NeedSurfing

NeedSurfing would be a function of the CouchSearch that would connect workers with local projects. Persons involved in local projects of public interest such as building a well or carrying out a large community art project would be able to post information about their project connected to a locality. Couchsearchers could then find out about such projects when they are looking for a place to stay or people to meet in a particular place where they will be traveling and so be able to participate in such a project. This idea was originally expressed as CS Cares but a forum for user development of this idea did not exist. Alex brings up plenty of ideas worth discussion and not all of them will be repeated here, just read the article.

What to do

1. Discuss and elaborate the concept. How might such a system be used? Is NeedSurfing compatible with the mission of CouchSurfing? What might be some advantages or disadvantages to such a system?
2. Decide whether or not CouchSurfers want to implement such a feature. This step implies a decision making platform, a means with which aproximate consensus can be gauged. How might such a decision be made?
3. Implementation. Based on the developed model, persons familiar with the CouchSurfing system and with database and interface managment would build a beta, which would be used to stimulate user input and a final release would be built.

Discussion and elaboration of the concept and form

Only three conditions would need to be met for a volunteer workSurfer project to qualify. First, projects exploiting free labor for personal profit are prohibited. Second, no monetary or similar compensation may occur. Third, accomodation must be provided, meaning that a registered CouchSurfer would have to be attached to the project.

• Another simpler means of integrating CouchSurfing and work projects proposed by hungrysteve would use local volunteer coordinators who would:
  • Be knowledgable of local volunteer opportunities
  • Connect CouchSurfers with local projects
  • Be responsible for answering questions concerning work in the area
  • Coordinate periodic work projects (such as a Habitat for Humanity build)
  • Find or personally provide lodging for visiting volunteers

The local volunteer coordinator and the CouchSearch based system described below could easily coexist.

Demonstrator

James who is from Nashville is planning a trip to Mexico to visit a friend in Mexico City. He's a student and plans to spend 2 months of his summer away from home. His friend is only going to be there for 2 weeks and he knows that if he spends 1 1/2 months just wandering around Mexico that he will likely get into trouble or get bored. His mother once told him that idle hands are the devil's workshop. He understands that the Mexican government will not let him work for money without a work visa. He looked on the internet to find volunteer programs and found quite a few but just doesn't trust them. Many of them seem too religious or paternalistic for his tastes. Plus, James doesn't have enough money to pay those expensive program fees.

James logs on to CouchSurfing and with the new NeedSurfing feature, several projects appear when he is looking for couches on the way to Mexico City. In New Orleans he does a bit of dumpster diving and the next day he leaps off the couch of another gracious volunteer and CouchSurfing member and helps cook a delicious meal for the local Food Not Bombs. Then he travels to a small town in south east Texas where an organic chicken farmer needs help building a tool shed. A small desert community is building a well and a community center after the people came together and decided to do it themselves after waiting 10 years on a federal project. Since they don't have much money it's a good thing James and others are there to lend their 1 or 100 hours of work. James spends the month that remains on his trip renewing the world's faith in the people that inhabit it. He spends his trip making a real connection to the places he travels through the work that he does. He really connects to people not fortunate enough to participate directly in CouchSurfing.com thanks to NeedSurfing.

When he returns to Nashville another CouchSurfer stays with him and they both go lend a hand at Nashville FNB. Other Nashville CS'ers are rebuilding recovered bikes to give to some lucky kids. CS'ers lend a helping hand and some otherwise too poor kids get to cruise through the neighborhood like the cool cats they are.

Other example projects

Potential problems or disadvantages

• It has a stupid name.

Please add your suggestion for possible names:

the concept only needs a name for the purpose of development. As a part of the CouchSearch it doesn't seem to really need a name.--Metal.lunchbox 20:13, 29 September 2006 (EST)

• "personal profit" must be adequately defined. The clause was to avoid situations where people are just trying too make a buck off of well meaning travelers. Ideally most projects would extend into the community and therefore not be affected by the personal profit bit, but I don't see any problem with work of a smaller scale and more localized nature, such as the tool shed example in the demonstrator. For this I propose that there be two distinct groups of NeedSurfing Projects using the same system.

1. Private projects such as the tool shed which do not have any real effect on the community at large
2. Public projects such as the well and community center, associated with community action and public benefit.--Metal.lunchbox 10:37, 5 October 2006 (EST)

• Many types of volunteer work may not be well suited to a bunch of people coming and going. I can think of plenty of projects that would work just fine but some people may find themselves pursuing projects weighted down by training new-comers who are bound to leave a couple of days later. One way to adress this would be for project co-ordinators to state how long a volunteer would be expected to stay and work wherever such a stipulation were appropriate.--Metal.lunchbox 16:43, 1 October 2006 (EST)

Other issues, suggestions, comments

Related Groups

Sounds alot like WWOOF. Look to them for a bit of inspiration. NeedSurfing would be far more flexible with no preprogrammed format, any kind of work, anywhere, use your imagination.

There is a project in Brazil which is quite related to this, this group is working on that.

Kudos to the good folks in Brazil, but that wasn't really what I had in mind. the work they are doing certainly is but I'm suggesting that we add functionality to the couchsurfing database system so that anyone can start a work project, anywhere and anyone else can work on it. What do you think? --Metal.lunchbox 16:49, 29 September 2006 (EST)

The volunters (that rock!) group discusses volunteering and could be a useful resource for those interested in volunteer work.

Similar ideas are being discussed at the CS Cares google group.

Are there any other groups related to this? Please add!

Imho a very intersting project is the (dream)software called PlaNet http://open.coop/tiki-index.php?page=PlaNet http://open.coop/tiki-index.php?page=PlaNet:2010

Decision

Decisions about CouchSurfing are a topic of heated debate, especially the role of the wiki. The New Zealand Collective may clear up this issue somewhat. see role of this wiki and issue tracking.

Support

to support the development of this idea simply include your name below.

• Metal.lunchbox

Oppose

to oppose the development of this idea include your name and brief comments below or use the discussion page.

Implementation

To Do

• Technical enhancements for local volunteer coordinators (special designation like ambassador?)
• Describe how a NeedSurfing CouchSearch enhancement would work
• Create a simple mock-up
• Steps to implementation

Interested developers

• (add yourself here if interested)couchsurfing:volunteering.htm