If you get an email from SE7EN, it probably came from me! I handle all the administration and member support.

I was a full-time volunteer for six years on environmental projects, and it was always difficult to find good quality information about volunteering opportunities. Either they were insanely expensive or the information was uselessly out-dated.

I wished there was a website listing all those small and inexpensive volunteer projects that are so hard to find; a website that was properly managed so the information stayed up to date; a website that cut out the middle-man between projects and volunteers, and so reduced the costs…

That website didn't exist, so John and I decided we would create it. That's SE7EN.

Outside of SE7EN, I build timber-framed constructions and I live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle in southern France. I live completely off grid, with solar electricity, rainwater harvesting, water recycling etc. By building a low-impact lifestyle, consuming far fewer resources, I feel I'm doing my part for a sustainable future. And yes, I take volunteers – see my SE7EN profile.

I created and maintain the computer systems that make the SE7EN website work.

I live at a permaculture centre in France, working with friends and volunteers to rebuild a farm and develop sustainable technologies. This has led me into a range of interesting projects, both locally (insulating the house with sheep's wool) and further afield (building compost toilets in remote Scottish mountains).

Many of our volunteers have come through WWOOF, and 15 years ago I set up the first online WWOOF organisation. For me, the essential element that makes WWOOF work is the cultural exchange.

WWOOF is just one corner of a huge spectrum of cultural exchange possibilities. SE7EN originated in realising that there are lots of exciting and valuable projects happening in the world, and that for many, providing volunteers with food and accommodation at no cost is not financially viable.

The opportunity to meet people from all over the world and share their lives is immensely valuable. Getting to know each other as real people living real lives is a powerful way to knit together the peoples of the world and create the common will needed to live well on this planet.