This paper draws upon Bourdieusian literature to examine how capitals are exchanged between stakeholders in volunteer tourism settings. Through exploratory interviews at schools in Cambodia and Kenya, we identify how volunteers and hosts cognise objectified cultural value for volunteer schools. However, due to the financial hardship associated with volunteer projects, the findings illustrate how a negotiated understanding is reached for Western volunteers' economic value. This study applies an interactionist perspective to examine how social interaction and cognition precede Bourdieu's structural capital exchanges. We argue that meaning development significantly influences capital exchange and, thus, by applying the theoretical framework of Bourdieu's practice theory with Blumer's symbolic interactionism we consolidate two previously un-synthesised concepts and contribute a new avenue for sociological research.