Welcome to HelpX
HelpX is an online listing of host organic farms, farmstays, hobby farms, lifestyle blocks, homestays, ranches, lodges, backpackers hostels and even sailing boats who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation. HelpX is provided primarily as a cultural exchange for working holiday makers, who would like the opportunity during their travels abroad, to stay with local people and gain practical experience. In the typical arrangement, the helper works an average of 4 hours per day and receives free accommodation and meals for their efforts.
This time range can vary considerably depending on the tasks at hand and the host's preferences. Some hosts may require just 2 hours per day for accommodation only, and ask you to provide and cook your own food.
Others may expect 6 hours per day in return for meals, your own room and sometimes other benefits such as free Internet use, horse riding, kayaking, bikes, local sight-seeing trips, yoga or English lessons, etc. Some will give weekends off, while others might allow you to put in 8 hours one day and later take a full day off. Helpers often live with the host family and are expected to join in and offer a helping hand with day-to-day activities.
Volunteer helpers are required to register for one of two levels of membership, Free or Premier. Helpers must upgrade to Premier membership to take full advantage of all HelpX has to offer. Premier membership costs 20 Euros for 2 years and allows the helper to contact all hosts and read all host reviews. Premier helpers can browse this site and contact hosts directly to see about making arrangements to stay.
Hosts wishing to add a free listing inviting helpers to stay will need to register. Registered hosts may update their details as often as they like and view helper profiles.
We advise both helpers and hosts to ask plenty of questions about each other in order to establish expectations from each party. Helpers should never turn up without prior arrangement.
Helpers can also opt to provide a self description for hosts to view who may then wish to invite the helper to stay with them. We advise helpers to include in their profile any skills or experience they may have, such as gardening, farming, agriculture, permaculture, fruit-picking; trade skills such as building, carpentry, landscaping, sail boat crewing; working with animals or an ability to care for and ride horses. Helpers can also look for travel companions.
HelpX (not helpex), operates worldwide including in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe including France.
Where will you go to next?
Australia
New Zealand
Europe
North America
Central America & Caribbean
South America
Pacific Islands
Asia
Africa
Testimonials
We have really enjoyed having the people we have met through HelpX. It is a fantastic scheme benefiting everyone involved. I highly recommend it.
I love HelpX! Simple and true! ;) It truly is an amazing idea and I wish that I had discovered it sooner! It is a great way to travel and see the world, especially if you have a limited budget. It has opened new doors for me and helped me to acquire experiences and meet new people that I don`t think would have been possible without HelpX. Thank you!
Helpx is the best thing that ever happened to us. Not only has it made our farm more fun, I believe that it has enriched our lives and the lives of our family. Our international visitors are very welcome at lambing time when the workload seems a bit too much to handle. Thank you for a great website! We welcome more visitors and hope that this can continue for years to come.
I have used helpx now for awhile and would love to thank use so much for offering this service. We have had the best people ever working for us, and its great to form a bond with them to learn about there ways and teach them our ways, but mostly having made friends for life. So thank you so very very much.
We have had great experiences with all of our guests/travellers and absolutely recommend this site.
We are new hosts and have just had the best experience with our first Helpx helpers. We selected our helpers from the profiles and invited them to join us. We found this way we could get a good match for our family and needs. We all got along very well and they were fabulous helpers. A very positive experience for everyone. We will now wait until summer before we look for new Helpx helpers.
Thank you for a very rewarding experience. We have loved hosting visitors to Australia from all over the world and congratulate the Helpx organisation for giving us this wonderful opportunity. We would encourage anyone thinking about hosting to do so. Many thanks Helpx.
Brilliant concept helping people to travel to different countries and be immersed in that culture by staying with families and helping them in their daily lives. Great benefits on both sides.
We have had great experiences hosting travelers on our farm. When I was young traveling I was hosted in many countries and those hosts made me feel safe and welcomed. It is a gift to continue this rich tradition of welcoming travelers into your home. We find the help beneficial and more importantly, the guests are fun, full of stories from their experience and a joy to spend time with. I highly recommend it.
We have had Helpx people for the last few years and have been very lucky with such good friends from France, Taiwan, China and so on, we look forward to people staying with us and helping around the farm
My husband and I heard about helpx and woofers through a friend and since joining Helpx, we have had a steady flow of culture come into our home. Over the past year, we have enjoyed 99% positive experiences from Italy, France, UK and Japan. Helpx has been a wonderful source for helpers in our vineyard and lime orchard, and being able to give back to make others stay in Australia pleasant is very rewarding.... Without Helpx life would be that little bit harder. Thanks for your fantastic idea in creating Helpx!
We discovered HelpX a couple of years ago. Having enthusiastic young travellers who are motivated to work for their meals and lodging is a real bonus for us on many levels. Besides seeing wonderful changes in the garden and a neatly stacked woodpile we also get to learn about other countries, lifestyles and politics. Having travelled for many years ourselves, hosting travellers is a bit like travelling without leaving home. It`s a great program!
We have really enjoyed having the people we have met through HelpX. It is a fantastic scheme benefiting everyone involved. I highly recommend it.
I love HelpX! Simple and true! ;) It truly is an amazing idea and I wish that I had discovered it sooner! It is a great way to travel and see the world, especially if you have a limited budget. It has opened new doors for me and helped me to acquire experiences and meet new people that I don`t think would have been possible without HelpX. Thank you!
Helpx is the best thing that ever happened to us. Not only has it made our farm more fun, I believe that it has enriched our lives and the lives of our family. Our international visitors are very welcome at lambing time when the workload seems a bit too much to handle. Thank you for a great website! We welcome more visitors and hope that this can continue for years to come.
I have used helpx now for awhile and would love to thank use so much for offering this service. We have had the best people ever working for us, and its great to form a bond with them to learn about there ways and teach them our ways, but mostly having made friends for life. So thank you so very very much.
We have had great experiences with all of our guests/travellers and absolutely recommend this site.
We are new hosts and have just had the best experience with our first Helpx helpers. We selected our helpers from the profiles and invited them to join us. We found this way we could get a good match for our family and needs. We all got along very well and they were fabulous helpers. A very positive experience for everyone. We will now wait until summer before we look for new Helpx helpers.
Thank you for a very rewarding experience. We have loved hosting visitors to Australia from all over the world and congratulate the Helpx organisation for giving us this wonderful opportunity. We would encourage anyone thinking about hosting to do so. Many thanks Helpx.
Brilliant concept helping people to travel to different countries and be immersed in that culture by staying with families and helping them in their daily lives. Great benefits on both sides.
We have had great experiences hosting travelers on our farm. When I was young traveling I was hosted in many countries and those hosts made me feel safe and welcomed. It is a gift to continue this rich tradition of welcoming travelers into your home. We find the help beneficial and more importantly, the guests are fun, full of stories from their experience and a joy to spend time with. I highly recommend it.
We have had Helpx people for the last few years and have been very lucky with such good friends from France, Taiwan, China and so on, we look forward to people staying with us and helping around the farm
My husband and I heard about helpx and woofers through a friend and since joining Helpx, we have had a steady flow of culture come into our home. Over the past year, we have enjoyed 99% positive experiences from Italy, France, UK and Japan. Helpx has been a wonderful source for helpers in our vineyard and lime orchard, and being able to give back to make others stay in Australia pleasant is very rewarding.... Without Helpx life would be that little bit harder. Thanks for your fantastic idea in creating Helpx!
We discovered HelpX a couple of years ago. Having enthusiastic young travellers who are motivated to work for their meals and lodging is a real bonus for us on many levels. Besides seeing wonderful changes in the garden and a neatly stacked woodpile we also get to learn about other countries, lifestyles and politics. Having travelled for many years ourselves, hosting travellers is a bit like travelling without leaving home. It`s a great program!