Under the VRI scheme you have the opportunity to visit development projects and learn about the culture of rural India. The emphasis is on learning rather than traditional volunteer work. The scheme involves a three-week stay at our partner project at Amarpurkashi, a village in northern India, which provides a safe place to experience this very different way of life. Many visitors treat this three-week stay as an end in itself, often as part of a longer stay in India as an independent traveller. They find that their stay at Amarpurkashi has given them more confidence to travel independently, and that they go home with a much more rounded view of India.  Other visitors decide they want to get more involved; they go on to visit other projects linked to the scheme, or they remain at Amarpurkashi and become more involved in voluntary work there.