Area Daily: Volunteer Community Days at Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand

It’s the holiday season. You want to give back.

Here’s a way to make a difference. The newly opened Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa is inviting you to take part in a day-long excursion to the coastal village of Baan Talay Nok. Located in the Ranong province north of Phuket, this area was one of the most devastated in the region during the 2004 Tsunami, and is still being rebuilt four years later.

The resort’s community days enable you to work side-by-side with Tsunami survivors in a handicraft cooperative, where you’ll assist villagers in soap making, batik painting, and palm weaving. Proceeds from the sale of these articles provide a supplemental income for the widows of the cooperative. In addition to volunteering, you can also join in a soccer match with the children, partake in a jungle hike, or simply practice speaking Thai with the elders. This immersion program is more than a day of volunteerism; it is a celebration of multiculturalism, giving you experiences far greater than those that money can buy.

Happy holidays! We’ll be back next week.