Jessica Barrett
Jessica Barrett is a freelance writer and editor from Toronto, Canada. She has a background in the travel industry and previously worked with a content marketing agency, creating content for clients including Expedia, HomeAdvisor, and Vivid Seats. Jessica specializes in content production for nonprofits and has written for organizations working in human rights, conservation, education, and health care. She is also the screening lead and editor for DIBS Rescue and owns a small-batch granola business with her sister.
Articles by Jessica Barrett
Saving a Species: Palm Oil, Orangutans, and the Leuser Ecosystem
By Jessica BarrettSix and a half million acres. That’s the size of Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most ancient and biodiverse places ever documented and the last place on Earth where Sumatran rhinos, tigers, elephants, orangutans, and sun bears roam freely together.
Asia Sustainability
Why I advocate for slow travel—and why you should, too
By Jessica BarrettTravel used to be slow. Granted, it was slow because there was no other way…Somewhere along the way, we got (very) lost.
The World Insights Social Responsibility
Human Trafficking in Kenya: A Nonprofit Takes Aim
By Jessica BarrettImagine a seven-year-old girl, spending her days not in school, but cooking and cleaning for a family in a wealthy suburb. Or a young mother struggling to make ends meet, lured away from her children by an employment agency and forced into sex work abroad. For millions of people, this … Read more
Africa Human Trafficking
Ayahuasca Tourism: The Commercialization of Culture
By Jessica BarrettUsed by Indigenous tribes in the Amazon for medicinal purposes for centuries, it’s only in the last 50 years or so that Westerners have come to learn about ayahuasca
Central and South America Off the Beaten Path Events & Festivals Social Responsibility
Bringing Mobility and Hope to the Philippines
By Jessica BarrettCreating 19 prosthetic limbs for 13 children in under a week might seem like a daunting task, but Robert Schulman has never shied away from a challenge. The certified prosthetist and founder of US-based nonprofit Limb Kind Foundation arrived in Davao City, Philippines in September with a team of 11 … Read more
Asia Accessible Volunteer Travel Social Responsibility
Zero-waste travel: Can it be done?
By Jessica BarrettAnd then there’s the zero-waste lifestyle, which advocates for reducing your personal and household waste as much as possible. Those who practice this way of life say it’s changed them, and many are keen to share their tips and tricks with others.
The World Eco-tourism Sustainability
Travel during a pandemic: Responsible or reckless?
By Jessica BarrettMy last trip was in February 2020, just a month before the coronavirus pandemic shut much of the world down for months on end.
The World Safety Social Responsibility
A look through the lens of a humanitarian photographer
By Jessica BarrettFrom long, uncomfortable trips to challenging accommodations, humanitarian travel isn’t typically glamorous. Massachusetts-based social documentary photographer and Capture Humanity founder Matilde Simas recently traveled to Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda to explore the ways that children are exploited due to war.
Africa The Arts Social Responsibility
Global health crisis brings a much-needed break for nature
By Jessica Barrettf there is a bright side to this pandemic, it’s that it’s forced us to slow down. To spend more time with loved ones, to learn how to adapt to challenging and changing circumstances, and to observe how powerful collective action really is. And that forced slow down has made … Read more
The World Sustainability
Mexico’s street dog problem — and how travelers are part of the solution
By Jessica Barrett“Watch us come back with a dog,” I joked to my partner as we packed our things for four months on Mexico’s Pacific coast. As it turned out, it was less of a joke than I thought.
Mexico Volunteer Travel Social Responsibility