Wellington: An Auckland-based tour operator this week launched a holiday with a difference - for tourists who want to help rebuild a Sri Lankan fishing village crushed by the December 26 tsunami.

The trip offers five days of sightseeing and a minimum of four days of reconstruction for 25 people with trade skills, said Stephen Greenfield, managing director of World Discovery Tours.

"Many of them don't want to do any sightseeing. They just want to go straight to where the need is and get stuck into the work," Greenfield said.

"It is a very practical way of giving help and hope to people who have suffered enormously."

'We wouldn't support this kind of activity'

The trip is being organised without profit, with reduced airfares, cheap hotels and travel agents working free of charge, Greenfield said. Tickets are priced from 2 300 to 2 600 New Zealand dollars (R9 588 to R10 800).

More than 50 people have inquired about the first trip, departing on January 20, he said.

"There are just so many people who have been rejected by Red Cross and other agencies who just want to go," Greenfield said. Sri Lankan authorities have reported 30 721 deaths from the December 26 tsunami, and tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have lost their homes.

The tour company plans to help with the reconstruction of Paiyagala, a fishing village in the Kalutara district, just south of the capital, Colombo. If the first trip is a success, the company would like to organise reconstruction tours there for the rest of the year, Greenfield said.

Greenfield said the commanding officer for Sri Lanka's reconstruction has told him that the country needs mechanics and fibreglass workers to repair fishing boats, carpenters to rebuild homes, schools and medical centres, and "handy persons".

Nevertheless, the company has come under fire. Aid agency World Vision New Zealand said it would discourage people from taking part in the project.

"There are plenty of examples of well-meaning (aid) projects going wrong because of a lack of experience and knowledge," said communications officer James Addis.

"We wouldn't support this kind of activity."

• This article was originally published on page 19 of Tribune on January 14, 2005