Transcript:

Voluntourism - BeekeepingAmbience: Bees, Beehive In Mexico, a project is bringing together volunteers and local beekeepers. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet. McGehee: There is a program in Mexicali, Mexico where women are beekeepersNancy McGehee is a Professor and Department Head of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech. McGehee: And volunteers travel to Mexicali and help them build beehives. They help them with the beekeeping hat is necessary to be for it to be productive. And I think it's a great example because the community number one, the community drives it. The community not only participates in it, but it's their choice, and it's what they want to do. The volunteers get to learn about the complexity of beekeeping. I think, at first blush, people don't realize how difficult it is and the drama of the hive and the way in which things can go well or can go wrong, and it also provides a really solid economic opportunity for the host community. 'The volunteers contribute toward the materials for the hive building. They provide the money for the hives, and they also build the hives. They also help to harvest. The idea that it's a one-way experience that the volunteers come and give to the community gets blown out of the water pretty quickly when you see you talk to anyone that's volunteered. And the hives are an example of someone who comes home and says, "Wow. I learned so much about the whole notion of beekeeping, and I learned so much about working together as a group of people that are from very disparate places and very different backgrounds and the things that we can do together if we put our mind to it."We'll hear more on volunteer tourism in future programs. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.