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 hosted helpx visitors many times over the years and have loved it! - in fact we are still in touch with some who have returned home years ago. in the past couple of years we have been away so have not been able to host for a while but have updated the listing and we, and our old dog who just loves meeting new friends, are looking forward to welcome new travellers. Thanks for this wonderful site.
We love being HelpX hosts. The wonderful young travellers we get to host usually go out of their way to help us with all kinds of tasks around house and garden. They teach us about their culture, spoil us with delicious cooked meals and play with our young son. To him becoming close friends with people who not long ago were strangers is now normal. We stay in touch with most of our helpers which means that for our next hiday there will be free accommodation in Paris.
We are growing our family by being hosts and we are enjoying the cultural exchange and making progress on projects we are not able to manage alone. Thank you to all the helpers we have met and yet to meet, a wonderful site helping each other to succeed.
We have loved meeting people from different countries and have had some fabulous helpers. It has made a real difference having the help so we can all enjoy some down time. HelpX is a great site for putting helpers and hosts together. We look forward to hosting more helpers in the near future.
Although we have registered with you folks this year, we already hosted several volunteers. It is a brilliant idea and was very helpful to have multi cultural and multi national helpers with us. They were really helpful and productive. While having a good time together, we put out a lot of work and products. We are looking forward to welcoming more helpers in the days ahead of us. Thank you for the good work.
We used Helpx in the first quarter of 2016 and it was just wonderful. The people who came stayed, working and living with us were just like our own families and we had such fun, despite some hard physical work. It gives the opportunity for great cultural exchange and in my case, to give a little back to the travelling community, after all the great times I had as a young backpacker. I definitely recommend Helpx!
Helpx has worked so well for me. I have met some wonderful, interesting people. I originally signed up to be a helpx, but due to an injury, I decided to be a host. This worked brilliantly I loved hearing travel stories, and recieved help with my basement. I highly recommend this program!
Both my husband and I have enjoyed hosting young people from around the world. Many of them have remained close friends over the years and have upon occasions invited us back to their own homes.
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
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.
I have been using HelpX for a few years now and find it a great exchange. I have hosted people from different countries and found them very helpful.
A friend and I were chosen via the Helpx site to housesit in a Chateau on a winery in France-a fantastic experience. I have personally been helped on my property by great workers from Helpx. Helpx is a truly a wonderful site giving opportunity to both helpers and hosts.
We have hosted helpx visitors many times over the years and have loved it! - in fact we are still in touch with some who have returned home years ago. in the past couple of years we have been away so have not been able to host for a while but have updated the listing and we, and our old dog who just loves meeting new friends, are looking forward to welcome new travellers. Thanks for this wonderful site.
We love being HelpX hosts. The wonderful young travellers we get to host usually go out of their way to help us with all kinds of tasks around house and garden. They teach us about their culture, spoil us with delicious cooked meals and play with our young son. To him becoming close friends with people who not long ago were strangers is now normal. We stay in touch with most of our helpers which means that for our next hiday there will be free accommodation in Paris.
We are growing our family by being hosts and we are enjoying the cultural exchange and making progress on projects we are not able to manage alone. Thank you to all the helpers we have met and yet to meet, a wonderful site helping each other to succeed.
We have loved meeting people from different countries and have had some fabulous helpers. It has made a real difference having the help so we can all enjoy some down time. HelpX is a great site for putting helpers and hosts together. We look forward to hosting more helpers in the near future.
Although we have registered with you folks this year, we already hosted several volunteers. It is a brilliant idea and was very helpful to have multi cultural and multi national helpers with us. They were really helpful and productive. While having a good time together, we put out a lot of work and products. We are looking forward to welcoming more helpers in the days ahead of us. Thank you for the good work.
We used Helpx in the first quarter of 2016 and it was just wonderful. The people who came stayed, working and living with us were just like our own families and we had such fun, despite some hard physical work. It gives the opportunity for great cultural exchange and in my case, to give a little back to the travelling community, after all the great times I had as a young backpacker. I definitely recommend Helpx!
Helpx has worked so well for me. I have met some wonderful, interesting people. I originally signed up to be a helpx, but due to an injury, I decided to be a host. This worked brilliantly I loved hearing travel stories, and recieved help with my basement. I highly recommend this program!
Both my husband and I have enjoyed hosting young people from around the world. Many of them have remained close friends over the years and have upon occasions invited us back to their own homes.
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
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.
I have been using HelpX for a few years now and find it a great exchange. I have hosted people from different countries and found them very helpful.
A friend and I were chosen via the Helpx site to housesit in a Chateau on a winery in France-a fantastic experience. I have personally been helped on my property by great workers from Helpx. Helpx is a truly a wonderful site giving opportunity to both helpers and hosts.