Spiritual tourism gets good karma

Monk for a Month springboards development for spiritual adventure travel company

Since launching Monk for a Month (Thailand) in 2009 and  Muslim for a Month (Turkey) in 2011, business has continued to expand for Spiritual Adventure Travel Company World Weavers. 

A meeting with Spiti EcoSphere co-founder Sunil Chauhan at ITB Berlin back in 2011 led to the creation of the innovative program Monk for a Month: Tibetan India. Now in its 4th year the program offers seekers and guests a deep immersion experience over 21-days into Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayas. Spiti means the “middle land” signifying its border location and the blending of Tibetan culture, religion and geography within an Indian geopolitical context.

In November 2013 at the UNWTO International Conference on Spiritual Tourism in Nimbin, Vietnam, World Weavers founder Ben Bowler was a keynote speaker sharing grassroots insights into this emerging field. Then in September 2014 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the PATA Conference on Sustainable Development through Tourism, Bowler was again speaking on the subject.  It was at these conferences that new relationships were formed that led to the development of two exciting new programs: Monk for a Month: Nepal – Genesis of Buddhism and Monk for a Month: Cambodia – Journey through Time

The pioneering program for M4aM Nepal is in April 2015 and it is a full group having reached  the limit of 10 guests. The second program in May 2015 is already half full. Group sizes on all World Weavers programs are limited to 8-10 in order to maintain the intimacy of the group as well as the authenticity of the immersion experience.

Monk for a Month Cambodia is scheduled to begin in September and October 2015. Led by a former Monk this 15-day program will offer a deep and educational journey into Cambodian spirituality within a Theravada Buddhist context. World Weavers and their local partner are confident that out of the two million spiritual sightseers drawn each year to visit the wonders of Angkor Wat at least a fraction will be looking for a deeper, longer immersion into Cambodian spirituality by joining this ground-breaking program.

World Weavers plans for new programs include a spiritual encounter program into Indigenous Australian communities and a multi-faith journey across India called The Mystic Express.

Valere Tjolle

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