This blog is about Workaway, the global volunteering and cultural exchange site, but first…
…the most common question I’m asked about my travels is how on earth can I afford it without stopping to earn more money?
I did start out with $25,000, but that was almost two years ago, and even the most imaginative people struggle to understand how I’ve managed to stay in the black without needing to find employment.
However, if your goal is like mine, to get a passport stamped in all 197 countries of the world, it’s often not possible to stop and commit to casual jobs and hope to achieve it.
There’s months-long obligations, there’s relatively low pay, and there’s not having a lot of time to explore.
I had actually been told about Workaway before I left on my journey around the world, but assumed it was a seasonal work placement site, so with my whole commitment-phobic attitude to jobs, I dismissed it without investigation.
If I had taken the time, however, I would have learned much earlier that Workaway was more about cultural exchange and the magic words… “low commitment!”
Eventually, a persistent friend (thanks Lily) explained it again and I started researching further.
Oh yes, to answer the question about money, I’ve learned to be extremely frugal and spend on average between $20-$30 a day. Money management is the topic of another blog (coming soon).
There are two major volunteering and cultural exchange sites. Workaway, which has been around for over 20 years, and Worldpackers, which is much younger at around 10 years old.
Both sites have an annual subscription of US$50 to access all the listings and they promote a range of collaborative opportunities, from farmstays, to language teaching, to hostel work. You add your skills and experience to your profile, a bit like applying for a job, with the idea being once you’re matched with a host, you work a number of hours per week in exchange for food, accommodation and a mutual exchange of cultures.
I liked the look of the Worldpackers website so started there first, but I was soon turned off because the options were limited, the vast majority seemed to be for hostel reception work. Long night shifts, 6-days per week, sometimes with the expectation that the worker would pay for food and sleep in the hostel dorms during the day. And when you’ve stayed in a few of those you know that the lights are on, they’re busy, they’re noisy and NOT conducive to daytime sleeping.
It felt like the Worldpackers hostel hosts were looking for free labour in order to make better profits. Their user reviews occasionally suggested the same thoughts.
I turned to the Workaway site and found a much larger base of hosts and working opportunities. Their rule of a maximum 25-hours per week is a good one and looking through their listings there’s a much better sense that hosts want to learn about your culture and don’t have a problem sharing their homes and food. Yes, you help them labouring in their gardens or farms or reception desks, but there’s no vibe that someone wants to take advantage of you.
My first Workaway position was in Bulgaria, very close to the Serbian border. We (I was travelling with Lily at the time) were working on a hobby vineyard. The farmers were, respectively, a Danish husband and a Bulgarian wife. They were awesome. We stayed there for three weeks doing gardening, construction and landscaping. It wasn’t the grape-harvesting season so unfortunately we didn’t get to practise any wine making.
The work wasn’t too arduous. We had plenty of time to look around the region, including trips across the border to Serbia and the hosts were very generous. We had a house to ourselves and they cooked three delicious meals a day. We learned a combination of Danish and Bulgarian culture, and in return we talked about Australia and Lily’s home in New Zealand.
You’re probably catching on to how it’s possible to spend a few weeks somewhere without paying a cent other than costs for travel and for exploring. Food and accommodation can be huge budget killers.
It seemed like Workaway was the perfect method of setting myself up in a region and using it as an inexpensive way to live and explore.
As I write, I’ve just finished up at my second Workaway position, in Georgia. Not the US state, the country in the Caucasus mountains, near Russia. This time it’s a hostel called the Black Tomato, in Georgia’s 3rd-largest city, Kutaisi.
There’s so much hostel work on Workaway and if you’ve got the right hosts who treat you well, they are amazing for meeting new people. One of my favourite mantras is “talk to strangers!” and the Black Tomato was the perfect place.
When I first looked up Workaway options in Georgia, there were plenty of listings. I messaged around 20 and received replies from 4. Yep, there are ghosts on every platform!
I was the Black Tomato’s first ever Workawayer and my job suited me down to the ground. I was guest relations, meaning I’d just set myself up in the common area with a game of cards or a drink (or both) and just chat to pretty much everyone who came past. Where they were from. Where they were going. What they were doing. The travel chit chat that I love and could honestly do forever and a day.
I created a social environment for guests to enjoy and I think most people thought I was just one of them. It was great for getting candid feedback about ways the hostel could improve the guest experience. I’d also help people with advice on things to do in the area. And I had plenty of time to explore myself. Someone remind me to write a blog about the abandoned hot spring resorts in the area!
The Black Tomato even paid me to work a couple of shifts on the reception desk when they were short. Yes, paid! Outside of my Workaway guest relations responsibilities.
The first 12 months or so of my travels I was constantly on the move. It’s chaotic and exhausting. So the Workaway hostel niche that I’ve discovered is definitely a model I’m keen to repeat elsewhere. It lets me slow down and connect with the regions I’m visiting.
Workaway lets you enter your travel itinerary so hosts can message you too. A hostel in Armenia did just that, although the opportunity didn’t align with my schedule.
Meanwhile I’ve been messaging a few Workaway hosts in the “Stan” countries, especially Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, plus Armenia and Azerbaijan, with a view to finding a place or two like the Black Tomato and using it as a base for exploring Central Asia. There’s even a few nomadic tribes advertising jobs on Workaway.
Workaway has been a brilliant way to explore new places while keeping costs down. If you’re keen to talk to strangers and see new places while doing it on a budget, definitely check it out.
Who knows? You might see me playing cards in a hostel somewhere. Come and say, “Hi.” Let’s have a drink and a chat.
