On the last weekend in April, the Faroe Islands closes down to regular tourists for a popular campaign they call ‘closed for maintenance’. The voluntourists who come that weekend help repair and maintain the natural attractions that bring more than 100,000 visitors to the remote islands during the rest of the year.

Part of developing a more sustainable version of tourism for a self-governing archipelago of 50,000 in the North Atlantic perched between Iceland and Scotland, it offers a model for how small communities can develop tourism sustainably while retaining their unique culture.