;  you may be in a local guesthouse or bed and breakfast ... you may even be in a tent for some of the time ... or if there's a conveniently located 5-star hotel, you could choose that option if that's what you really want!

Wherever possible we offer a choice of accommodation according to local availability, and will discuss your options with our local partners and with you. If you have any special requirements - ground floor room, city centre hotel, middle of nowhere, under canvas, self-catering to full board - please let us know. We will always do our best to meet your genuine needs and requests.

All you have to do is complete our registration form and we will then contact you.

Just a few points to bear in mind:
* please tell us as much as you can about your skills, work experience etc.
* completing the registration doesn't commit you to anything
* information you provide will be treated confidentially

Many travellers think that their standard travel policy provides full cover for their time as a volunteer - this is not necessarily the case!

Please check your policy carefully - it may specifically exclude cover for the time that you're actually working as a volunteer.

If in doubt, please contact VolunteerInsure - they can give you advice and a quote based on the actual risk assessments for each project.
Email: volunteer@tif-plc.co.uk or visit their website www.secure-travelinsurance.co.uk/b2c/index.aspx

Because there are real costs involved, and as a responsible organisation, we believe that it's wrong to expect economically poor communities to subsidise volunteers in any way. Many volunteer recruitment organisations demand that communities subsidise volunteers because 'after all, you're getting their time for free.'

This is unacceptable to us.

Providing volunteers with what they need costs money - a safe environment, 24-hour emergency contacts, a place to stay, food to eat, tools or equipment to complete their roles - all this has to be paid for.

Neither people and places nor the projects themselves are funded through government or a big NGO. Without volunteers being self-funding, the projects themselves would simply not exist.

This depends on you and the project together.

Most projects will benefit from volunteer input of at least 1 month. Our longest placement to date has been for 3 months, but so long as both volunteer and project can really benefit and the placement is appropriately designed, there's no finite length of time!

Some projects are specifically designed for short-term input in support of longer-term aims, and therefore we can offer occasional placements of as little as 1 week.

Regardless of how long you're there, your input is part of a bigger picture - overall sustainability requires a flow of volunteers 'passing the baton' from one to the next.

Highly unlikely - there's a lot to do, and it all takes time!

It has been known in exceptional circumstances for our process to be completed within 6 weeks, but it normally takes about 3 months.

You'll need to do your research, we'll need references and appropriate screening, the project will need to be sure that your input will be carefully targeted and worthwhile - everyone involved needs to be properly prepared.

Treat with caution any organisation which is able to place you at very short notice.

You' re already reading it!

We don't print brochures and mail outs for two main reasons:

* expense - we'd rather see your money being spent where it's needed most
* organic nature of the projects - each and every volunteer input is part of an ever-changing emphasis. A particular task may be needed this month, but may well evolve, change or not be needed at all by the time the next volunteer is there.

Why produce a glossy brochure (or even a cheap-and-cheerful one) when we would constantly need to revise it?