I give this a strong motion of agreement -
I don't know if it's better in South America, I've done this mostly in Chile, some in Argentina, Brasil and Colombia, I have never touched any of these projects in the US or elsewhere.
I''ve so far had one truly great experience, where I went and worked for them again and they're people I stay in touch with, then a couple reasonably good ones that I didn't regret, a couple of others with people who were legitimately friendly and appreciative, though the work wasn't exceedingly meaningful - then a few that were basically as you described, shady people lookin to take advantage - seeking "aspiring automotons", you put it more well than I ever could.
It's also interesting that you described so many reviews and comments as 'sycophantic'. These sites really do highlight a lot of the problems of modern people, sometimes it seems people were trying to find something real and just settled halfway.
Now I've called a couple (only, I admit, and somewhat regret that it hasn't been more) of these attitude-heavy hosts on their shit and left amicably because they apologized and in the end were obviously not *trying* to be shitheads, even got, twice, free "final departure" rides into town and even offered fuckin breakfast after confronting someone. Wild, but I would never count on that again, and nobody should ever be in that position to begin with. Although there's something to be said about using your leverage, standing up for what you know is right (when that opportunity comes by....) and being prepared to walk away if things aren't right.
My empathetic side tells me that there's something to be said about people in general not managing their own stress well, being all up in their own shit and losing sight of things, and they "need" a friendly wakeup call. Granted that doesn't always apply, and it's always unacceptable for someone to seek volunteers and then be a fuckin asshat.
Yes, some people are just wack. There was another case where I didn't even want to hear anymore of their nonsense and vanished without a trace in the middle of the night. It had been 3 bad hosts in a row and these were the dumbest. I think some people are just prone to be shit and they think it's alright the way they are because xyz and there ain't much you can do to assaude them to being rational. I could go on about possible reasons why that is the case, but who am I to judge, and even if there'd be a point this isn't the thread.
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I admit that I've never left a bad review and it's exactly for the reason you stated, if I leave one then someone else is inclined to leave one for me. It is what it is, maybe it's cowardly, I just don't think it'll be effective/favorable.
Another issue is, for example, I'd heard from someone - showing up somewhere and the person was particularly audacious, saying they weren't going to feed them but they could stay there, basically misleading/false stuff in their profile, hoping "well they came all this way so they'll deal with it" a bait and lure type scenario.
Well this kid didn't do that, he said "Well the fuck is wrong with you, how do you expect me to want to stay here and work for you now?", leaves, then goes to log on (this was on Workaway) to leave a bad review, and the guy had deleted his shit with which they'd communicated prior - and made a new one that only 'slightly' resembled the previous one - then he couldn't leave a review on their new profile because the system hadn't detected messages between *them* or something like that. So unsurprisingly there are loopholes, and that could then lead to endless bullshit traps for innocent folk.
anyway this isn't my blog so enough now - hopefully there'll be something useful to glean from all that. A neutral ground ought to exist to put particularly bad hosts on blast, and this could be the place.
Have you looked at the "Shady & Untrustworthy People" section here? It sort of operates on a similar principle, but on much bigger/more dastardly shit.
Super incredible post here! I have met a couple great people off of the platform, don’t get me wrong. I think the best way to describe my beef with it and others like it is that it has a real capitalist flavor to it that leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.
What you described about people being entitled, lost in their own mind, doing a bait and switch as far as hours were concerned, is really common. I’ve had the thought several times that “This person said they need help with farm work, but what they really need help with is themselves.” And I mean that with the utmost seriousness.
I too have called people out on their shit in varying degrees, and heard such gems as
“Leadership is all about manipulation”
Last place I was at was a “hippie” dude pushing 60 with a “farm” (massive junkyard with a few large planters) that depended on government handouts, and him asking for money from volunteers. Hold on, I’m supposed to cook, clean, do hard labor, and pay you? Nothing wrong with any of this per say but when done with a sanctimonious, self righteous attitude, FUCK YOU. Haha. Sorry for the vent. When I got there it’s me at 28 and three 18 year girls on a gap year. Always making comments about their bodies. Again, I’m not shitting on anyone for their lifestyle, I’m shitting on the human tendency to violate trust and abuse power. Common sense says, don’t make sexual passes at people in your care. Beyond the predatory undertones, he spoke to all of us like we were idiots and complained about the quality of work. I think many hosts have become jaded because their grifty ambitions of for profit business with volunteer labor proved to be an absurd and untenable business model. If people want quality work, they should pay for it, especially if they are a for profit business. It’s telling of where the world is headed that I feel naive making that statement.
I’ve been places where I felt that the work and treatment could be at least somewhat reasonably justified as showing people how difficult subsistence farming could be, but I think most people go stupid with the power and try to SCALE their business on free labor, rather than SUPPLEMENT what they were already capable of doing by themselves. Really, fuck these people. Typically, it’s these people who refuse to provide any kind of structure, guidance, orientation, for the work performed because they “go with the flow”. That’s fantastic, I love when people live how they want, but having respect for someone’s lifestyle and playing weird manipulative expectation games are not the same thing. I can’t tell you how much rework I’ve had to do due to lack of planning, lack of explanation, and shifting expectations. Not to mention the general lack of fucks given for people’s safety, unsafe conditions, poor instruction creating an environment ripe for injury, etc. Flexibility is required, but what many hosts really seek is a kind of voyeuristic validation in which they enjoy being watched by people while working out what they believe is a master plan.
On the topic of pay and stipends, I was told by a host something to the effect that the payment offer was due to pressure from the government on Workaway. Basically telling them, if you operate a for profit business, you have to offer some kind of payment. How much was the stipend you ask? $200. A month. For 40+ hours 6 days a week, in a shared bunk room, with canned goods to eat from a local dollar store, lol. Can’t make this shit up.
Where you and I diverge is that I’m kind of pulling my hair out and think that generally speaking, people who are 50 and beyond who haven’t worked out their attitudes of entitlement and abusive tendencies due to trauma, and posture themselves as of greater moral fiber because they farm organically, and host practical children from the world over and welcome their total dependence, are basically shitheads and sociopaths and no different than the countless perverted desperate stooges that litter the workforce. I’d argue that in itself is kind of dastardly in a self ignorant way. I’m a bit bitter and hateful at this stage in my life, can you tell?
