September 7, 2024 • 11 mins
In the third episode of the Ripples of Humanity podcast, I go solo and share information about the Workaway volunteering platform and my experiences with Workaway volunteering.
Workaway is a community of global travellers who want to see the world whilst contributing and giving back to the places they visit.
The platform enables over 50,000 hosts in over 170 countries to offer volunteering opportunities usually in exchange for accommodation and food to be linked with travellers!
Workaway website and socials:
https://www.instagram.com/workawayinfo?igsh=ZGZiN2tzeTkzMWZs
https://web.facebook.com/workaway.info
Workaway articles and video:
The official Workaway video (youtube.com)
https://www.workaway.info/Workaway News: 20 Years of Adventures and Memories
https://www.workaway.info/Workaway.info the site for cultural exchange. Gap year volunteer for food and accommodation whilst travelling abroad.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to Ripples of Humanity. I'm Rachel Thompson and I've started this
(00:10):
podcast to share interesting stories along my travels of people and things I've discovered
that are creating positive ripples throughout humanity. This episode today I'm going to
do a solo episode to talk about the platform of Workaway Volunteering. So Workaway Volunteering
(00:31):
is an online platform which connects travellers and hosts in different countries who are offering
some kind of volunteering project or experience which a traveller can contribute to in exchange
usually for food and accommodation. The standard arrangement is usually around four to five
hours of work provided four to five days a week in exchange for the food and accommodation.
(00:57):
The mission of Workaway is pretty simple, that they want to do things differently and
build a sharing community of global travellers who genuinely want to see the world whilst
contributing and giving back to the places they visit. I discovered Workaway has been
going for 22 years and it started in 2002 when the founder David was travelling and
(01:22):
he wanted to extend his stay in Hawaii and he suggested to the owners of the accommodation
he was staying in that he could volunteer in exchange for the accommodation and food.
And because he loved travelling so much this way he could extend his trips, get a greater
understanding of culture and integration in a way that just wasn't possible as a regular
(01:42):
tourist. And because of this experience it planted the seed in him so that for the future
he would start the Workaway platform. I loved reading that he started creating the platform
so boldly by reading the book Beginning Programming for Dummies and then persevered over a number
of years and patiently allowed the site to start to grow organically with more hosts
(02:06):
and travellers gradually signing up. I love that it's grown so organically that advertising
for the site was never actually needed and I can totally understand how this happened
given the nature of travelling and the value of word of mouth recommendations. That's actually
how I found out about Workaway. I was at a hostel in Ecuador chatting with other travellers
(02:29):
who were sharing their Workaway experiences. So I love how concepts like this can spread.
Like ripples through a global travel community. So as I mentioned I was introduced to Workaway
while I was travelling. It was 2014 when I was backpacking solo around South America
(02:52):
and I loved the idea of volunteering while I was travelling. And I'd already volunteered
a couple of times just informally in some countries. And when I heard about Workaway
as a platform it was like my dreams came true and that I could just be on this one site
and have lots of different opportunities to explore. To start up it's pretty simple. You
(03:14):
set up a profile, pay a small membership fee and then you can message hosts to see if they
have availability for the volunteer work you're interested in. Your profile gets verified
and it tells a little bit about yourself and you can see reviews about the hosts from previous
Workaways who have volunteered there which is really helpful. The hosts have a lot of
(03:36):
detail in their profiles sharing what they're offering and what kind of support they're
seeking, exchange arrangements and commitment needed from the volunteers. And the range
of opportunities is actually so huge. There's over 50,000 opportunities covered in over
170 different countries now. And these opportunities range from helping someone to start up a permaculture
(03:59):
farm to volunteering with sustainable community projects to helping at a guest house. There
are animal shelters, pet sitting, language teaching and helping with outdoor adventure
camp opportunities and it just goes on and on. My very first experience as a Workawayer
(04:20):
was in 2014 in Columbia where I found a place to volunteer which was an eco yoga village
which was run by a Hare Krishna community. And so my volunteering work there was in the
organic fruit and vegetable and medicinal herb garden. I think it was about four hours
a day, four days a week. And in exchange for this I had accommodation, food, daily yoga
(04:47):
and I was also able to be involved in any other activities happening in the Hare Krishna
community. I remember this being such an incredible experience. I met some other beautiful volunteers
and was able to get a flavour for living like a Hare Krishna which was very fun. Lots of
chanting, lots of dancing. I also ate really delicious food fresh from the garden and got
(05:13):
to appreciate how much love the Hare Krishna's put into their cooking. And I practiced daily
yoga as well which was something I hadn't done much of before. I was just starting to
get interested in yoga actually and this was the first time I'd had ever really slowed
down in my life. I was really taking the time here in the month in the community to look
(05:38):
a bit more within, open my mind up to some other concepts, other ways of living. And
I was eating purely vegetarian for the whole month and for the first time I really contemplated
where my food came from. And this actually made such an impression on me that something
shifted in me internally and pretty soon after that I became vegetarian which I still am
(06:00):
today. I also remember in a yoga class there I was in relaxation and had a vision of me
teaching yoga. And funnily enough two years later I was doing my yoga teacher training
in India and now teach yoga. So I really valued my experience in the community and I really
(06:26):
appreciated that I wouldn't have found this without the Workaway platform and I'm really
grateful for this. And then now fast forward to 2024, 10 years later, I recently did another
Workaway. I was in a rural village in the mountains of Sri Lanka where I stayed with
(06:47):
a local family and assisted with some things in their homestay. It ended up being a really
beautiful cultural exchange because it was the off season so there wasn't a whole lot
to do at the homestay but it was just a really special time to explore the local area, get
to know the family and their culture, cook with them, explore with them and I really
(07:11):
felt like I was part of the family and it can be really valuable to have that when you're
on such a long trip away from home. But once again I just wouldn't have found this as easily
without the Workaway platform. Then now as I'm recording I'm staying in Midigama which
is a beachside town in Sri Lanka and through Workaway I've been linked with a woman who
(07:38):
runs an animal rescue shelter here and I go there to support with the cats and dogs and
have met some other lovely volunteers who are actually staying at the property. And
again this has just been such a beautiful addition to my time here and definitely has
been the highlight. In fact I feel like all the memories I have made through my Workaway
(08:02):
experience and other volunteer experiences I've had in my life, it's always a highlight
of my travels. And it's not for everyone of course and there's always different reasons
why we travel but I really feel like for me it fulfils my desire for curiosity and experiencing
(08:23):
cultures in different ways, connecting to a cause, giving back and really feeling a
positive impact from my travels. So it is pretty awesome to see how the Workaway platform
has grown over the years, especially in the last 10 years since I was using it. On the
site there's a way you can link up with other travellers, there are lots and lots of other
(08:48):
experiences of Workaway volunteers that are shared and host experiences and they've also
done really well so when you search it's really optimised to find what suits you. If you're
looking for example to volunteer for a not-for-profit you can search for that really easily by country
and then by refining it to the not-for-profit search. Another thing I love about the Workaway
(09:13):
platform is that part of the profit it makes goes to regularly support some of the projects
that are on the Workaway platform. So they actually request travellers to send Workaway
information on projects that might be in need of financial help and that Workaways find
and then the Workaway team will have a look at it and maybe even visit to see if there's
(09:35):
any kind of long-term support that they can provide. The platform is also really mindful
of any challenges and issues that might come up and they do provide 24-7 contact support
which I think is really important and they have a lot of information about safety considerations
(09:55):
on their site as well. So the current cost of a 12-month subscription to Workaway is
$49 US dollars. So as of September 2024 that is about $70 AUD. I really feel like this
is good value even if you're only going for one Workaway experience. Also it's free to
(10:17):
list as a host organisation if that's more something that you might be interested in
exploring. So I'll put a link in the episode notes to the Workaway website, their social
media pages which they're really active on and a couple of articles that talk about some
of the Workaway background. If you haven't checked it out already I really encourage
(10:39):
you to have a look at it if you're interested in it. You're able to search and browse the
different hosts without having to be a member so you can go on there and see what interests
you and what it's all about. I actually even had a look at my home state in Victoria and
saw that there were some really cool Workaway opportunities which looked like fun. I guess
(11:00):
I think of Workaway as something you do when you're in a different country but of course
you can explore it in your own backyard as well. Well I hope this has been helpful introducing
you to the Workaway platform. Hopefully on my travels I'll be able to interview some
Workaway volunteers and some hosts so you can hear other people's experiences and of
(11:24):
course there are also many good stories of people's experiences on their website. Thanks
so much for taking the time to listen, sending lots of love.
Hello and welcome to Ripples of Humanity. I'm Rachel Thompson and I've started this
(00:10):
podcast to share interesting stories along my travels of people and things I've discovered
that are creating positive ripples throughout humanity. This episode today I'm going to
do a solo episode to talk about the platform of Workaway Volunteering. So Workaway Volunteering
(00:31):
is an online platform which connects travellers and hosts in different countries who are offering
some kind of volunteering project or experience which a traveller can contribute to in exchange
usually for food and accommodation. The standard arrangement is usually around four to five
hours of work provided four to five days a week in exchange for the food and accommodation.
(00:57):
The mission of Workaway is pretty simple, that they want to do things differently and
build a sharing community of global travellers who genuinely want to see the world whilst
contributing and giving back to the places they visit. I discovered Workaway has been
going for 22 years and it started in 2002 when the founder David was travelling and
(01:22):
he wanted to extend his stay in Hawaii and he suggested to the owners of the accommodation
he was staying in that he could volunteer in exchange for the accommodation and food.
And because he loved travelling so much this way he could extend his trips, get a greater
understanding of culture and integration in a way that just wasn't possible as a regular
(01:42):
tourist. And because of this experience it planted the seed in him so that for the future
he would start the Workaway platform. I loved reading that he started creating the platform
so boldly by reading the book Beginning Programming for Dummies and then persevered over a number
of years and patiently allowed the site to start to grow organically with more hosts
(02:06):
and travellers gradually signing up. I love that it's grown so organically that advertising
for the site was never actually needed and I can totally understand how this happened
given the nature of travelling and the value of word of mouth recommendations. That's actually
how I found out about Workaway. I was at a hostel in Ecuador chatting with other travellers
(02:29):
who were sharing their Workaway experiences. So I love how concepts like this can spread.
Like ripples through a global travel community. So as I mentioned I was introduced to Workaway
while I was travelling. It was 2014 when I was backpacking solo around South America
(02:52):
and I loved the idea of volunteering while I was travelling. And I'd already volunteered
a couple of times just informally in some countries. And when I heard about Workaway
as a platform it was like my dreams came true and that I could just be on this one site
and have lots of different opportunities to explore. To start up it's pretty simple. You
(03:14):
set up a profile, pay a small membership fee and then you can message hosts to see if they
have availability for the volunteer work you're interested in. Your profile gets verified
and it tells a little bit about yourself and you can see reviews about the hosts from previous
Workaways who have volunteered there which is really helpful. The hosts have a lot of
(03:36):
detail in their profiles sharing what they're offering and what kind of support they're
seeking, exchange arrangements and commitment needed from the volunteers. And the range
of opportunities is actually so huge. There's over 50,000 opportunities covered in over
170 different countries now. And these opportunities range from helping someone to start up a permaculture
(03:59):
farm to volunteering with sustainable community projects to helping at a guest house. There
are animal shelters, pet sitting, language teaching and helping with outdoor adventure
camp opportunities and it just goes on and on. My very first experience as a Workawayer
(04:20):
was in 2014 in Columbia where I found a place to volunteer which was an eco yoga village
which was run by a Hare Krishna community. And so my volunteering work there was in the
organic fruit and vegetable and medicinal herb garden. I think it was about four hours
a day, four days a week. And in exchange for this I had accommodation, food, daily yoga
(04:47):
and I was also able to be involved in any other activities happening in the Hare Krishna
community. I remember this being such an incredible experience. I met some other beautiful volunteers
and was able to get a flavour for living like a Hare Krishna which was very fun. Lots of
chanting, lots of dancing. I also ate really delicious food fresh from the garden and got
(05:13):
to appreciate how much love the Hare Krishna's put into their cooking. And I practiced daily
yoga as well which was something I hadn't done much of before. I was just starting to
get interested in yoga actually and this was the first time I'd had ever really slowed
down in my life. I was really taking the time here in the month in the community to look
(05:38):
a bit more within, open my mind up to some other concepts, other ways of living. And
I was eating purely vegetarian for the whole month and for the first time I really contemplated
where my food came from. And this actually made such an impression on me that something
shifted in me internally and pretty soon after that I became vegetarian which I still am
(06:00):
today. I also remember in a yoga class there I was in relaxation and had a vision of me
teaching yoga. And funnily enough two years later I was doing my yoga teacher training
in India and now teach yoga. So I really valued my experience in the community and I really
(06:26):
appreciated that I wouldn't have found this without the Workaway platform and I'm really
grateful for this. And then now fast forward to 2024, 10 years later, I recently did another
Workaway. I was in a rural village in the mountains of Sri Lanka where I stayed with
(06:47):
a local family and assisted with some things in their homestay. It ended up being a really
beautiful cultural exchange because it was the off season so there wasn't a whole lot
to do at the homestay but it was just a really special time to explore the local area, get
to know the family and their culture, cook with them, explore with them and I really
(07:11):
felt like I was part of the family and it can be really valuable to have that when you're
on such a long trip away from home. But once again I just wouldn't have found this as easily
without the Workaway platform. Then now as I'm recording I'm staying in Midigama which
is a beachside town in Sri Lanka and through Workaway I've been linked with a woman who
(07:38):
runs an animal rescue shelter here and I go there to support with the cats and dogs and
have met some other lovely volunteers who are actually staying at the property. And
again this has just been such a beautiful addition to my time here and definitely has
been the highlight. In fact I feel like all the memories I have made through my Workaway
(08:02):
experience and other volunteer experiences I've had in my life, it's always a highlight
of my travels. And it's not for everyone of course and there's always different reasons
why we travel but I really feel like for me it fulfils my desire for curiosity and experiencing
(08:23):
cultures in different ways, connecting to a cause, giving back and really feeling a
positive impact from my travels. So it is pretty awesome to see how the Workaway platform
has grown over the years, especially in the last 10 years since I was using it. On the
site there's a way you can link up with other travellers, there are lots and lots of other
(08:48):
experiences of Workaway volunteers that are shared and host experiences and they've also
done really well so when you search it's really optimised to find what suits you. If you're
looking for example to volunteer for a not-for-profit you can search for that really easily by country
and then by refining it to the not-for-profit search. Another thing I love about the Workaway
(09:13):
platform is that part of the profit it makes goes to regularly support some of the projects
that are on the Workaway platform. So they actually request travellers to send Workaway
information on projects that might be in need of financial help and that Workaways find
and then the Workaway team will have a look at it and maybe even visit to see if there's
(09:35):
any kind of long-term support that they can provide. The platform is also really mindful
of any challenges and issues that might come up and they do provide 24-7 contact support
which I think is really important and they have a lot of information about safety considerations
(09:55):
on their site as well. So the current cost of a 12-month subscription to Workaway is
$49 US dollars. So as of September 2024 that is about $70 AUD. I really feel like this
is good value even if you're only going for one Workaway experience. Also it's free to
(10:17):
list as a host organisation if that's more something that you might be interested in
exploring. So I'll put a link in the episode notes to the Workaway website, their social
media pages which they're really active on and a couple of articles that talk about some
of the Workaway background. If you haven't checked it out already I really encourage
(10:39):
you to have a look at it if you're interested in it. You're able to search and browse the
different hosts without having to be a member so you can go on there and see what interests
you and what it's all about. I actually even had a look at my home state in Victoria and
saw that there were some really cool Workaway opportunities which looked like fun. I guess
(11:00):
I think of Workaway as something you do when you're in a different country but of course
you can explore it in your own backyard as well. Well I hope this has been helpful introducing
you to the Workaway platform. Hopefully on my travels I'll be able to interview some
Workaway volunteers and some hosts so you can hear other people's experiences and of
(11:24):
course there are also many good stories of people's experiences on their website. Thanks
so much for taking the time to listen, sending lots of love.
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