Sadly, we had to cancel the volunteer tourism trip to Mali and Festival in the Desert for January 2010. The poor economy has hit volunteer tourism very hard. Our tour operator in Mali said tourism is definitely down. We had a wonderful school garden project lined up in Terili. We sent the money ahead to buy the trees, so, hopfully, the school will still benefit from receiving the trees - even though we won't be there to help put the trees in the ground. Ah...well...such is life. We WILL get back! And, we have plans to attend the 2011 Festival in the Desert. To watch for that trip and other volunteer tourism trips, please go to:  www.givebackkickback.com  We hope to see you soon! -Tina