The Starfish Group Asia story began in 2002, when Dan Moore travelled and volunteered in Thailand and noticed that there were whole sections of Thai society not receiving any kind of support to improve their lives. He envisioned a volunteer travel network that not only provided financial assistance for these marginalized communities, but also hands-on sustainable community development projects to help them become self-sufficient, while at the same time still offering travellers authentic experiences and fostering cultural understandings.