Our Partner: The Green Lion

Who Is The Green Lion?

The Green Lion began in 1998 in Thailand under the name Greenway — built around a straightforward idea: create travel programs that genuinely support local communities rather than extract value from them. From a single project at a sea turtle rescue centre, the organisation grew into what it is today: a global responsible travel operator with permanent local teams across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.

Every program The Green Lion operates is managed directly by their own in-country teams — coordinators, project managers, accommodation staff and support personnel who live and work in the communities they serve year-round.

That distinction matters enormously in the volunteer travel industry, where the gap between what an agency promises and what a volunteer actually experiences on the ground can be significant. With The Green Lion, there is no gap. The same organisation that designs the program runs it from the first day to the last.

• Founded: 1998
• Countries active: 45
• Program locations: 100+
• Programs available: 250+
• Program types: Education & Teaching, Childcare, Medical & Healthcare, Construction & Renovation, Sea Turtle Conservation, Wildlife Conservation, Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation, Environmental Conservation, Women's Empowerment, Sports Coaching, Cultural Immersion, Internships

The Green Lion Does Not Sell Directly to the Public

This is important to understand, and it is something most volunteer travel agencies do not tell you clearly.

The Green Lion operates exclusively through a network of approved placement partners, like Abroad Escape. They do not have a consumer booking website. They do not take direct applications from individual volunteers. If you want to join a Green Lion program, you do it through a partner agency — and Abroad Escape is one of those partners.

This is a deliberate choice. The Green Lion's focus is on running exceptional programs on the ground. The placement relationship — helping volunteers find the right program, preparing them before departure, and supporting them throughout — is handled by partners who specialise in exactly that.

What this means for you practically: there is no cheaper direct route. The price you pay through Abroad Escape is the price of the program, plus 20 years of placement expertise in navigating it.

Our 20-Year Partnership

Abroad Escape's relationship with The Green Lion spans two decades and three company names.

When we launched as GapXperience in 2006, The Green Lion — then still expanding into new countries — was already our operational partner. We were among the first European placement agencies to work with them. For 14 years under that name, we placed volunteers across Asia, Africa and South America through their network.

When Covid forced the entire travel industry to shut down in 2020, we closed. But we did not walk away from the partnership. When we rebuilt as Beyond Volunteer and then restructured as Abroad Escape in 2023, The Green Lion partnership was the foundation we rebuilt on — because after 20 years, we know their programs, their coordinators, their standards and their communities better than any other European agency.

That depth of relationship is not something a new agency can replicate. It means we know which programs are best suited to which volunteers. It means we can build custom multi-destination schedules that standard booking platforms cannot offer.

It means that when something needs resolving on the ground, we have a direct line to the people who can resolve it.

What The Green Lion's Standards Mean for Your Safety

The Green Lion operates under a formal set of policies that apply across every program in every country. These are not marketing statements — they are operational requirements that every project in their network must meet.

Child Protection Policy

The Green Lion is committed to safeguarding children across all supported projects. Their policy prohibits abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect in any form. Every decision and action within programs involving children is guided by the best interests of the child. All volunteers working with minors are subject to vetting and operate within defined safeguarding frameworks.

Animal Welfare Policy

All wildlife and conservation programs prioritise animal wellbeing above visitor experience. Projects are not designed as tourist attractions. Animal interaction is strictly limited — riding, feeding and petting are not permitted. Conservation programs focus on rehabilitation and release, not entertainment.

Zero Tolerance Policy for Drugs and Substance Abuse

For the safety of participants, staff and the communities they work with, The Green Lion operates a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and substance abuse across all programs and locations.

Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Green Lion's programs are designed in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Their work addresses SDGs covering poverty reduction, quality education, good health and wellbeing, gender equality, sustainable communities, climate action, and life below water and on land.

Verified Impact: What Volunteers Actually Achieved in 2025

The Green Lion publishes a full annual impact report documenting measurable outcomes across their programs. The following results were achieved in 2025 across programs that Abroad Escape participants joined.

Education & Children

• Over 1,500 students reached through English teaching programs across 12 schools in Thailand
• 850+ children supported through kindergarten programs in 18 schools in Thailand
• 560 students reached through teaching programs in Ubud, Bali
• 300 children supported through early childhood programs in Malawi, with impact reaching 1,800 community members
• 860 students reached through teaching and resource distribution in Madagascar
• 675 children supported through childcare programs in Costa Rica, reaching 1,600 community members indirectly
• 1,786 children from low-income and multicultural families in South Korea supported through professional English education
• 120 children, youth and monks supported through 405 volunteer teaching hours in Sri Lanka

Sea Turtle Conservation

• 4,815 turtle eggs protected across conservation sites in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica
• 2,726 hatchlings produced across conservation sites
• 3,483 turtles released into the wild
• 21 disabled turtles rehabilitated in Sri Lanka
• 3,200 eggs collected and 3,185 hatchlings released in Sri Lanka in a single year

Environment & Conservation

• 50,036 mangrove seedlings planted, restoring over 32,000 square metres of critical coastline in the Philippines
• 1,221 mangrove trees planted and 842 kg of beach waste removed in Thailand
• 210 kg of waste removed from villages and beaches in Bali, with 80 permanent waste bins installed

Healthcare

• 1,533 patients directly supported through the Ho Chi Minh City Medical Placement program
• 420 people received free health check-ups and screenings through the Sri Lanka Medical Outreach Program
• 321 volunteers contributed to the Vietnam medical program across physical therapy, wound care and clinical hygiene

Community & Construction

• 10 major construction and renovation projects completed in Sri Lanka — preschools, classrooms and community centres
• 490 individuals directly impacted and 1,720 community members reached through construction work in Costa Rica
• 48,400 people facing homelessness received meals through the Seoul Soup Kitchen program in South Korea

Source: The Green Lion 2025 Impact Report. Published annually by The Green Lion.

The Wyld Orange Foundation

In 2024, The Green Lion established the Wyld Orange Foundation — its non-profit arm, operating across 11 countries in education, environment, and health and wellbeing. The Foundation runs 16 projects supporting over 1,000 direct beneficiaries, including after-school programs serving 300+ children daily in Cambodia, kindergartens in Indonesia and Nepal, women's empowerment training in Sri Lanka, and free sports academies supporting over 100 children daily across four countries.

On the environmental side, the Foundation oversaw the hatching of more than 3,500 turtle eggs, the rehabilitation and release of sea turtles in Indonesia and Zanzibar, the planting of over 65,000 mangrove propagules, and the production of 1,650 eco-bricks used in community infrastructure projects.

When you volunteer through Abroad Escape, a portion of the program fees that flow through to The Green Lion's network directly funds these ongoing foundation projects.

Why We Are Open About This Partnership

Most volunteer placement agencies do not tell you who actually operates their programs. They present themselves as the provider, describe the project in their own words, and leave the actual operator unnamed. When things go wrong on the ground — and occasionally they do, in any program — volunteers have no idea who is responsible or who to contact.

We do it differently. We name The Green Lion clearly on this page, on our About page, on every destination page, and in every conversation we have with prospective volunteers. We do this for three reasons.

First, because you deserve to know what you are buying. A volunteer program is not a commodity. You are going to a real place, working with real communities, living with or near real families. You should know who built that program, who runs it day-to-day, and what standards they operate under.

Second, because The Green Lion's track record is our strongest trust signal. Twenty-seven years of operation. Permanent local teams. A published impact report. A named foundation. Child protection and animal welfare policies. That is not something we could replicate as a placement agency — but by being transparent about the partnership, we give you full access to everything that record represents.

Third, because honesty is the only sustainable model. Volunteers who book knowing exactly what they are getting arrive prepared, have better experiences, and come back. That is the kind of business we want to run.

What Abroad Escape Adds to the Partnership

The Green Lion operates the programs. Abroad Escape is the European placement specialist who gets you into the right one.

After 20 years working exclusively with The Green Lion's network, we know these programs in a way no general booking platform does. We know which projects are best suited to first-time volunteers and which reward experience. We know the differences between destinations that look similar on paper. We know what questions to ask you to make sure your placement is genuinely the right fit.

Beyond placement, we offer something no other agency in this space currently provides: custom week-by-week scheduling across multiple programs and destinations. Because of our direct relationship with The Green Lion, we can build you a schedule that combines, say, turtle conservation in Sri Lanka with teaching in Thailand, or medical volunteering in Spain followed by construction work in Cape Verde — structured around your available time and shaped around your goals. Standard booking platforms cannot do this. We can.

We are based in Europe, available Monday to Friday by phone, email and WhatsApp, and we remain your point of contact for the duration of your program — not just until your deposit clears.

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Last updated: April 2026