“Reverse Mission Trips are different than any other kind of service trip or cultural immersion in a number of important ways. For starters, the work starts once you get home. “

-trip coordinator

We host student delegations with a minimum of 8, optimum of 10, and maximum of 12 participants.

We want our groups this small in order to blend in, or even go unnoticed. This protects the dignity of those we serve and does not overwhelm the local community.
Smaller numbers offer greater intimacy of experience and impact with our neighbors and within your group.
We have limited resources and accommodations, and larger groups take a toll on both.
We can be more efficient when planning, and utilize everyone during the few work projects we do.
If your numbers are higher, please check out Our Friends’ links for hosting sites we recommend. Participants must be 18 years or older. Jr & Sr high school groups, please CLICK HERE for a comparable experience.

We don’t want missionaries;
We need delegates

Appalachians don’t necessarily want tens-of-thousands of volunteers coming into the region each year. Nor do they need it. They are smart, creative and resourceful, in tightly knit neighborly communities. What they appreciate more than your help is when you get to know them and understand their joys and struggles. From their perspective, the greatest service you can offer is being on their journey with them, rather than trying to walk it for them.

If you’re coming here wanting to make a difference, real and lasting change for Appalachians only happens when you work alongside them for justice, and that can take lifetimes to achieve. Therefore, Appalachia needs delegates to come learn from the people, then, to go home to share that the poverty and environmental devastation here are, in large part, due to your personal, sometimes unconscious, lifestyle choices that can easily be changed. In other words, your mission is not here. It’s back home. That’s why we call them ‘reverse mission trips.’

So, we’ll introduce you to simple living, coal country and the community, and combine that with social analysis, critical thinking, and reflection. In the process, we suspect your world will be turned upside down and that, once you leave, you’ll want to encourage everyone to help make a real changes in Appalachia for the good of us all.

We invite you to step out of your comfort zones and break down stereotypes, and we’ll work with you to build relationships among the local people as well as within your group.

Your time will be divided evenly in three ways:

– 1/3 Education - experiential learning of Appalachian culture, and social and environmental justice issues.
– 1/3 Contemplation - discussing and reflecting on those experiences and discerning personal and collective actions we can take that will lead to justice.
– 1/3 Outreach - doing work projects both on the farm and in the community.

For Trip Coordinators:

For Participants:

Mandatory Prep work: Readings & Video
Programming – The flow of the week’s schedule
Accommodations – where you’ll stay and what you’ll eat
Work Projects – examples of service you’ll be doing
Things-To-Bring List – specifics you’ll need to be prepared and comfortable.
Who Else Has Been Here?

VIDEOS made by groups who have been here:

Reverse Mission Trips