Join our journey from starting a hostel in Paramaribo, Suriname

Details

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  Description

  We are the first hostel in Suriname!
  
  We have a beautiful wooden building in the center or Paramaribo. It's a former guesthouse which has been empty for a few years and we are currently transforming into a hostel. We have travelled around the world and know what a fun hostel looks like, so we are full of ideas.
  
  Our hostel employs 11 permanent paid staff:
  
  - One operations manager
  - Four receptionists, working either in morning- or evening shift
  - Three housekeeping ladies
  - Three night guards
  
  The owner is always closeby and both the owner and operations manager will spend a lot of time in the hostel too.
  
  In addition to our paid staff, we have volunteers around most of the time, which is really helpful and ads an extra positive vibe to the hostel.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Since we have opened a brand new hostel, you will see how it is built up from scratch. That means you will interact with people who you wouldn't meet as a tourist. Like suppliers that we work with, tourism agencies that we're making deals with and contractors we hire for small fixes in the building. They are all fun and enjoyable people and some will earn a spot in your heart.
  
  Since you will be staying in the middle of the city, you will be able to walk in between heritage buildings and visit markets and the weekly bird singing context (no joke!) in our city center. You are also close to Paramaribo's nightlife, where you can meet local youngsters. Further, there are many restaurants where you can taste local food, drinks and snacks!
  
  And if all of that is not enough, we will take you to the guy who roasts our coffee.

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  Help

  We started from scratch, so we can use help in a lot of areas. The work that you will do depends on the staffing and where your help is needed at the moment. Besides that, you are free to help us with something that you like and are good at. Think of:
  
  - Filling in for the receptionist
  - Housekeeping
  - Small maintenance
  - Art projects, such as murals
  - Social media & management
  - Website management
  - Digital marketing
  
  These are just some examples. If you're good at anything else that might be useful for a starting hostel, please let us know so we can consider!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I speak fluent Dutch and English, but would like to improve my Spanish and Sranan Tongo (Surinamese).
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  Accommodation

  Depending on occupancy, our volunteers will stay in a dorm style accommodation in a 3 bed dorm, which you will be sharing with others, or in a private room. We might have to ask you to move between rooms from time to time, but we'll make sure to keep that to a minimum.
  
  We will provide our volunteers with the possibility to make use of our breakfast. Due to the size of our kitchen that is currently the only meal we can provide. If you are on a special diet, we can let you use the kitchen to cook your own meals.
  
  And rest assured: great food is inexpensive in Suriname and we will make sure you will get discount vouchers from some of our favourite restaurants close by.

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  What else ...

  Suriname is a relatively affordable country and it's easy to go anywhere by taxi. We also have a sister company that rents bicycles, which are safe to ride in this country. There are former plantations that you can visit for beautiful nature hikes. The historic center is within walking distance from the hostel. It is also possible to book tours to the outback of Suriname where you can enjoy the beautiful Amazone rain forest.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have ordered a fast internet connection. Fast in Suriname means 20/20 upload / download, which is great for video calls but not super fast for downloading large files. While the hostel is not full, you can use one of the private fan rooms during your working hours. Once it is full, we have to think of other arrangements.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  24 hours a week, 3-5 days a week

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