Donativo albergues

[bmcbride]

I would like to give a polite reminder to those using the municipal and parish albergues that run by donations. Donativo does not mean free. The donations left by others before you have allowed the continuation of the facility that you are now using. They have expenses to maintain the building itself, and quite often are providing a breakfast and perhaps even an evening meal to the pilgrims. They might be providing other services, such as laundry. Please consider what you have received, and what its worth would normally be, when you are leaving your donation.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

I would like to give a polite reminder to those using the municipal and parish albergues that run by donations. Donativo does not mean free. The donations left by others before you have allowed the continuation of the facility that you are now using. They have expenses to maintain the building itself, and quite often are providing a breakfast and perhaps even an evening meal to the pilgrims. They might be providing other services, such as laundry. Please consider what you have received, and what its worth would normally be, when you are leaving your donation.

Amen, bmcbride. And don't be a skinflinted cheapskate if you have the means.

 

[hotelmedicis]

Oh man. Has it come to this?

 

[naplesdon]

My advice is to leave 10 to 20 euros at donativos, your donation will compensate for the pilgrims who think their stay should be free.

 

[Stivandrer]

..from the grape vine:
Donotivos will be asked to demand a minimal fee, as described in a decree,
- unknown source, will look further....

 

[naplesdon]

Stivandrer:
Please, please when you find the source start a new thread.

 

[Stivandrer]

I now see that it might have been the discussion started in 2005 - 6, but it is still the rumble that it should be introduced...

 

[Stivandrer]

also see :
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...a-hospitalidad-tradicional.52270/#post-576447

 

[tpmchugh]

I would like to give a polite reminder to those using the municipal and parish albergues that run by donations. Donativo does not mean free. The donations left by others before you have allowed the continuation of the facility that you are now using. They have expenses to maintain the building itself, and quite often are providing a breakfast and perhaps even an evening meal to the pilgrims. They might be providing other services, such as laundry. Please consider what you have received, and what its worth would normally be, when you are leaving your donation.

I stopped in an albergue one night that had a communal meal with wine and a minimal breakfast next morning, cost €25. Stopped in an albergue in Ligonde that had a welcoming coffee followed by a movie and popcorn. Dinner was as good as it gets. I thought because it was a religious group running the place, there would be no wine. Not only was there wine, there was after dinner liqueurs. Breakfast next morning was excellent. We had to make it ourselves but everything we needed had been left out for us. This place was donativo and as usual, some thought it was free and some thought €5 was enough. I left €25 and felt like I was cheating them. So yes, donativo does not mean free

 

[OzAnnie]

Let your conscience be your guide..
Annie

I remembered reading a lovely thread by our forum @Rebekah Scott some time ago. It was all about ‘Grace’. On this thread :
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ch-should-your-donation-be.41084/#post-417574

 

[Aloha From Kauai]

I stopped in an albergue one night that had a communal meal with wine and a minimal breakfast next morning, cost €25. Stopped in an albergue in Ligonde that had a welcoming coffee followed by a movie and popcorn. Dinner was as good as it gets. I thought because it was a religious group running the place, there would be no wine. Not only was there wine, there was after dinner liqueurs. Breakfast next morning was excellent. We had to make it ourselves but everything we needed had been left out for us. This place was donativo and as usual, some thought it was free and some thought €5 was enough. I left €25 and felt like I was cheating them. So yes, donativo does not mean free

Could you tell me which albergue in Ligonde this was? Mahalo Nui Loa

 

[JanedS]

I volunteered for 2 weeks in April 18 as hospitalera in a donativo albergue on the CF. It amazed me how many pilgrims would take €50 out of their wallets to pay, but when told it was donativo, the money was quickly put away. Turns out that average donation per pilgrim was less than €2.50 per night...

 

[tpmchugh]

Could you tell me which albergue in Ligonde this was? Mahalo Nui Loa

Fuente del Peregrino. Big old stone building on a corner on your left roughly centre of village. If you come to the municipal, you have passed it. The quality of dinner does however depend on the particular volunteers as you pass. Last time I stopped there, the dinner could have been hotter, no after dinner liqueurs and the projector had broken down. The musically talented hospitaleros however provided great after dinner entertainment. Had I made it as far as Ligonde this year, I had every intention of staying there again

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Turns out that average donation per pilgrim was less than €2.50 per night...

There are a lot of assertions on the Forum about generous donations at the donativo places, but your statistic does not surprise me. Donativo appeals to the cheapskates and the needy alike. I am not interested in trying to separate the two; I just am bothered by the donativo places that complain about the cheapskates! If it matters, at least pull out a Certification of Need for everyone to fill out and sign if they don't want to pay 5 Euro.

My service club gives out over 100 eye exams and eyeglasses annually. We ask if they have insurance, that is all. When they are referred to us by social agencies, school nurses, health fairs, and caregivers, we don't even ask for a social security number (which is why many of the children who need glasses don't have them; they lack proof of immigrant status to get needed healthcare from any government source). It is either charity, or it is not. Resentment removes it from the charity side...

 

[JourneyInward]

The donativo albergues are a great opportunity for us all to practice generosity. In Buddhism, the word "dana" is used to describe the practice of generosity, specifically when laypersons in nearby villages would provide meals and other necessities to the monks. Similarly, the donativos are a gift to the pilgrims as much as an opportunity to practice giving with an open, grateful heart.
It is sad but not surprising that this concept is so foreign to many, seeing that we are living in a hyper-capitalist world where people falsely view themselves as individuals who need to hold on to every penny in the hopes of getting ahead. Instead my hope is for all pilgrims to donate what they truly are able to afford so that the spirit of the Camino lives on for many generations to come. Without donativos, the Camino is just another commodified experience.