07/09/2026
I host Woofas, Workaways, Volunteers and people looking for Work Exchanges. Here’s a story after an update I received from a lovely chap that came to me about 4 years ago from a town up north. He was desperate to get out of his job and get somewhere where he could follow his hobbies of foraging, hunting and just living with nature.
🌿 WORK EXCHANGE — SOMETIMES IT’S ABOUT WHERE IT CAN TAKE YOU… 🌿
I was really pleased to hear recently from a young man who came to us for a work exchange a few summers ago.
We used to call him “The Viking” — mainly because he was ridiculously blonde, fit and looked like he’d just stepped off a longship! 😂
He spent around a year with us doing all the usual campsite jobs — cutting lawns, changing gas bottles, mending latches, chopping wood, emptying bins and generally turning his hand to whatever needed doing.
Nothing glamorous. Nothing particularly fancy.
But he absolutely loved being outdoors.
He was a fascinating character. He used to forage, knew an amazing amount about birds, mushrooms and wild berries, and would happily sleep outside in all weathers — sometimes in a bear skin! 😂
We’d see his furs hanging out drying in the sunshine and I remember thinking, you really don’t get many like him! 🐻🌿
He was kind, helpful, reliable and just a really useful, lovely person to have around. He didn’t seem to need much — give him the outdoors, something useful to do and a bit of freedom and he was happy.
During his time here, I encouraged him to look at site warden jobs at some of the larger holiday parks and seaside resorts. He could earn decent money, have accommodation included and, more importantly, make a career out of something he genuinely enjoyed.
I was more than happy to give him a reference — and he absolutely deserved it.
And look where it led…
He landed a job at a big surfing destination, met the woman of his dreams, and has since moved on to another large site in Cornwall with his new lady, doing pretty much exactly what he always wanted to do. ❤️
And that’s why, when I advertise a work exchange, I like it when people reply with questions like
“What projects have you got coming up”
“What’s skills can I learn”
Try not to make that first question
“How many hours a day?”�“How much does it pay?”�“What’s the accommodation like?”
Of course, those are all perfectly reasonable questions and people need to know what they’re signing up for.
But for me, I really hope the people that come here enjoy it enough to want to come back and 9/10 that happens.
I’ve had stone masons return 5 years in a row, cob builders stayed for 2 years, carpenters, plumbers, general DIY, Jam makers, Bakers, Painters , Gardeners and lime plasters are back & forth when something is ready for that next stage… and yes if they do a good job , have a skill we need then we pay them and then we introduce them to others locally and that’s how they move on and around..
It’s about getting a foot in the door.
And sometimes, it can lead to something much bigger.
As the saying goes it’s not what you know , it’s WHO you know…
So if you’re thinking about a work exchange, think beyond the money.
Think about the experience.�Think about the people you’ll meet.�Think about what you might learn.�And most importantly…
Think about where it might lead. ❤️
Sometimes the seemingly small opportunities can be the ones that open the biggest doors.
