WHAT IT IS?
Find yourself in another part of the world! Share your knowledge, gain new skills, change your way of perceiving the world! ‘Workaway’ is a platform that connects people from all over the world who want to share a part of their lives and desire to experience cultural exchange. The local host will share food and accommodation, in exchange for a few hours by an extra pair of hands to do a certain type of work. You will be gardening, working on a creative project, building sustainable houses, farming or even teaching children a language.
Created in 2002, when the founder realized that travelers want to be
more than just tourists. After extending a stay in Hawaii, he realized that sometimes you need to have a constructive influence on a community to rediscover yourself. Now there are more than 50,000 hosts in 170 countries worldwide.
WHY IT’S COOL?
‘Workaway’ will replace your 9 to 5 work life for real, meaningful and fulfilling work overseas. You can choose the type of experience that you want. Whether you choose to have a solo trip, with a group of friends or family, this is an adventure you should not miss. Also, some hosts receive several ‘workawayers’ at a time, so you have a great opportunity to make worldwide friends. Anyone can fit the profile! Every host has different necessities, and everybody has valuable knowledge and skills to share. Most of the locations are potentially isolated communities, so be prepared to leave behind your social media for a while. Develop your emotional intelligence by living important life-changing experiences. The deeper we travel, the more we realize experiences fill our souls like nothing else.
WHY IT HAS FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL?
I believe that this is the type of detox needed by people. The values sought by these ‘workaway’ travelers may be extended to the whole hospitality industry. Generations today are looking for transformative experiences. These new desires and values must be reflected in hotels, hostels, and entertainment. Maybe the upcoming trend of (luxury) hostels will become paired to these emotional experiences. Experiences that will make you feel understood, valued, and being part of something with a positive community impact.
For further information about Workaway please click here!
3 Comments
Lovely mix of travel and discovering different culture!
The good thing about this Futurist Club platform is that you can connect blogs to each other. Before this one by Daniela, I read the radio blog (right next to this one). They appear very differently, one about music, one about meals. But they have an underlying cool thread in common: broadening our horizons, empowering us (via the online universe) to explore. In the first case: music tastes. In this one: meals. That’s what connects both blogs. A pretty Cool connection if you ask me.
It think it’s cool seed, see future growth potential as a platform on it’s own. Don’t see a way luxury hotels are going to implement this for their own business though. By the way, wondering, do you get paid for the jobs by the hosts or is it something in natura, like food, gifts and such?