Volunteer in Laos at Aay's Village

I volunteered at Aay's Village in July 2018, and I loved it! You get in close contact with the beautiful environment in the village, which is something quite different than the big cities in the area. When you enter the project house, you see tall mountains and rice fields and green forests. Moreover, you get to taste local Lao food and befriend the very welcoming people in the Village. It is simple living spaces, so you should definitely read the volunteer handbook before arriving at the village! The most beautiful experience I had, personally, was teaching the many children working this the local team in the village. The children are so eager to learn and I really believe that Aay's Village contribute to sustainable development in the area, through education. On my last day, I have never felt such appreciation from the children and the local people as the children almost hugged me the way out of the village and the locals had a ceremony wishing me (and my boyfriend) a safe journey home. There is so much to say about my journey volunteering at Aay's Village, but overall it's a lovely experience. I believe if I was to give any tips to any future volunteers out there is that if you are going to stay longer than 15 days, you need to withdraw $ dollars before you arrive at the airport in Vientiane. Bring crackers or other dry food from your home country so that you may eat in between the meals if you get hungry, or just embrace the local food market! Moreover, just make the best out of he trip by working with the local team, if you have an idea to create something while you are there the local team will do what they can to help you. For example: some Spanish volunteers wanted to build more tables to the classroom which the local team helped out with brining wood to the project house.

I loved staying at Aay's village. The staff were very kind and accomodation was great! Lots of fun. Teaching english with Aay's village was great and I felt that I helped in improving the english skills of students. I would have loved to have the chance to get more involved in the environmental education - maybe next time! Overall I would definitely reccomend volunteering at Aay's village for anyone interested in teaching or environmental work!

I was lucky to be able to work in Aay's Village for 2 and a half months, from January to March. It has been an experience that has marked my personal and professional career.
I went to Laos to carry out the project development program but in the end I also became a teacher, and it is the best choice I could make. The children of the school are special people, they give you the energy you need and they help you to know what is the culture in Laos and the main values ​​they have and that every child should have.
Life in Aay's Village is simple and relaxed, life that defines the Lao culture.
I recommend this experience to people who need to reconnect with basic values ​​and who want to leave their comfort zone. Adapting to a new culture is always a challenge, but with the company of other volunteers and the entire Aay's Village team, it becomes very fun!
Add that you live a 360º experience, since you live in a typical lao house, eat food made by a local girl (it's delicious!) and share your day to day with people from the town and school.

I was lucky to be able to work in Aay's Village for 2 and a half months, from January to March. It has been an experience that has marked my personal and professional career.
I went to Laos to carry out the project development program but in the end I also became a teacher, and it is the best choice I could make. The children of the school are special people, they give you the energy you need and they help you to know what is the culture in Laos and the main values ​​they have and that every child should have.
Life in Aay's Village is simple and relaxed, life that defines the Lao culture.
I recommend this experience to people who need to reconnect with basic values ​​and who want to leave their comfort zone. Adapting to a new culture is always a challenge, but with the company of other volunteers and the entire Aay's Village team, it becomes very fun!
Add that you live a 360º experience, since you live in a typical lao house, eat food made by a local girl (it's delicious!) and share your day to day with people from the town and school.

At our short, but good stay at Aay's Village, we got to do so many different things: Laotian wedding, climbing a mountain, lunch (literally!) in the river, graduation for the kids, decorating the new project house, starting the work with EcoBricks, working with the LearningLab, visiting the public school and so much more. And all this in 6 days!

A truly amazing, authentic experience.

Was one of the first volunteers at Aays Village and can honestly say it was an amazing experience. You get to live with a local family in a rural area far away from any tourism teaching english to around 120 kids. Super rewarding and many other amazing things to do in the local community. You can for example go trekking, fishing, play football with the kids, participate in cooking, construction, eco projects such as ecobricks and farming.

I chose Aay's Village because I was inspired by its story and uniqueness. Additionally, I was looking for a continuous project i.e. one that that would be permanent in its location and not just temporary. This was a decisive factor for me because I wanted to make sure that after I leave that the project will continue and not simply finish a few weeks afterwards.

From the moment I arrived, I immediately felt like home. Lao people are the friendliest nationality that I have ever encountered (and I have traveled a lot around the world in the past) and this is what made my experience at Aay's Village so unique. I was very warmly welcomed by Aay, his family, friends and the chiefs of the village. Throughout my whole stay I always knew that I could count on their help in any situation and I felt extremely safe.

The children that I taught were so special. Throughout my stay I developed a very unique bond with all of them and pretty much knew all of their names after a short period of time, and there were over 70 students that I taught every day. They were extremely excited to learn, listen and interact with me, and they improved their English a lot during my stay there. I loved spending time with them and I think they liked spending time with me as well. Sometimes they would arrive 2 hours before their class and we would play together, laugh together and joke around together. It was extremely difficult to leave Phonsavath Village and I would love to return there one day.

I recommend Aay's Village to anyone looking to have an impact on a small community in a country severely impacted by so many of the world's injustices. Also, I recommend it to anyone looking for an extremely enriching and spiritual experience. I highly recommend checking out their Facebook, Website, Youtube and Instagram for more information.