Make a Difference
Volunteering
Big Brother Mouse
Namou.co is working to support children and young adults access to education
Supporting education efforts
Big Brother Mouse is a Lao-owned charity that has been publishing books in the Lao language since 2006, getting them into the hands of children in rural villages who may never have held a book before. They run schools near Luang Prabang and welcome visitors to spend time with students practising English through conversation, games, and activities.
On our Nam Ou expeditions, we take that same idea to communities the charity can’t easily reach. The villages between the dams have no bookshops, no English teachers, and very little contact with the outside world. We carry Big Brother Mouse books with us on the river, along with other useful supplies, and we spend time in each village simply talking. No lesson plans, no curriculum. Just conversation with children and young adults who are desperate to practise their English and curious about life beyond the riverbank. It is light touch volunteering that costs you nothing but a bit of time and makes a real difference to the people you meet.
Supporting local communities
Every village we paddle through gets something tangible from our visit. We carry supplies that are hard to come by in communities cut off by the dams: notebooks, pens, basic school materials, torches, first aid essentials. These aren’t handouts from a distance. You deliver them yourself, face to face, to the people who will use them. We work with our local partners to understand what each village actually needs before we arrive, so nothing goes to waste.
What you take home
You won’t get a certificate or a selfie with an orphan. What you will get is an experience that stays with you. Sitting on a riverbank teaching a teenager to introduce herself in English. Watching a child open a book with illustrations for the first time. Having your awful Lao pronunciation gently corrected by a six year old. These are the moments our guests talk about long after the whitewater fades from memory.
Muang Khua to Nong Kiaw
Some fun stats. Be part of the future.
Want to join us on the river?
Every expedition includes time in the villages along the Nam Ou. No experience needed, just a willingness to show up and connect.
Make a Difference
Volunteering
Big Brother Mouse
Namou.co is working to support children and young adults access to education
Supporting education efforts
Big Brother Mouse is a Lao-owned charity that has been publishing books in the Lao language since 2006, getting them into the hands of children in rural villages who may never have held a book before. They run schools near Luang Prabang and welcome visitors to spend time with students practising English through conversation, games, and activities.
On our Nam Ou expeditions, we take that same idea to communities the charity can’t easily reach. The villages between the dams have no bookshops, no English teachers, and very little contact with the outside world. We carry Big Brother Mouse books with us on the river, along with other useful supplies, and we spend time in each village simply talking. No lesson plans, no curriculum. Just conversation with children and young adults who are desperate to practise their English and curious about life beyond the riverbank. It is light touch volunteering that costs you nothing but a bit of time and makes a real difference to the people you meet.
Supporting local communities
Every village we paddle through gets something tangible from our visit. We carry supplies that are hard to come by in communities cut off by the dams: notebooks, pens, basic school materials, torches, first aid essentials. These aren’t handouts from a distance. You deliver them yourself, face to face, to the people who will use them. We work with our local partners to understand what each village actually needs before we arrive, so nothing goes to waste.
What you take home
You won’t get a certificate or a selfie with an orphan. What you will get is an experience that stays with you. Sitting on a riverbank teaching a teenager to introduce herself in English. Watching a child open a book with illustrations for the first time. Having your awful Lao pronunciation gently corrected by a six year old. These are the moments our guests talk about long after the whitewater fades from memory.
Muang Khua to Nong Kiaw
Some fun stats. Be part of the future.
Want to join us on the river?
Every expedition includes time in the villages along the Nam Ou. No experience needed, just a willingness to show up and connect.