Village Experience co-founders and sisters, Anne and Kelly Campbell, had been traveling the world and dreaming of this concept for years. As the team traveled through the Great Rift Valley of Kenya in a time of civil crisis, witnessed the effects of the LRA in Northern Uganda, spent time with vulnerable women artisans in India, and witnessed the everyday struggles of migrant coffee working families in Guatemala, the desire to give back and do more constantly surfaced.
The need was there: to understand, to share, to break down barriers, to relate…how could this be accomplished? The solution? Create an organization through which people can become directly involved in uplifting communities throughout the world. In April 2008, The Village Experience was officially launched with an online presence, fair trade retail location, and international tourism program. A year later, in February 2009, the Village Cooperative was formed as a non-profit to better serve TVE’s partner communities around the world.
Since then, The Village Experience and our non-profit, The Village Cooperative, have made great strides. Here are just a few examples:
– TVE has organized and led more than 800 trips to countries all over the world including Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Haiti.
– Over 2,000 passengers from all over the United States, and the world, have joined TVE on socially responsible tourism programs.
– TVE has supported over 30 artisan cooperatives in 25 countries through our former retail store in Indianapolis. In 2012, we launched our own fair trade line produced in India, known as Sora Nomad. We now work to bring awareness to artisans and handicraft workshops in each and every one of our partner destinations.
– TVE has donated over $25,000 to domestic non-profits as part of our mission of moving forward by giving back.
– TVC has donated over $3 million to our partners in Kenya, India, and Guatemala.
– Together, TVE and TVC have opened medical clinics, schools, community centers, cyber cafes, artisan workshops, and small businesses with our partners in order to create jobs, empower local communities, and improve the standard of living in all of the places where we work.
– TVE and TVC have been featured in the media including Indianapolis Star, FOX 59, Indianapolis Monthly, Indianapolis Business Journal, NUVO, Trekkity.com, Immersion Travel Magazine, AFAR online, Delta Sky Magazine, Origin Magazine, CheapO Air Blog, Silicone Valley Magazine, and many more!
