Ours to Explore

Cover of Ours to Explore

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In a 2014 essay that went viral, Pippa Biddle revealed the inequities and absurdities baked into voluntourism—the pairing of short-term, unskilled volunteer work with tourism. In the years since, Biddle has devoted herself to understanding the origins, intentions, and outcomes of a multibillion-dollar industry built on the premise of doing good, and she tracks that investigation in Ours to Explore.

The flaws of voluntourism have included xenophobia, racism, paternalism, and a “West knows best” mentality. From exploitative orphanages that keep children in squalid conditions to attract donors to undertrained medical volunteers practicing their skills on patients in developing regions and to those looking for an inspiring selfie, Biddle reveals the hidden costs of the voluntourism complex. Along the way, readers meet inspiring activists and passionate community members, as well as thoughtful former voluntourists who still work to make a difference—just differently.

Ours to Explore offers a plan for how the service-based travel industry can break the cycle of exploitation and suggests strategies for travelers who want to improve the places they visit for the long haul.

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*Educators considering adding Ours to Explore to their course reading list can request a free examination copy using this form.

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Book Events 

Pippa is available for virtual and in-person presentations, lectures, talks, workshops, panels, and more. If you are interested in inviting Pippa to speak at your school, university, conference, library, or community event, please email her at pippa(at)pippabiddle.com or go to the “Speaking & Events” page to learn more about past and upcoming engagements.
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Praise for Ours to Explore

“Fascinating, informative, and a beautifully written book. . . . We learn something of the unscrupulous exploitation of young people by some of the eco-companies in the volunteer industry today. It offers really good advice to young people wanting to volunteer but uncertain how to go about it.”—Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace

“When you know better, you do better—and this book makes us all better in how we navigate the world.”—Tammy Tibbetts, coauthor of Impact: A Step-by-Step Plan to Create the World You Want to Live In

“Pippa Biddle courageously shows that voluntourism may not be what it seems. Ours to Explore is a powerful read for anyone who wants to change the world away from home.”—Alex Banayan, author of the international best seller The Third Door

“An essential read for anyone who loves to travel and hopes to make a positive impact in the world. . . . A masterful storyteller, Biddle’s stories are full of compelling characters and intriguing experiences that bring the impacts of voluntourism to life. Ours to Explore inspires readers to think critically about the best ways to turn good intentions into actions that produce meaningful change.”—Ty Tashiro, author of The Science of Happily Ever After

“Pippa Biddle doesn’t demonize voluntourists—she’s been one, and so have others interviewed in Ours to Explore. Their stories show how this rite of passage for those wanting to help can lead to so much harm. If you’re contemplating broadening your horizons by volunteering abroad, broaden your mind first by reading this book.”—Tina Rosenberg, cofounder of Solutions Journalism Network

“A brilliant must-read for anyone who has a passion for exploration and doing good. Biddle has a beautiful way of weaving a rich narrative together for a thoughtful, compelling, and raw critique of an industry that’s long overdue for reform.”—Kelley Louise, founder of Impact Travel Alliance

“Pippa Biddle unwraps the history of what we now call voluntourism, showing us that what’s billed as ‘development’ is really exploitation. . . . Ours to Explore should make us all reevaluate what we do abroad and why.”—Sarah Enelow-Snyder, travel industry journalist

“Biddle offers a blistering takedown of voluntourism and a sweeping reckoning with the omnipresent force of colonialism. Her case studies of abuse and malpractice within the industry are damning and revelatory. Ours to Explore will inspire critical discussions about building a world where Black and Brown people of the Global South can live free of domination, plunder, and the white Western gaze.”—Nikhil Goyal, sociologist at the University of Cambridge

Ours to Explore is an unputdownable exploration into the collateral damage of good intentions. Immersive, vivid, and thorough, it is required reading for those who seek to help in contexts that are not their own.”—Elizabeth Greenwood, author of Love Lockdown: Dating, Sex, and Marriage in America’s Prison System

Ours to Explore combines Biddle’s experiences as a former voluntourist with real-world examples and perspectives to clearly demonstrate that just because international volunteering feels good doesn’t necessarily make it so. An important and accessible read.”—Noelle Sullivan, author of The Business of Good Intentions: Reframing the Global Health Volunteering Debate
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Press & Coverage

10 Books to Read when the World’s Completely on Fire (Fodor) September 2022

Voluntourism: How is it still happening, and what are the alternatives? (Road Book) September 2022

How to Help without Doing Harm (Top of Mind with Julie Rose) July 2022

High on Helping: The Dangers of Voluntourism (The New York Times) June 2022

Social Justice, Colonialism and Reforming Voluntourism: A Q&A with author Pippa Biddle (Verge Magazine) December 2021

‘Ours to explore’, de Pippa (Culturamas.es) September 8, 2021

#3 The Halo Effect (The White Saviors by Canadaland) August 2021

#2 The Cult of Kielburger (The White Saviors by Canadaland) August 2021

#1 The Children’s Crusade (The White Saviors by Canadaland) August 2021

When You Think You’re Saving Lives; The Dangers of Voluntourism (Dear Lifesaver by Islamic Relief UK)

The Pandemic Changed The World Of ‘Voluntourism.’ Some Folks Like The New Way Better (NPR)

“No feu el que jo vaig fer”: una jove alerta dels perills del “volunturisme” (Catalunya Radio)

Excerpt on KarmaColonialism.org (Karma Colonialism)

Voluntourism: new book explores how volunteer trips harm rather than help (The Guardian)

How Not to Volunteer Abroad: An Interview with Author Pippa Biddle (Catalyst)

“An Excerpt from ‘Ours to Explore: Privilege, Power, and the Paradox of Voluntourism'” (The FBomb)

Behind the Book: Ours to Explore (University of Nebraska Press Spring 2021 E-Newsletter)