Many positives, but they are overshadowed by big voluntourism problems

I was in Ubud, Bali for 16 weeks in the Summer of 2018 working in the construction program. The actual volunteer organization is Green Lion Bali, which I believe currently runs all of the programs in Bali that IVHQ advertises; IVHQ matches volunteers and programs, but is normally uninvolved once the volunteers are on the ground.

I'll start with the positives:

• The volunteer accommodations were above my expectations. The rooms were cleaned daily, the food was tasty (though after 16 weeks I am ready to not eat rice for a few years), and there was a bar/restaurant right across the street. Safety was largely not a problem, but a few volunteers did have their items stolen (mainly phones and cash). To Green Lion's credit, in at least one case they were able to get the item back. Please note that there are several volunteer houses in the Ubud area (as well as Lovina), and I am not sure how the others compare. Also, while I did not personally experience the accommodations at Nusa Penida, I heard from many volunteers that there were issues with bed bugs, hot water availability, and food quality. Many of the volunteers in the turtle conservation program cut their time short to return to mainland Bali due to the accommodations and lack of work.

• The program coordinators were nice, helpful, and present. All of the staff were Balinese (with a few interns from other Green Lion affiliates in Southeast Asia). The local village drivers were fun and personable, and I made friends with lots of them, as did many other volunteers.

• The construction projects on which I worked were 'real'. We were laying brick walls, mixing and pouring concrete, demolishing old walls, plastering, etc. During my time, we helped build 2 separate schools to expand classroom capacity and give free Kindergarten to local families that could not afford it.

• Bali is beautiful and safe, and there are dozens of places to visit on the weekend breaks. At my facility, there were normally 80+ volunteers, most of whom were interested in exploring Bali.

Unfortunately, there are core problems with the programs that make it very difficult for me to recommend Green Lion/IVHQ to other volunteers. In short, Green Lion has a big, and still growing, voluntourism problem:

• Most programs only work a few hours a day. In construction, it was typically a 3-4 hour day, with additional time for the commute to and from the site. The teachers worked less than that. During the prime of Summer, when there were hundreds of volunteers, the turtle conservation volunteers worked an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. I heard that the programs used to have longer working days, but Green Lion shortened it due to volunteer feedback. This leads into my second point.

• Many, if not most, of the volunteers were more interested in partying than volunteering. It was normal for significant numbers of volunteers to miss work because they were hungover from going out the previous night. Many skipped Monday or Friday to extend their weekend travel. On at least half a dozen occasions over my 16 weeks, volunteers came back at 3-5 AM and woke the sleeping volunteers up by jumping into the pool from the second story, playing music on speakers, and just generally being loud drunks. During orientation week, all volunteers are required to sign a code of conduct that threatens removal from the program if it is violated. However, I never saw a volunteer get kicked out or meaningfully reprimanded during my stay.

• Most of the volunteers (maybe 75%) were 18-20 years old. This is not an intrinsically bad thing. However, older volunteers may struggle to share living space with people who are just out of high school. I had roommates vomit in our shower, 'adopt' stray dogs (resulting in puddles of urine in the bedroom), and leave half-eaten snacks on the floor (exacerbating insect problems). I know of one volunteer that was so drunk that she wet her bed, and one of her roommates had to clean it up. For context, I'm in my late 20s. Don't get me wrong, there were many volunteers that were older, and many great volunteers among the younger group. I was also in Bali during the American/European summer, so it may be a different age make-up at other times of the year. However, if the above sounds awful to you, I would look into the private room housing options.

• I have concerns about how the volunteers' program fees are being spent. To be fair, I never asked Green Lion for a detailed accounting of the cost breakdown (though I would love to see one even now). The coordinators seemed to be underpaid, the volunteering accommodations were packed (i.e. lots of program fees flowing in), and the supplies for the various programs/projects were okay at best. Construction volunteers must pay an additional 50 USD/week, which meant there should have been anywhere from $400-800 more for supplies, but we didn't see that money manifest in better building supplies or tools. I did hear that Green Lion was building several new facilities in the next few years, leading me to worry that much more money is getting poured back into the organization instead of into the communities that are being served.

I loved so much of my experience in Bali, but I can't bring myself to recommend it to volunteers that are looking to maximize their impact and work alongside like-minded people. I would love to see Green Lion and IVHQ make some improvements to remedy this. If, however, you are looking for a vacation with some volunteering, this may be a good fit for you.