


Trish Byers
Sep 26, 2023
Faroe Islands
Categories:
Sustainability, Tourism, Volunteer, Environmental
The Faroe Islands, a Danish autonomous territory located between Iceland and Norway in the Atlantic Ocean, welcome around 110,000 visitors each year, attracted by the country’s dramatic scenery, including rugged cliffs, sea caves, spectacular waterfalls and an abundance of birdlife, not forgetting a population of just 50,000 Faroese people and their 80,000 sheep.
The Faroe Islands have been awarded a place in the ‘Community Connection’ (of Lonely Planet) category, which celebrates destinations offering authentic and local communities unforgettable experiences that give back to the community.
For a weekend in 2019, volunteers traveled to the islands and worked alongside Faroese to erect signposts in tourist areas and repair hiking paths and viewpoints. The next voluntourism event in the Faroe Islands is scheduled for September 23 and 24, 2021, postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic.
Fourteen popular tourist sites in the Faroe Islands are slated for maintenance in 2021. The projects were identified by the local villagers, tourism centers, and local municipalities of the Faroe Islands. One project involves maintenance of a path to the top of the Slaettaratindur, the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. A section of the path cannot be used safely, so the volunteers will be working on an alternate path for hikers. Other projects include marking paths for wayfinding, repairing paths, and rebuilding cairns.
For the 2020 (now the September 2021) event, 5,886 prospective volunteers applied. One hundred volunteers were chosen and will be given free accommodation, food, and transport for three days while they work to protect the Faroe Islands ecosystem. The Faroese will open their homes and allow volunteers to stay with them during this event. Forty Faroese will be given the opportunity to work alongside the international volunteers.
This idea can be used anywhere in the world. Do you live in a place that feels ”loved to death” ? Coordinating with local residents who are willing to house the volunteers, determining the projects that can be accomplished, and having plenty of meals together, this can be just like the Faroe Island project in your hometown, maybe just on a smaller scale.
Originally published October 15, 2021.
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