USVI-On-Line

Has anyone looked further into this program? Or has anyone done it? http://www.travelvi.com/USVIPreparedTra ... heap.shtml

My buddy Ralph did it in 2005. He's retired and has been doing USAID trips to Guyana and Africa teaching locals how to make fruit leather and wine, so he's not afraid of roughing it. His Maho work month coincided with our trip and I cover it in the trip report below.

Ralph described the work as heavy manual labor while eating salt tablets to keep from passing out. The volunteers do all the work that the paid workers want nothing to do with. Ralph snagged the water testing detail which was the least hassle. He was a 57 year old wiry goat of a man when he did it and he seemed happy, under the usual whinging. The other volunteers were much younger and he adopted one homesick 19 year old and introduced him as his "son." Ralph did stage a slave revolt while he was there - a party where no paid workers were allowed. They probably still remember Ralph there.

Here's a poem he wrote about the experience:

“A day in the working life at Maho Bay” by Ralph Bucca

I get up at the crack of dawn

with the sound of crashing waves

and climb down 75 steps

to get my snorkeling fix

Throw down some breakfast to get into the mix

put back on my dirty duds, pin on my badge

Time to trudge up another 75 steps, punch the clock by 8

Then its 6 hours of assorted slave labor

fighting mosquitoes, rain and sweat

but it don't matter what

cause i'll be done by 2

grab my reward beer from the store

that sure taste fine

hit the beach till 6

cause that’s what its all about

chasing large fish around the colorful reef

Got to head back to Maho, just before dark

Do dinner and crash,

listening to the waves below and the tree frogs up high

Till the next sunrise


http://www.garvin.us/STJ/Trip_Reports/2 ... of_10.html

Cheers, RickG

Sounds more than its worth by that poem. I guess if you had nothing else to do, it might be an ok deal.

I too have considered doing a work exchange program at Maho.

Anybody else have experience doing this?

Thanks.

Bosco

We've never worked at Maho but have stayed there a few times. The staff has always seemed pleasant and seem like they enjoy being there. Of course, they are expected to actually work and it is the tropics. I expect that it would be a great experience for the right person. They're housed in ecotents that are farther up the hillside from the rentals. It would be a nice way to spend some time in the Caribbean and be part of a community. It would also be a good way for someone considering living on STJ to get a taste of the reality of it without committing too deeply.

I understand this is how the guys from Lion in Da Sun got their start.

http://www.lionindasun.com/aboutUs.html

Another guy I met in 2004 and who is still on island started at Maho work-exchange program and moved to a paid job and then to construction. I didn't see him in November, so I don't know how he's doing with the construction slow down.

Cheers, RickG

I volunteered at Maho for 6 months, back in the early 90's. Those were the days! The days before heavy development and KC chasers. Most of the people who were selected to volunteer, loved it. Of course, I had one of the nicer jobs and took care for the Resort Managers children for 4 hours a day/4 days a week. Eventually i left the trees and moved into town and got a paying job. It was the experience of a lifetime. I made so many wonderful friends. So sad my little girls will never have the opportunity to experience it!

Rick - thanks for those links - great stuff.

Bosco