"Got a spare few thousand pounds? You too can work for free!" This might as well be the tagline for many companies offering volunteering placements abroad. One site trying to do things differently is Globalhelpswap.com. The volunteering opportunities on its site are all either free or low cost, and range from working with a Orangutan Foundation in Borneo to being a coordinator for the Amazon Conservation Association in Peru.
Launched in late 2012, the site is run by a well-travelled couple, Paul Farrugia and Karen Sargent. They don't get any commission from the organisations listed and it is designed to be mutually beneficial to hosts and volunteers. After the placement ends, both parties are asked to "rate" each other, which will help the site's other users make decisions. The site suggests giving volunteers free food and accommodation in exchange for 20-25 hours of work a week, although you'll usually have to arrange your own transport there.
It is best-suited to independent travellers, as Globalhelpswap cannot offer in-country assistance; that's what you pay for if you go with a larger agency. There are pros and cons to each approach, and anyone considering a volunteer project is advised to do as much research as possible into how the organisation operates and, where possible, speak to other volunteers.
Volunteering abroad gets a lot of bad press, some with good reason, but Paul believes it should not be written off. "If we all just focused on the bad, nothing would ever get done. Most of our organisations are really small and don't have the resources to get themselves noticed on Google. They need volunteers to survive. In an ideal world there would be no need for volunteers, but unfortunately that world isn't Earth."
Before making any bookings, read these articles:
Should I look into voluntourism?
Beware the 'voluntourists' doing good
In defence of the voluntourists
Other sites worth bookmarking
Volunteersouthamerica.net: This is just a list, essentially, but it's been regularly updated since 2005. Use it to find websites of placesw where you can volunteer in South America for little or no financial outlay. As simple as this site seems, it also has a very helpful Q&A page about all the issues you should consider when volunteering, and a scams and warnings page, so you can look for any danger signs.
Freevolunteering.co.uk This is another rudimentary site, but run by volunteers, for volunteers. Coverage is worldwide and it's broken down into geographical sections on the homepage. Again, this is no agency and there is no back-up, but it's a potential launch pad for finding other sites running volunteer projects.
