The "volunteer vacation" is a widely-misunderstood travel concept. It's a programs that involves travel to another community either at home or abroad for the purpose of performing socially-beneficial labor for others. You assist various groups in the building of low-cost housing, or teach English, or dig wells, or maintain hiking trails, or perform any number of other useful tasks.

But though you work hard at these arduous services, you don't usually receive free room and board in return, especially if the program in question is a short term effort of only one, two or three weeks. The considerable planning, preparation and administration of such programs costs money, for which the sponsoring organization requires payment of a fee from the volunteer. And though such charges are usually much smaller that those of a commercial tour, they can be substantial, nonetheless, and almost never include transportation to the site, which you -- the volunteer -- must cover.

That having been said, some "volunteer" programs charge only reasonable and sometimes nominal sums, and a small handful do pick up your basic room and board. Here are two affordable, and soul-satisfying, examples of the volunteer vacation for adults of all ages -- and I'll be describing three more tomorrow.

Willing Workers on Organic Farms ("WWOOF") (www.wwoof.org) assigns its volunteer participants from all over the world (all ages, although most are young and earthy types) to learn farming techniques while helping to run a network of mostly family-run organic farms in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe and Korea. You join a small team on each farm, pitch in with daily chores, and acquire first-hand organic horticulture techniques like pesticide-free planting and compost fertilizing. You can almost always count on some sheep herding, sowing, harvesting, milking of cows, and making of cheese and yogurt. Time commitment: usually a few days, but can last up to a few months depending on your host farm. Cost: a $30 membership fee, and then your half-day's work pays for a full-day's room and meals. Airfare and other costs are the participants' responsibility. Requirements: A willing heart and a strong back, without a minimum or maximum age limit.

Wilderness Volunteers (tel. 928/556-0038; www.wildernessvolunteers.org) works with public land agencies to promote outdoor volunteering in America's wild lands. Each trip is a week long, has twelve or fewer participants who camp in tents or in a dorm, and includes tasks like restoring streams, planting trees, repairing trails, or taking inventory of species on National Park, Forest Service, and other public lands. Guides do the cooking with the help of participants, and there's ample time to explore the wilderness you are helping to preserve. Groups vary in age, but tend to attract people from 20-40 who are active. Locations include Hawaii, California, Utah, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and Puerto Rico. Time commitment: one week. Cost: $239 per week (not including transportation to and from a park, and your own camping gear). Requirements: 16 years old and up, and physically fit.

Tomorrow: three more lightly-priced "volunteer vacations."

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