Custom Educational Travel

(re)Thinking Travel
Intentional by Design. humble by nature

Cultivating a groundswell of critical explorers and global citizens dedicated to reimagining the ways we live, learn, and move together.

Founded 2006
Countries 0+
Participant Rating 0/10
Global Alumni 0+

Our Story

We Began in Accra

with questions…

Is voluntourism helping or hurting? How can we make travel a force for good? How can visitors support local community development? Where can we find the best ice cream, really?

Operation Groundswell was founded in 2006 by two university students with well-worn backpacks and lots of questions. 20 years and over 500 programs later, those questions still drive everything we do. OG designs and delivers custom immersive programs for institutions and groups — rooted in experiential learning, community-engaged programming, and critical international education.

Community in Ghana

Our Values

The Anatomy Of

a groundswell

Crafted collaboratively with over fifty OG alumni, program leaders, and community partners. These are not aspirational — they're in our DNA and provide the standards we hold ourselves to on every program.

01 Unfiltered Humility
02 Elastic Adaptability
03 Cultural Fluency
04 Ecosystem Stewardship
05 Mutual Transformation
06 Critical Inquiry
07 Radical Empathy
08 Full Life Livin'
Unfiltered Humility
We listen first, speak second, and learn always — entering every encounter with the willingness to meet others as equals.

Where We Go

From the Andes to the Himalayas

and beyond

OG has built programs and community partnerships across Latin America, East and West Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and beyond. We work where we have genuine relationships — not where we can arrange a tour.

World map showing OG program regions

Looking for Inspiration?

Programs That Are

tailored to fit

Every OG program starts with a conversation, not a catalogue. These are some of the programs we've designed with our institutional sponsors — each one built around a unique set of learning goals and inquiries, locations, community partners, and the group of learners.

Our Local Partners

The People Who

make the journey possible

Ecoaldeas Perú community

Featured Partner

Ecoaldeas Perú

San Martín, Peru

Established in 2013, Ecoaldeas Perú are stewards of the Upper Amazon and San Martín highlands — a vital hub for indigenous-led conservation and cultural resistance.

Alongside the Chirikyacu community, they manage traditional crafts, sustainable agriculture, and environmental education that puts community sovereignty before tourism.

They were here long before we arrived. They'll be there long after we leave.

Our Institutional Sponsors

Trusted by Institutions

that take their students seriously

Over twenty years, OG has designed programs with universities and colleges that are serious about learning outcomes, student safety, and the quality of the experience.

Boston University
Carleton University
Duquesne University
Mohawk College
Niagara College
Stanford Business
University of British Columbia
University of Toronto

Personal Testimonials

The People Who

(re)think travel with us

Over twenty years, institutional sponsors and the people who travel with us keep coming back. Here is what they say about their OG experience.

Operation Groundswell has been instrumental in helping us ensure the safety of our students. We have selected them with the confidence of knowing we can rely on them to support and care for our students — all while providing a seamless experience where the safety planning goes unnoticed by participants.

Veronica Vasquez

Director, Centre for International Experience
University of Toronto

Working with OG has been a special experience from start to finish. They were great collaborators in building a program that fit our needs and honoured our values, and worked with us to make it accessible to all students. I can't wait to work with them again.

Emily Marchese

Assistant Director, Global Learning
Nazareth College

OG created an itinerary that allowed me to truly connect with the people and the culture. Their leadership did an amazing job of affording us the opportunity to experience a new country in a way that connected us to the people behind the purely intellectual questions most of us had going in.

Susan

MBA Student
Stanford Graduate School of Business

Our programme was thoughtfully designed and expertly executed by skilled, knowledgeable Programme Leaders. The experiences and learning will be a part of me forever. OG has created an amazing set of learning and growth opportunities.

Simon Galton

Faculty
Mohawk College

Our Approach

Selective. Collaborative.

Grounded.

OG takes on a small number of engagements each year. That's intentional. Good programmes are built on relationships — with institutional partners, with communities in the field, and with the participants who travel with us. We work best with partners who are serious about the quality of the experience and willing to invest the time that good design requires.

01

Community-First Design

Every programme is built around genuine relationships with communities and partner organisations in the field. We build programmes that contribute, not extract.

02

Learning Before Logistics

Curriculum and learning outcomes shape the itinerary — not the reverse. A programme is only as valuable as the learning framework that holds it together.

03

Responsibility Built In

Safety planning, risk assessment, and emergency preparedness are integrated from the outset — not added as an afterthought.

04

Measured Scale

We work with a select number of partners each year. This allows us to bring genuine expertise and attention to every engagement we take on.

Get in Touch

Let's Think About

your program

If you're developing an international educational travel program — or looking to strengthen one you already run — we'd like to hear about it. Good programs take time to design. The conversation is where that starts.