Our Internship fee covers training and lodgings for three weeks in Hawaii. Most applicants are happy and enthusiastic to pay this sum because they understand and appreciate the value of our Internship.
Many interns first saw our website months or years ago. They planned and prepared before arriving, growing in excitement as the time got closer! Such applicants have often been our best interns!
It is simply not fair to those applicants if we offer discounts to those who have not saved up or prepared for our program.
When an applicant tries to bargain down the affordable price of this internship it tends to indicate they have very little appreciation for the value of our program. They are simply trying to get the cheapest option to stay in Hawaii. There is nothing wrong with that but then we would suggest applying to stay as a Fair-Trade Volunteer which is cheaper for short-term stays.
Based on past experience such Interns often have been the most difficult to work with because they continue to ‘bargain’ all along their internship as their focus is on themselves and their budget not the community and the work we are doing.
In addition, when an applicant indicates that they have such a tiny budget it shows they have not prepared adequately for living in Hawaii. Interns get some but are responsible for most of their food needs so they need to at least have some starting funds.
Normally when an Intern applicant asks for a discount or tries to bargain down our very low prices before even arriving it is considered a 'red flag' for us.