TRAVEL | VOLUNTEER | GIVE BACK

Experience the World For Almost Free Using Your Skills

Plus help out other people and give back to the places that you visit.

Hanging out on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean at our first volunteer job. Photo Credit: Author

Many people view traveling as an expensive proposition. Of course, you have to pay for your accommodation, your food, and your travel while you are away. The expenses can certainly add up.

But what if I told you that it doesn’t have to be that way?

We are currently volunteering at a family home in Bulgaria, and we are getting our accommodation and food provided in exchange for our work. This means that we haven’t spent any money on our daily lives in the past 2 weeks.

Now, this might not sound ideal to those who travel just to take a vacation, but for long-term travelers like us, it is a great way to see the world, experience different cultures, and feel like we are giving back to the places that we visit.

Plus, volunteering gives us purpose. Having a purpose in the world is a deep-down human need that many of us aren’t even aware that we have. It is what makes us feel valuable to humanity. When we are able to share our skills to help others, we feel valued.

So, our volunteering not only helps others, but it makes us feel better about ourselves and our contribution to the planet.

Who can volunteer

Volunteering comes in many shapes and forms.

Some hotels need help with housekeeping, others need help with Social Media promotions or website development.
Some people need help on farms, others need somebody to do their bookkeeping.
Construction sights need electricians and plumbers, homes need gardeners and painters.

There are so many ways to volunteer that I find it difficult to name them all. Let’s just say, if you have a skill, you can volunteer. Period.

All you need is a positive attitude and a good work ethic, and you are good to go.

How to volunteer

There are many ways that you can volunteer these days. Common platforms are HelpX, Workaway and Wwoof, but there are also ways to do it through large organizations like Red Cross and US Aid.

Currently, we are using HelpX and we love the layout of the website and how it works. For just $25 USD for a 2-year membership, we have access to thousands of volunteer opportunities around the world.

We have also found opportunities once we arrive in a country by simply sending out email inquiries to different hostels and hotels. This is how we have gotten most of our mural painting gigs, and we have met other travelers at these places that are volunteering in various capacities.

Ways to volunteer

There are countless ways to volunteer while you are traveling. Here are just some examples:

helping on farms, in orchards, or in private homes.
helping in hotels, hostels or vacation properties.
helping in communities or villages.
helping in gardens.
helping on ski hills or in other recreational facilities.

Anywhere there are people, skills are needed.

There are so many ways to help others.

But aren’t you taking work away from the locals?

This is a common sentiment when it comes to these sorts of platforms. I have also thought long and hard about this and I have come to the following conclusion.

Many of the places we find ourselves volunteering in don’t have access to quality help. I don’t say this to boast or brag, but most times we are told by the people we volunteer for that they have never seen two people work as hard as we do or do as good of a job as we do. As North Americans, we are taught to have a good work ethic. Many places in the world don’t value hard work and only do enough to get by.

We have also realized that many people don’t take pride in their work.

Because we are always volunteering doing the things that we enjoy and are passionate about, we always take pride in our work.

We treat our volunteering like a real job and work according to how we would if we were being paid. And of course, we ARE being paid, it is just coming in a different form than actual money.

Also, some of our skills are not things that locals are commonly good at. For example, we paint high-quality murals and artwork in hotels, hostels, and restaurants and we often find ourselves teaching permaculture skills and doing composting.

These are not skills that are readily available in the local labor pool.

If you have high-quality skills and are good at what you do, you will be a valuable asset to many places.

We have now been traveling full-time for the past 5 years. Upon reflecting on how often we have paid for accommodation during that time, we estimate that we have only paid for 13 months of accommodation. The rest has been free in exchange for some sort of service that we are providing. You can imagine that this has drastically reduced our potential expenses as we have moved around the globe.

Here are some examples of ways that we have volunteered.

Yard work, composting, and soil building.

Our first volunteer job came about on the island of Nevis, part of the island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean. We were working at a botanical garden and we were initially hired to help with garden maintenance and doing various property upgrades like painting and small construction projects.

However, during the course of our stay, we realized that the soil in the garden was devoid of nutrients and really needed a pick-me-up. Noticing that the beaches had a ton of seaweed washed up on them, we decided to put our permaculture skills to work and collected the seaweed. We then mixed it with dried leaves in the garden to make healthy composted soil.

In the six months we were there we churned out 3 large compost heaps like the one that Chris is standing behind below. Plus, the owner was way behind in her bookkeeping and I was able to help her get caught up with that so that she could get her taxes done on time.

Collecting seaweed and then turning it into soil! This pile is not fully composted yet. Photo Credit: Author

Murals and decorative painting.

As artists, we lend our skills to hostels, hotels, and restaurants by painting murals in exchange for accommodation and food. As stated above, we usually arrange these exchanges once we arrive at a location, by emailing different properties in a specific area.

We have now painted artwork in 8 different countries, some with numerous locations in each. We have really enjoyed leaving our creations behind and providing uplifting art for many to enjoy in the future.

Our mission is to spread love through our art.

To see a full list of our completed projects, visit our website here.

Mural and decorative painting in Uganda and Egypt. Photo Credits: Author

Landscaping and garden building.

In a couple of different places, we have done landscaping work to help improve the look and functionality of a property. Back in our old life in Canada, Chris owned his own landscaping company, so he loves to sculpt the land and build gardens. In fact, we both do. Building gardens in our yard was one of our passions, and we love to give those creative touches to other places when we get the chance.

Building some stone steps and creating platforms in Uganda. We also built paths on a property in Greece before we were nomadic in 2015. Photo Credit: Author

Tiling and tile mosaic work.

Also in Uganda, I used my tile mosaic skills to decorate a wall of a hostel where we were staying at. We also painted above this and you can get a glimpse of that in the photo on the right (to see the completed project, click here). When I was finished, the owner expressed interest in learning how to mosaic so that she could do other projects around the property.

I was happy to pass my skills on to her. Hopefully she will inspire others and will teach them as well.

Making a tile mosaic in Uganda and then teaching the owner how. To see this finished project click here. Photo Credits: Author

Teaching art.

Also in Uganda (we spent a whole year there!) Chris spent a day teaching some children from the local village some basic drawing skills. Art classes are basically non-existent in lower levels of education in many African countries, so this was a rare opportunity for them.

He spent some time teaching perspective and how to draw the human form. The kids really enjoyed the experience.

Teaching kids art in Uganda. Photo Credits: Author

Pruning, gleaning, and fall clean-up.

This is what we are currently doing in Bulgaria. We have found ourselves in a very overgrown apple orchard, and we are using our past experiences to clear troublesome vines, pick a bazillion apples, and prune the apple trees. The family here has hired many Bulgarians in the past to do this work and they claim that none have done it to the extent that we are.

So again, our work here is valued and we are being thoroughly spoiled by great meals and a nice warm house to say in while we are here. Plus, we get local tours of the surrounding areas and are learning first-hand how Bulgarians go about their daily lives.

It truly is a win-win situation.

Chris is always happiest when he has pruners or a machete in his hands! Photo Credit: Author

While there are also other ways that you can get free accommodation while traveling, such as housesitting and Couchsurfing, we do prefer situations where we are exchanging our skills when possible.

Note: Couchsurfing doesn’t necessarily mean that you are sleeping on a couch!

In this way, we feel valued and also feel like we are giving back to the people and the countries that are hosting us along the way.

I hope our experiences provide you with a different perspective when it comes to traveling. I do believe that traveling in the way that we do provides a deeper and more rewarding experience than one would get by just staying in hotels and scratching the surface of a place.

Happy travels!

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Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Consider tipping us on Ko-fi!

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