Area: Victoria

We have three young children and both my husband and I work outside the family home. I am an Osteopath and my husband is a vet. We live on 5 acres in the heart of the Yarra Valley tourist region, 1 hour from melbourne city. We have a beautiful home with a large flower, native and vegitable patch. Animals are a large part of our home, dogs, cats, horse and chickens. We are a very welcoming family who love meeting people from all over the world.

Area: El Valle de Anton, Cocle Province, Panama

We are is a non-profitable organization dedicated to the conservation of native species of orchids in a charming little town of Panama, El Valle de Antón. It was established on 15 May 2001 with the view to protecting endangered endemic species of orchids and thus contributing to the conservation of the amazing biodiversity of the region and the Republic of Panama. Please contact us for further information.

Area: Indian Himalayas

We run a small, luxurious retreat for tourists in the Indian Himalayas. The Retreat is 80 Kms north of Shimla, the earstwhile summer capital of British India. Thanedhar is famous for apples, which were introduced by an American gentleman Mr. Samuel Evans Stokes way back in 1916. His family, like the rest of us, is still into apple cultivation. Thanedhar a charming little mountain village, with a small bazaar, which is 1 Km from the retreat . Thanedhar can be easily accessed from Shimla and Chandigarh by regular daily buses. The Retreat is situated in an apple orchard. We also grow cherries and other temperate fruits, but apple is our main crop. The property consists of six bedrooms, two suites, and two independent log cabins . Volunteers will essentially be on hand to interact with guests, who being mostly Indian families, love the opportunity to meet travellers from other countries. Activities include accompanying guests on orchard and forest walks, sitting around the nightly bonfire and sharing meal times. We are looking for volunteers who love the mountains and the outdoors. The volunteers will be entrusted with the duty of a co- host. We are specifically looking for helpers who feel comfortable engaging with guests, sitting for meals with them and showing them the beauty of the area while escorting them on walks. The volunteers will be provided independent accommodation in the family guest room and served meals in the dining room,along with other guests. IMPORTANT INFORMATION - # Please be advised that we are now booked for volunteers April, May, June, July 2012. # Two further openings exist in 2012: ( Aug 1st until Sept 15th) ;( Sept 16th until Oct 31st) . We would consider one volunteer for the entire Aug-Oct three month period. For Apr-Oct 2013: apply October 1st 2012 (and not before)..

Area: Jalisco, Mexico

We are currently full with no space for more volunteers until further notice. Thanks to all, we will advice once we have an opening again. Young family seeks help in a midclass green hotel on the beautiful central Pacific coast of Mexico. We are a young well travelled and open minded Mexican couple with a new 6 month old baby boy just back from a 2 year round the world trip, looking for help in our family business, mostly in the reception attending our international but down to earth clientele, helping out in our restaurant during breakfast and some babysitting. We are looking for somebody with positive attitude, outgoing and reliable, ideally with very good English (most of our clients are Canadian, but also Mexican, American & European) and at least some basic Spanish and who might be wanting to expand on his/her Spanish and cultural skills while here talking to our very friendly staff (5) and Mexican guests. Our little hotel is located in the centre of our very charming costal town Barra de Navidad (4hrs southwest of Guadalajara), two blocks from the beach and with great outdoor possibilities (fishing, snorkeling, surfing, yoga, hiking, etc...) and some nightlife.

Area: Bay of Plenty

My husband & I have 3 adult children no longer living at home. We have hosted exchange students for the last 5 years and currently have a boy from Japan. We have a house by the beach and 30 acres of land further up the coast going inland. This piece of land needs weed control and some fencing. It is our lifestyle block and we run some sheep and cattle on it. Our son & his fiance are getting married in March on this land and we could do with a hand to tidy it up.There is a lovely little batch on the land which has no electricity but a wood stove. It also has a flush toilet, shower with hot water, sleeping and cooking facilities. We stay there from time to time but it can be difficult to reach when it has been raining. We live in a an old 4bedroom villa which we are still renovating. My husband buys possum fur but is also a builder/handyman. I am a nurse working at the local health centre. I do shift work and sometimes work night duty which means I sleep in the daytime. The internet can be accessed by wireless broadband. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats. The dogs live outside but the cats like to snuggle up with the humans. We are non smokers and would only want non smokers please.