Free (or Cheap) Volunteer Work in Albania
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Albania isn’t the first place people consider where to volunteer. Well off Europe’s beaten track this mountainous country sees few visitors compared to its Greek and Italian neighbours but enjoys a similar climate, an openly curious people and some fascinating cities well worth exploring.
We found its developing tourist infrastructure meant getting around the country a little hit and miss at times when we visited but that was some time ago and things have surely improved since. We also noted there is nearly always a friendly local around to help out, something we found out when the driver of our early morning bus did a quick calculation of the ratio of empty seats to waiting passengers and thought better of stopping. Our unsuccessful go at hitching caught the attention of plenty of drivers that were happy to stop, chat and be a bit nosy but none were going where we wanted to be. Next day we tried again for the bus, broke down half way up a mountain and cadged a lift for the now shorter journey to town.
Hostel Work Exchanges
There’s no relevant information on their website but Berat’s Maya Hostel appears to take on volunteers. Gabi, a Hungarian blogger, says she received free breakfast and accommodation for a few hours a day of “easy-peasy work… making breakfast, washing dishes, checking people in and out, changing the bed sheets.”
Angel from Mexico volunteered with Sarande’s Wallaby Hostel for two weeks in 2016 before continuing south on his bicycle. A more recent TripAdvisor reference suggests they still accept help this way. Just bear in mind it’s a party hostel. You have been warned. Romanian travel blogger Catalin Geangos documented his time as a volunteer there on YouTube.
In the north of the country, by the border with Montenegro, Florian’s Guesthouse in Shkoder has for the past couple of years announced their volunteer requirements in various Facebook groups., including for someone to help over the winter.
Festival Volunteering in Albania
How about a beach holiday and boutique music festival on the stunning Albanian Riviera? The people selling the tickets to Kala say to expect blissful beach days, mouth watering Mediterranean food and the very best DJs and live acts performing at spectacular open air seaside venues. Mainstage were handling their volunteer applications in 2023.
Other Opportunities to Volunteer in Albania
We’re not sure how much of the details for the Balkan Peace Park Project, previously our main listing on this page, are still correct. Their website now redirects to sewing lessons in the San Francisco Bay area and an alternative WordPress hosted website we found is very out of date, but their Facebook page is current. In case it is still useful, here’s what we said previously: Since 2008 the Balkan Peace Park Project has run a summer programme each year in Thethi to educate local youngsters in environmental studies and English. The aim is to create a transnational park in the adjoining mountain areas of Kosovo, Montenegro and northern Albania. Teacher volunteers should be over 21, ideally with experience teaching English as a foreign language, though this is not essential. Other valuable skills include music, photography, drama or trekking but the main requirement is enthusiasm. The volunteer programme runs for two weeks in July and August. Two to three month internships are also offered to graduate students. No fees are requested but volunteers need to be able to fund the costs for room and board and other expenses.
Meaning ‘Idea Fountain’ in English, Shatervan Idesh was founded by a group of local Albanians and foreign expats to help create a brighter future for Albania. Projects for which they hope to enlist volunteer help include children’s services, animal welfare, economic development and environmental protection. Travel blogger Anita Hendrieka, a New Zealander, was one of the expats involved. She wrote about helping the trash cats and dumpster dogs in Sarande but her blog post is now gone. We are not certain but this, along with broken links to the organisation’s social media accounts, may be clues Shatervan Idesh is no longer active.
There is a lack of volunteering information on the website of Animal Rescue Albania but their Facebook page often references volunteers if not explicitly calling out for them.
We can’t be trusted to competantly correspond with either Botë Farms or Salad Farm. Both are Sarande based but North American owned but that’s as much as our addled brains could comprehend when they both posted to Facebook groups at around the same time their staffing requirements for the summer season. Salad Farm pays a salary for experienced restaurant staff so they probably shouldn’t be mentioned here anyway. Hopefully, Botë Farms will have to be deleted too. They relied on volunteers when setting up their agritourismo business but they are attempting to move towards a payment model: “if we get paid then you get paid.” They take on cooks, promoters, farmers and hotel hospitality people with hiring done in February.
Love Volunteers is a volunteer placement organisation run by volunteers who thought they could do a better job keeping administration costs to a minimum. If it weren’t for the doubts we have expressed on other options listed on this page they might have got the chop in our latest update. Their projects have gone down in number while their prices have gone up since we first listed them here. Joining their programmes costs from $459 for three weeks and includes accommodation and breakfast. There is also a similar sized one off additional registration fee to consider too. Weekly fees decrease if you stay longer.
Help Exchange Networks in Albania
Workaway – https://www.workaway.info/hostlist-AL.html
Other Ways to Travel or Stay for Free in Albania
Stay free in return for caring for local residents’ homes or pets. Join Trusted Housesitters to live rent free as a house sitter.
Volunteer Experiences*
Yes, I am in Albania – Peace Corps volunteer, Meredith, spent a year in Albania.
Volunteer in Albania – A Nightmare Story – Boob groping children and the ever present mafia make Melissa Schultz’s efforts to do some good seem pointless (via Wayback Machine).
* not all these volunteer experiences are with grassroots NGOs or low cost organisations
Image courtesy International Peace Park Expeditions
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