Safety in Traveling Village
At Traveling Village, we know that safety is a top priority for families considering joining us. Worldschooling and nomadic education offer incredible opportunities, but there have been cases where worldschooling hubs and similar projects have faced safety concerns. Whether due to poor organizational structures, financial motivations, or problematic leadership, these issues highlight the importance of a strong foundation built on trust, transparency, and community.
How we prioritize safety
We have several key measures in place to create a safe and welcoming environment for all families:
1. A Thorough Sign-Up Process
Not everyone can simply sign up and join Traveling Village. We have a structured onboarding process designed to ensure that the people joining align with our values. This process includes multiple steps, allowing both our founding families and prospective members to connect and determine whether there is a good fit. The idea is not so much that the founding families select families, but having a thorough process helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and acts as a self-selecting mechanism.
2. A Strong but Flexible Structure
While we provide support and structure, every family in Traveling Village retains the freedom to live as they choose. There is no enforced schedule, central authority, or rigid system that families must follow. This balance of structure and flexibility ensures that every family can create a setup that works best for them while still benefiting from the larger community. Every family can at all times do what is the right thing for them.
3. No Drop-Off Hub
We do not have a drop-off system where children are left with caregivers for extended periods. Parents are responsible for their children at all times, ensuring that the learning experience is safe and aligned with each family’s needs. With our structure we hope to create an environment where people feel safe and comfortable to help each other.
4. An Emergency and Conflict Resolution Workgroup
We have an internal workgroup dedicated to handling emergencies and resolving conflicts. While issues are rare, having a structured approach to handling challenges helps maintain harmony and provides a clear path for addressing concerns should they arise. A workgroup consists of 3-6 people (so 3-6 families are represented in the workgroup).
5. A Community-Driven Approach
Traveling Village is run by a community, not a single leader or top-down authority. With 20 families involved, there is always a diverse group of experienced individuals available to support, listen, and provide guidance. This structure helps prevent the risks that can arise when a single person or small group holds unchecked power over decision-making.
6. Financial Transparency
We are trying to make Traveling Village financially long-term sustainable, but instead of buying a ticket that includes everything, we have separated the financials to have full transparency. You pay a one-time sign-up fee that goes into running TV and it’s only this fee that you pay to TV. Besides that, we have a communal fee, where every family pays the same amount, and the money is handled by a workgroup (again consisting of 3-6 families). We find that this helps align expectations and create full transparency.
Creating a culture of openness
One of the best ways to ensure safety is by fostering a culture where concerns can be openly discussed. Families in Traveling Village look out for one another, share experiences, and provide support. Families signing up for TV invest quite a lot of energy in it, and for most, it’s been a huge decision.
This level of engagement naturally creates an environment where safety and well-being are prioritized. One of the upsides of being more of a village than a group trip is that we have a lot of people with a lot of experience and different skills and it’s quite unlikely you won't find someone you really like and feel comfortable sharing hard things with.
Our handbook
We take safety seriously, and our approach reflects our commitment to creating a trusted, supportive, and secure environment for families. Each village has a handbook that goes more into depth about these issues and also acts as terms and conditions when signing up for that specific village. We change the handbook a bit village to village, but you can read our latest iteration here.
