"Stay Another Day..."

More and more people are traveling to southeast Asia. If you're thinking of taking a trip in the near future to Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos, check out the web site www.stayanotherday.org . Stay Another Day is an "initiative promoting sustainable tourism" with an emphasis on hospitality and crafts organizations that employ the poor, the homeless and the handicap. The web site tells you about organizations, such as Vietnam Quilts and Craft Link in Hanoi, among others, giving you information on how and when to visit them, what kind of experience you can expect to have visiting them, what kind of services or products they provide, etc. Some of the organizations have cafes and cooking lessons, while others having working artisans on site who can show you how to throw a pot on a ceramics wheel or some other of their crafting techniques. It's a wonderful way to help you see behind the typical tourist attractions to have  a deeper encounter with the people and the culture, and view the inside workings of not-for-profits struggling to make a difference in the lives of the economically disadvantaged; organizations that actually want you to come visit and see what they're doing! Stay Another day invites you to have a different kind of experience of a foreign country--a meaningful encounter that can provide better futures for struggling artisans.

www.stayanotherday.org