Construction & Renovation: Laos is a volunteer placement in Luang Prabang, from $475 a week per person with a $350 deposit. You help build and renovate schools, temples, bathrooms and community spaces in a rural village, working alongside local people. Stays run 1-12 weeks and suit travellers aged 18-38, flying into Luang Prabang. Start dates run from 25 October 2026.
Build and renovate schools, temples and community spaces in a rural village near Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang
Laos
1 stop
You will be met at Luang Prabang's airport during the regular pick-up time and taken to the volunteer house. The rest of the day is yours to settle in, unpack and get over the journey, and dinner is a chance to meet the other volunteers.
Your first full day starts with an introduction meeting: house rules, health and safety, and the paperwork. Then come the Lao do's and don'ts, the dress code and your first words of Lao, and a walk round the area and the nearby shops, with help getting a SIM card. In the afternoon you meet the local coordinators for a project briefing and visit the site, and the day ends with dinner and the night market.
After a hearty breakfast you head to the project and get stuck in, whether that is mixing cement and making blocks, laying a wall, painting a school or rebuilding a bathroom. Lunch is a break on site, then it is back to work for the afternoon. Evenings are dinner with the other volunteers and time to rest those muscles.
Breakfast, and then the weekend is yours. If you are staying on, Luang Prabang's temples, the morning alms giving, the waterfalls outside town and the Mekong are all close by. If this was your last week, checkout is at noon.
Luang Prabang sits where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong in northern Laos, a small, unhurried town of temples, saffron-robed monks and morning markets. The villages around it are still very rural, and their schools, temples and community buildings are often old and worn, which affects children's education, hygiene and everyday life.
This program is for people who don't mind getting their hands dirty. You work on light construction and renovation wherever it is needed most: mixing cement, making blocks and laying walls, painting, repairing furniture, landscaping, and rebuilding the bathrooms at schools and kindergartens. Some weeks it is a house for a family who need one, or the road to a school.
You do not need any building experience. Local project coordinators supervise the work, provide the tools and take on the heavy jobs, and you work side by side with people from the village, which is the best way there is to learn how they live.
You arrive on a Sunday. Monday is orientation: house rules and safety, your first lesson in Lao and the cultural do's and don'ts, a look around the area, and a briefing from the coordinators with a visit to the project site, then dinner and the night market. From Tuesday to Friday you are on site.
Mix and match. This program shares its volunteer house with Volunteer Teaching: Laos and Volunteer Sports Coaching: Laos, so you can spend one week building and the next teaching or coaching without moving. Add the other weeks as an extra when you book.
Come with an open mind and realistic expectations. Life on a volunteer project is simpler and slower than at home: shared rooms, basic facilities, heat and humidity, and a culture with its own customs. Everyone feels a little out of place at first, and that is normal.
Before you travel, read the programme information we send you. When you arrive, the local team introduces you to the project, the house rules and local customs, and they are there to talk to if you feel homesick or unsure. Most volunteers find the first few days are the hardest, and the rest flies by.
We should always be healthy and maintain our fitness. However, it depends on the project you choose and you should always be ready to work.
Nothing formal. Pack modest, practical clothes that you do not mind getting dirty. On teaching and kindergarten projects, wear neat, casual clothes that cover your shoulders and knees. On construction and conservation projects, wear hard-wearing clothes and closed shoes you do not mind ruining, plus a hat and light long sleeves for the sun. Vest tops and short shorts are not allowed while you are working.
Away from the project, dress with respect for local customs, especially in villages and at religious sites. Your coordinator will tell you about any local rules when you arrive.
Your arrival transfer is included. You will be met at the airport and taken to your accommodation, so there is nothing to arrange for the journey in.
The departure transfer at the end, from your accommodation back to the airport, is not included. You can add it as an optional extra in your account, or make your own way.
Once you have booked your flights, log in to your account and add them under Flight Details so we know when you are landing.
Of course! We encourage everyone to talk over our social networks. You can find a list of them at the bottom of this page. If you’ve joined a tour, we will send you an invite to a dedicated Facebook group made for your tour a few weeks before it starts. Your tour guide and a tour manager will also be in the group to answer any questions you may have. You can also join the General Discussion Board on Facebook!
You need to be 18 or over to join this program. There is no upper age limit, as long as you are in good health and able to do manual work.
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