Pasporta Servo

The Pasporta Servo (Passport Service) is one of the most important (if not the most important) Esperanto publication and is one of many reasons people start learning Esperanto. It is basically a directory of people from all around the world who consent to let Esperanto speakers stay in their home free of charge. In 2002, there are 1231 hosts in 83 countries.

Hosts specify how many days and how many guests can stay along with a short comment with other restrictions or interests (no smokers, bring a tent, young people especially welcome, etc). The hosts enjoy having people from various countries stay at their homes while the guests enjoy free housing pretty much anywhere in the world. Also, guests will feel more at ease because their hosts can help them with transportation, knowing the area, and best of all they'll be able to communicate easily through the interlanguage, Esperanto.

The Pasporta Servo is published each year by the TEJO, the World Esperanto Youth Organization. The idea began in 1966 in Argentina when Ruben Felman-Gonzalez started the "Programo Pasporto." Pasporta Servo in its current form was first published in 1974 with 40 hosts, under the guidance of Jeanne-Marie Cash in France. Both are still hosts in the Pasporta Servo.

The official website of the Pasporta Servo: http://home.planet.nl/~lide/paspserv.htm