All that glitters: extraction as communication in international voluntourism practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Extraction” may be understood as both a metaphor and in a Marxian materialist sense, the set of material and discursive conditions through which international workers and travelers experience and understand the nation of Peru. This article examines the popularity of voluntourism programs through the lens of extraction. The politics of extraction is understood in terms of neo-colonial power relations that unite practices of humanitarian engagement and community development with contributions to the personal growth of voluntourists. These travelers anticipate personally enriching themselves through their intercultural experiences. They anticipate gaining emotional and experiential wealth that is associated with (often vague) notions of helping others. By drawing on semi-structured interviews and three months of ethnographic fieldwork at key sites in Peru, as well as by tracing a historical trajectory of extraction, I argue that within contemporary neoliberal modes of humanitarian engagement, an extractive ontology prioritizes the enrichment of foreign individuals and agencies over the wellbeing of communities in need.