St. James’ Park » Guidelines for Volunteers and Hosts

An Alternative Campsite and Hostel in Bulgaria

Guidelines for Volunteers and Hosts

THOUGHTS AND GUIDELINES ON BEING A VOLUNTEER AND A HOST.

Volunteering.

This basically means working in exchange for food and accommodation but it is so much more than that. It’s a way to:

see a part of the world that you might not normally see on a regular trip – it’s the chance to see what goes on in the little villages that you pass on the bus or train
meet interesting people that you might not normally meet –eg. local people farming in traditional ways and ex-pats who have chosen to live a different life and other volunteers
learn new skills – for instance experiencing biodynamic farming or learning traditional methods of house building and how animals are cared for
share skills and experience that you have
surprise yourself with what you can do!

So how does it work?

There are a few organisations around the world whose job is to facilitate the matching up of people who want to volunteer with people who need help. The main ones are Willing Workers on Organic Farm and HelpX.

WWOOFing is about recognising that organic farming is very labour intensive but many people share the ideology that growing food should be as natural as possible. Some countries have their own WWOOF organizations but many come under the umbrella of WWOOF International. It’s a great idea and has been going for a long time but still there are some areas for debate-for example:

There is a fee for WWOOF International but there is also a fee for the counties which have an independent organisation. Travellers on a very tight budget often have difficulty with this.
What constitutes an “organic farm”. The use of the word ‘farm’ is more about land management. There are many people who manage their land organically and ethically but who are not farmers in the sense of growing produce to sell. Much more difficult is the term ‘organic’. Many people take this to mean simply not using chemicals but in fact it is more of an overall philosophy – for example it may seem contradictory to work the land organically yet pay no attention to recycling or the generation of waste.

There is no regulatory system in WWOOF – it works on trust and it works for the most part but you will always meet wwoofers with interesting stories to tell about hosts – but essentially, it does work, because people want it to.

HelpX is a similar idea but does not restrict itself to organic farms. The website also allows prospective volunteers to advertise themselves and the hosts can then take a more active role in the process. The site also allows feedback and references. You can join on 2 levels and membership is fairly immediate. In my experience, this site work best for both hosts and volunteers.

Guidelines for Hosts and Volunteers.

Volunteers

Be a volunteer! It’s a great way to see the world, meet interesting people, learn new skills and be of use to someone. Some things to think about:

Be reliable! The worst thing you can do is make arrangement to do some volunteering and then not turn up! It happens often and usually means that the Host is left with no help perhaps when they seriously need it. Hosts take volunteers because they need the extra help- its not a game – they will be relying on you and will probably say ‘no’ to other volunteers after agreeing to you coming – so if you don’t turn up, everyone has lost out. Organisations like HelpX have a reference section and Hosts will comment. And its nice to know that you are needed!
Be clear about your role, the work you have to do and how the food works – are you expected to cook? Do you want to cook?
Try to be flexible if you have some specific dietary requirements. It’s possible that your Host has never heard of a vegan!
If the Host has a website, make time to check it out – is this really where you want to be?
Some places are very isolated – are you OK with this? How does transport work, how easy is it to get to the Internet?
Do it! You’ll enjoy it and you’ll see a side of the country that will stay with you after you’ve forgotten about the tourist sights.

Hosts

Be a host! Its great fun, you meet interesting people and you get lots of work done and you get to share experiences with a load of new people. You don’t have to be a farmer to take volunteers. If you are managing your land ethically and organically, volunteers will want come to you. Some things to think about to make the experience a good one:

Be clear how it works in terms of time – for example: volunteers work 35 hours a week and there is flexibility about how it works out – 5 or 6 hours a day for 5 or 6 days a week or its 9-4 Monday to Friday
How long do you expect people to stay – it can be a hassle having someone for only 2 or 3 days – do you prefer people to stay at least 2 weeks for instance so they get an understanding of how you work?
How many volunteers will you take at any one time? Is this flexible?
Be prepared to be frustrated by the unreliability of volunteers’ plans! Maybe the first line in an email response could be “are you reliable?” Although people do not usually intend to be unreliable, volunteers tend to be young people traveling and having some kind of adventure. Flexibility and the opportunity to change your mind is part of that adventure but sadly they often forget that people who need volunteers actually really do need them!
Be clear about what you want the volunteers to do and how you want it done –is it a task oriented approach eg picking fruit or weeding or is it an occasion to use some initiative; try to find out if the volunteer has any particular skills you can use. People get more of a sense of satisfaction from their work if they can see what they have accomplished. In my experience, I usually give volunteers at least one ongoing task, like weeding, but also involve them in some other project that they can see an end to.
Make sure they put the tools back at the end of the day and tidy up around the job.
How does the food work – can they help themselves; is cooking communal; do the volunteers live separately from you; do you all eat together; who clears up etc. Can you handle specific dietary needs eg vegan.
Make sure the volunteers have a comfortable space to sleep; is there a communal living area; is there a TV, games, Internet access? None of these are necessary – I have none of these and in fact for the past two years, I haven’t had a bathroom –nobody has been bothered about that. Just be clear about what is available.
Say thank you! These people are giving you their time for free and often they are doing a task for the first time. They will be trying their hardest to do a good job so praise and encouragement go a long way.
If the volunteers have come through HelpX then make sure you give them a recommendation or more pertinent comment if they didn’t turn up!
Make sure you have public liability insurance cover.
Neither WWOOF or HelpX are responsible for the volunteer when they are with you – they just facilitate the meeting so if there is a problem, its pretty much up to you to deal with it. Of course you can comment via HelpX and contact your WWOOF representative to inform them (WWOOF BG may not be interested!) but for anything serious, contact the police.
Always take the name, home address and passport number of every volunteer. Do this as soon as they arrive.
Contact me if you want some more encouragement.

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Respecting the Peace and Quiet

There has never been a campsite here before and Voditsa is lowly getting used to having foreign visitors around. Up to now they like us and we want you to help keep it that way. This is a quiet and peaceful village where most people go to bed early and get up early. You can help us by respecting that – its not appropriate to walk along the street in a noisy group coming out of the bar at 11 o’clock after a good session – actually the only bit that’s not appropriate is the noise – just talk quietly!

There’s a shared outside living area with a BBQ and a fire circle where you can sit up all night if you want but we ask you at all times to respect other people’s space and sleep.

Thank you.

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