Rural hospitality
Welcome to Rural Hospex!
The following is an outline of a working model for Rural Hospex. It has been created with the developedworld in mind. A draft outline of a model for the developing can be found at the following link Rural Hospex in the developing world.
Please do not edit this page without discussing it first in the Rural Hospex Group or contacting Taylor. This is largely because this page will be translated into other languages, which will mean making the same changes in mutltiple languages.
Vision Statement
To build an international Rural Hospitality Network :)
Purpose
The purpose behind Rural Couchsurfing is twofold,
- To allow travelers to experience rural areas that are often overlooked, letting them experience ways of life completely different to those found in cities.
- To allow rural communities to experience culture exchange they otherwise wouldn’t.
Definition
Rural areas (also referred to as "the country", countryside) are settled places outside towns and cities. Such areas are distinct from more intensively settled urban and suburban areas, and also from unsettled lands such as outback, American Old West, or wilderness. Inhabitants live in villages, hamlets, on farms and in other isolated houses.
There has been many debates about what is rural and what is not, please read What Rural Means to make sure that you understand the difference between rural and "out of big cities".
See the discussion.
Languages
This wiki page should be translated into more languages. How many more? The more the merrier. If you can help with translations please contact the Rural CS Team.
For this wiki in other languages please click here :)
Flags were removed from the wiki as Couchsurfing isn't about nationalism 1
What is the difference between a rural and urban Couchsurfing experience?
The principal difference is the location.
Note that there can be some other differences:
- No or few internet access
- Difficulty to reach the place
- Difference of activities to do around
- Difference in lifestyle of host(s)
- In some cases, more help needed or expected than in urban environments(Click the following to read more WWOOF vs Rural CS)
Expectation of Host
A rural host can expect from his guest exactly the same things as in an urban area:
- Respect of his place
- Understanding and respect of his way of life
- Sharing time, experiences, conversation, and some daily tasks (dishes, cooking…)
- A great experience in general
A rural host can also sometimes expect:
- A little more help in the garden or the house
Expectation of Surfer
A rural Couchsurfer at the very least is expecting to discover what it is to live in a rural environment in the country they are traveling through.
A Couchsurfer in a rural area can expect:
- A place to stay (bed, couch, place on the floor, place for a tent…)
- Understanding and respect of his way of life
- Sharing time, experiences, conversation, and some daily tasks (dishes, cooking etc.)
- A quiet place to rest and forget your busy city life
- A great experience in general
Additional things that can be expected:
- Discovering a bit of the daily life if on a farm or an alternative community for example.
- Participating a little to the daily tasks (and then maybe learn and experience new things) (1)
(1)The guest has to make sure that he/she understands what is going to happen during the stay and that he/she is going to be able to give the little help that might be expected.
Countries/Regions Guides
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- The meaning of rural changes from place to place, and while we have put a general population limitation in place we encourage people to come up with their own definition that suites their area, along with a matching icon. Moderators of the relevant group should maintain a basic wiki page for their respective area, if for nothing else than to explain the process of how to be added to the map.
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- See a list of the regions by clicking - Rural CS Regions.
Promotion
Rural CS has mostly spread through word of mouth and by people reading the groups.
People interested in helping to promote and develop Rural Couchsurfing should join the Rural CS 'Team' group, read the group description and post there for how to get Rural CS started in their area.
The following is the 'marketing plan' for Rural CS:
Groups
The French Rural CS group got up and running through the promotion of groups. Read here to follow the steps they took. This is the main way to promote Rural Couchsurfing - by making a Rural Group and then linking it to the main country group, as done in France and Australia.
Newsletters/News feed
Rural CS can also be spread through Couchsurfing newsletters that are managed by volunteers. Please see examples from Australia123 and France. Rural Couchsurfing has also been mentioned in the official News Feed, it would be great if it could be periodically mentioned here so that new members could find out about it too.
Permanent website placements
It is envisioned that Rural CS can be placed on the Tips Section underneath the Family Welcome Group.
As as well as being listed in the tips section, it is hoped that it would be possible to leave 'Rural Testimonials' under the Testimonials page which would be flagged as 'Rural' and link back to the Rural CS group.
Other Media (Facebook/Pictures)
A Facebook account and fanpage have been created but have not yet been promoted. Eventually it is hoped that this will be one way for Rural Couchsurfing co-ordinators to communicate with Rural CS'ers as well as for people to share rural pictures.
Pictures are currently stored on the Rural Couchsurfing Picaso account.
Icon
Rural hosts may want to add an icon to their profile as well as a link to this wiki page explaining that they are rural hosts.
Possible ideas for an icon are:
File:Rural half.gif
File:RCSIcon2 half.gif
To see some icons for Rural India click the following link.
To add an icon for Rural CouchSurfing to your couch description, just copy paste the code below:
<a href="http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Rural_CouchSurfing"><img src="http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/public/images/8/82/RCSIcon2.gif"></a>
Note: the last two images appear the same but the second has a white background and the third has a transparent background. The code to put an icon in your couch description is for the third image. You can change the image by substituting the url from one of the other images for it.
More ideas are MOST welcome! There is no reason to only have one icon, the greater the variety the better. More discussion about icons here.
Examples
Listed below are some examples of Rural Couchsurfing hosts all over the world:
In Australia
In France
In Ireland
In Morocco
In Norway
In Portugal
In Slovenia
Background, Past and Future
Click here to read more about the Background, Past and Future of Rural Couchsurfing.
Feedback
If you would like to propose a change to Rural Couchsurfing please do so here or contact us directly at: [email protected]
If you want to see an overview you can check out our administration page. Administration