Volunteer at the Village
Time frame
If you are interested in volunteering at the Vietnam Friendship Village, you should be prepared to work at the village for a minimum of one week. However, a stint of two or more weeks is more productive and much preferred by village administrators. It is best to work around the several weeks surrounding the annual Tet holiday (Tet, Vietnam’s Lunar New Year festival, usually falls in late January or early February), as most residents and staff will be gone during this time.
Step 1: Contact the Friendship Village
Email a volunteer inquiry letter to Foreign Visitor Manager, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Ha [friendshipvillage18398 (at) hn.vnn.vn] well in advance of your travel date. Please attach your message as a word document to make it easier to translate. Include the dates you would prefer to volunteer and mention any special skills you have to offer. Special training is not required; volunteers are often needed to work in the organic garden or perform various manual labor jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Click here to download Volunteer Inquiries about the Vietnam Friendship Village, the PDF version of a brochure authored by volunteer Jenni Nguyen, which answers some of the questions frequently asked by volunteers and visitors.
Lodging
A small number of guesthouse rooms are available at the Van Canh Friendship Village, but space is limited, so please inform Ms. Ha in advance if you want to stay on site. Please note that volunteer placements at the Friendship Village can also be arranged through Volunteers for Peace International Voluntary Service, which provides hostel-type accommodations at their nearby Peace House.
