Blogger's Guides to Volunteer Work & Gap Years

How I Paid for 12 Years of Continuous Travel
Todd Wassel explains his methods for staying away from home including teaching stints in Japan, an internship in East Timor and working for NGOs in Sri Lanka and Kosovo.

A Week-In-The-Life of Dorothy: Volunteering in the Cook Islands
Octogenarian traveller Dorothy Conlon describes her first seven days volunteer teaching on a Pacific island.

Learning to Speak English
Ayngelina spends a week in Spain with 24 other English speakers creating an environment for Spanish students to learn her language.

They gave me a machete: a true story of corn-cutting
Diana hacks away at a field of corn.

Volunteering Abroad: Don't Go With the Big Companies
Louise Mayman wonders where the money paid to gap year companies actually goes.

If I Were a Chick, This is How I’d Volunteer
Even though he is a fella, Mark Wiens offers some advice to female volunteers.

Volunteering – Is it Worth the Money?
Volunteering your time and effort can be expensive. Neil gives his perspective from volunteering in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Volunteer Sports Coaching in Sri Lanka
From getting out of bed to a casio wristwatch alarm to going to bed covered in mosquito repellent, Neil describes his day.

Volunteering Isn’t Just Teaching English
Sherry Ott has volunteered in Jordan and Lebanon. Here she suggests alternatives ways to impart your skills beyond just talking.

Volunteering in Banos - 30 Kids and 100 Soda bottles
Jack and Jill use empty plastic bottles and the power of imagination to keep a horde of children quiet in Ecuador.

Volunteer in Iceland, Travel for Free
Wade Shepard received free food and accommodation in exchange for carving steps into the side of Eldborg volcano.

5 Tips for Volunteering Abroad
JoAnna Haugen’s advice includes research and cultural sensitiveness.

When Travel Becomes More Than Sunbathing and Drinking
Sofia writes about her friend Sanna, a volunteer in Rwanda.

Volunteer and Paid Opportunities in Southeast Asia (Free) – Places, Like Thailand, Cambodia and Laos
Avril connects other travellers to volunteer gigs as a self-appointed volunteer head hunter.

Why I Recommend a Gap Year Over Uni
Chris weighs up the options, quickly says screw Uni and opts for a year out.

7 Things I Learned at German Helpx
A guesthouse worker in Germany ponder smudges and the differences between British and German beds.

Rowleth End Guest House – Our First Help Exchange
Help X helps more travellers find work in a guest house, this time in England.

Yes, I am in Albania
Peace Corps volunteer, Meredith, spent a year in Albania.

Day 31-43 Tanop Community Education Centre
The Baigrie family describe the facilities and duties for volunteers at this Cambodian school.

Trail Building: A Volunteer Experience for Nature Lovers
Sarah Palmer describes three trail building projects in the USA.

Singing Aloud and Volunteering in Banos, Ecuador
Melissa Ruttanai describes the activities of the Biblioteca Interactiva de Baños.

Volunteering in Eastern Europe at a Bear Sanctuary in Romania
Natasha wins a competition to become a volunteer at a home for over 50 brown bears.

Volunteering at Mr T’s Organic Farm in Vang Vieng, Laos
Not far from the alcohol buckets and tubing of Vang Vieng is the organic farm of a Laotian biologist where Penny Atkinson spent some time teaching English, milking goats and building a mud house.

People Smugglers, Misplaced speedos and Ravenous Carp – Volunteering with a Difference in Thailand
Simon Busch, writing in MSN Travel, speaks to volunteers in Thailand.

Voluntourism: How to ensure you really are doing some good
Katy Stewart answers questions put by Iain Mallory. A big part of the interview is taken up with Katy’s views on voluntourism including commercialisation and giving special thought to working with children.

How to overcome home sickness while volunteering abroad
Zablon regularly writes for the Travel Dudes about volunteering abroad. This time he suggests some remedies for missing home.

So, You’re Going to Save the World?
Laura ensures sarcasm when she decides she wants to volunteer.

Volunteer and Paid Opportunities in Southeast Asia (FREE) – Places Like Thailand, Cambodia and Laos
Team Chiang Mai volunteer to help people volunteer around the northern Thai city.

A Tale of Three Schools
Alexia Nestora presents a tale of good intentions gone wrong.

Volunteer Chronicles: Settling In
Sherry Ott’s initial experiences and impressions volunteering in Jordan with the Conservation Corps.

Volunteering in Svay Rieng
This is what Dave Dean of What’s Dave Doing did last year in Cambodia.

Do Good Thursday: Mending Faces, Changing Lives
Talon’s guest post about volunteering for Uplift Internationale, an organisation that performs free surgery for children with cleft lips.

A Day in the Life of an Equestrian Intern in Costa Rica
Erin and Simon helped out with horses at an equestrian centre in a rural part of Costa Rica.

A Week-in-the-Life of Jeannie: Nomadic Chick
Jeannie Mark describes one of the twelve weeks she spent as a volunteer in a small village in India.

The Opportunities of Travel: ‘Volunteering’ in Taiwan
Johnny Ward is staying at an English school in Taiwan for Thai TV.

Volunteering in Kuala Lumpur
V Brewood compiles a list of five Malaysian NGOs in the habit of welcoming volunteer workers.

How Volunteering Can Lead to Extraordinary Travel Experiences
Mark Wiens recounts some of his own volunteer experiences and passes on some advice how others can do the same.

How a Pencil Made Me Appreciate Life Like Never Before
Adam and Megan tell of their involvement with Big Brother Mouse, an organisation trying to improve literacy in Laos.

How Volunteering in Buenos Aires Accidentally Took Me Back to my Roots
When Michael Tieso volunteered in Buenos Aires he had no idea he would be spending time in the same area his mother grew up in.

Permaculture and Archaeology: Volunteer in the Sacred Valley
Camden Luxford visits a Peruvian couple trying to return their terraced land to its Inca use for growing medicinal plants.

Nomadic Interviews: Todd’s Wanderings
Another in the excellent series of interviews by the Never Ending Voyage people, this time with Todd Wassel, a veteran traveller and international development worker of 11 years.

Do Good Thursday: Four Free Volunteer Programs in Peru
Why pay to volunteer when their are plenty of worthy NGOs that won’t charge a penny and may even divvy up lunch.

Professional Internship Opportunities in Peru
Cusco resident Camdon Luxford provides further proof that Peru has a wealth of opportunities for travellers hoping to avoid paying to volunteer.

5 Cheap Ways to Volunteer in Peru
And, while we’re on the subject, here’s one from me on Cheapoair’s blog.

Lies, Lies, Lies (or Volunteering in Nepal)
Connie Hum gets the shitty end of the stick when she ends up with a lying, thieving family masquerading as a volunteer organisation.

Life on a Malaysian Rice Farm: Up to my Knees & in Over my Head
If you only read one story about working on a rice farm in Malaysia this year, this is it.

Unbrave Girl on Board: Life on a Malaysian Sail Boat
After the rice fields Sally boards a boat and starts sanding it down.

Volunteer Abroad for Free
Zablon Mukuba gives some advice via TravelDudes.

Seeing a Different Side of South Africa
Rebecca volunteered at a small primary school in KwaZulu Natal.

Do Good Thursday: Kirsty’s Volunteer Abroad Experience in Rwanda
We know how Kirsty Henderson makes her money (see her interview above in the Writing, Blogging & Photography section). This is how she spends some of her time. Kirsty is a serial volunteer and also publishes an ebook on the subject.

Why I Volunteer: Eric “Kuba” Ash
Eric has volunteered with WWF-Canada, WildAid, Jungle Cat World Zoo, and the International Tiger Coalition.

Questions to ask a WWOOF Host
Kelsey suggests some questions to ask to the farmer in who’s house you may soon be living.

Solo Travel Options: WWOOFing in Japan
Sean volunteered on an organic farm in the coastal village of Uchinoura, on the south island of Kyushu.

Volunteering Gone Waaayyy Wrong and 10 Tips to Avoid a Bad Volunteer Experience
Lash has a bad WWOOF experience in Florida.

First time WWOOFing!
You have to start somewhere and for Mark that somewhere is New Zealand.

Organic El Salvador
Mike and Ashley Lenzen hooked up with an El Salvadorean-American couple who established their organic farm four years ago to help local kids.

Stephanie Usry, WWOOF
Stephanie picked grapes, apples and basil on a farm in Italy.

Der Bauerhof
Goat sheering and scythe wielding were two of the tasks entrusted to this WWOOFer.

WWOOFing in New Zealand
Rebecca Morley recounts her experiences on three farms in New Zealand .

10 Tips for Getting Your First WWOOF Gig
WenLin Soh’s appreciation of good food leads her towards the organic farming network.

Volunteering for a slice of Turkish life
An Irish Times piece about WWOOFing in Turkey.

Cool People Met While WWOOFing: Lee the Dish Fairy
Celeste reminisces about a Korean friend she knew in New Zealand.

WWOOFing in Italy
Working on an organic vineyard in Tuscany.

A Different Breed of Nomad
Tiffany and Greg interview Robyn who worked on an organic farm in Rarotonga.

3 Things I Learned from WWOOFing in Serbia
Beth and Randy enjoy the regional cuisine, culture, customs and homemade wine that are among the benefits of volunteering on an organic farm.

WWOOF: Organic Farm Exchanges
Car-guy Ian explains the concept of WWOOFing to Jocelyn Broyles.

To WWOOF or not to WWOOF That is the Question
Erin questions whether a black thumbed city girl can make a go of WWOOFing.

In Which I Become a French Cowherd
Kelsey learns that cows have an ankle phobia when she herds five of them (and Bruno the Bull) through the French countryside.

Portraits of WWOOFers in Tuscany, Italy. Part 1
The first in a three part series of photographs of WWOOF volunteers.

What the Heck Am I Doing With My Life?
Adam Pervez is a serial volunteer and, among many other things, has cleaned dog cages at an abandoned dog shelter, done menial tasks at a nursing home, helped publicise an organisation that turns used bikes into human-powered machines, and built a website for an indigenous Mayan co-op.

A Volunteering Honeymoon in Zimbabwe
Not long after Craig Young got down on one knee to propose to Kim they heard the tiny patter of… um, great big lion paws.

When Love is Louder than Language - A Day at Casa Mea
Kurt and Dayna are honest with themselves that volunteering for a day won’t change much but they still made a small difference in the lives of seven children at a home in Romania.

Helping Hand: Building Schools on your Travels
Ed Rex looks back to his time as a volunteer in 2007 where he helped rebuild after the destruction of the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda.

Voluntourism: Helping or Hurting?
A Canadian TV show discusses the topic.

Volunteer Travel in Indonesia
Heather Boylan used her experience to train teachers in South Sulawesi.

The Kids of Ngong Hills, Kenya
Despite finding that volunteering abroad wasn’t as easy as she thought, Angie Orth finally had the opportunity when she visited Kenya.

Beacon: Blists Hill Victorian Town
James Carpenter dresses up as a Victorian for the day.

A Week-In-The-Life of Inge: Volunteering in Costa Rica
Inge sheds some insight into seven days of her life as a volunteer at a Zoo.

#TTOT Roundup: Gap Year Travel
The participants of Travel Talk on Twitter give their take on gap years.

Image courtesy mrcharly