you can volunteer in return for bed and board. The good thing about this sort of volunteering is that you can do several in a row, interspersed with travelling, and get to understand the local culture a lot better, whilst living extremely cheaply.

• http://www.workaway.info/
• http://www.wwoof.org/
• http://www.helpx.net/index.asp
• http://www.wse.org.uk/guides/vol.htm
• http://www.idealist.org/
• http://www.volunteer4africa.org/
• http://www.bunac.org.uk/
• http://www.britishcouncil.org/society/youth-in-action
• http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/