WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

WWOOFer Weeding

Image source: Tinyfarmblog.com

Inspired by yesterday’s article, I wanted to find another organization that matched volunteers with workstays: free work partnerships in which the volunteer exchanges labor for food and lodging. I spend most of my time researching traditional volunteer outfits, which are as varied as snowflakes. I’m well versed in the differences between for-profits and non-profits, the financial peccadilloes of NGOs and the many directories that match volunteers with opportunities. But I realized some time ago that a rather large population of people seemed to be under served: the grassroots communities who want to interact directly with volunteers, and the volunteers who want a less traditional volunteering experience. The volunteer organization serves as a buffer. It negotiates the terms, monitors the projects, and helps volunteers navigate travel, lodging, and sightseeing. But sometimes that buffer is also a hindrance. Especially for volunteers with limited resources who have all of the experience they need to work on their own terms.

Global Volunteers: Leave Your Mark on the World

Global Volunteers in Kenya

Image source: Petergreenberg.com

It’s been a while since I’ve written about a long-standing NGO—the kind of organization that has roots overseas, and in US politics. Global Volunteers has been working on grassroots international aid projects since 1984. They work with the United Nations, UNICEF, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. They are known as the “grandfather of volunteer vacations.” Indeed, they are pioneers. They “engage short-term volunteers in long-term projects,” a model that hundreds (even thousands?) of volunteer organizations use today.

Empowering Tibet with the Tibetan Village Project and Conscious Journeys

Employees of Conscious Journeys in Tibet

Image source: Consciousjourneys.org

A few years ago my husband traveled to Tibet with his grandfather. The high elevation was difficult for his grandfather, so they ended up spending a lot of time sitting with people, talking about the history of the Tibetan Plateau. Tibet is a unique place on this planet, the highest region on earth (at 4,900 meters), isolated from the rest of the world. Subsistence agriculture has traditionally been Tibet’s economic engine but tourism is becoming an increasingly important source of economic support. But the region has seen more than its share of unrest. Over the past thirty years, Tibetan separatists have been engaged in a power struggle with China, working to gain Tibet’s independence, and China has waged war in response. Human rights organizations have been working to help Tibet for years, though today Chinese influence in Tibet is commonplace.