Volunteer at organic farms across the globe
Peter and Amanda are WWOOF hosts in the UK
Do you enjoy organic farming and other activities that further sustainability?
There are organic farms all over the globe that you can volunteer at in exchange for free lodging and free meals, plus learning about organic farming and related lifestyles. Some farms have just a couple of hosts while others have entire families or small communities you would stay and hang out with.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) was founded in 1971 in the UK. The organizations involved with this project connect people who wish to volunteer, aka “WWOOFers” (awesome), with those who wish to receive help and impart their knowledge and skills to others. You can usually even do it if you don’t speak the local language! These hosts are cool folk, apparently.
WWOOFing in Australia with alpacas
Volunteers: What you need to know
WWOOFing in Australia with alpacas
On the WWOOF website you can find lists of organic farms, smallholdings, and gardeners. Some of them only request/accept help during certain months or seasons, while others are open all year long. Additionally, tasks vary per farm and, of course, geographical location.
You can visit the list of farms/hosts, choose the ones you’d like to visit, and contact them directly to make arrangements. WWOOFers usually live as part of the family, so the environment tends to be cozy and friendly (I assume, as I’ve never volunteered for WWOOF).
If you volunteer, you will not have to pay (and you won’t get paid) except for a “small fee” to WWOOF, which hosts must pay also. The fee helps maintain and grow the project.
The hosts
All hosts grow their food organically, are in conversion, or use environmentally friendly techniques on their farms and so on. Volunteers get hands-on experience growing organic crops and, where possible, by performing other tasks, such as feeding cattle.
There are WWOOF farms you can volunteer at in all five continents. The countries include the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, the European Union, Turkey, Israel, Cameroon, Uganda, South Africa, Australia, India, Japan, and others (keep checking the website).
Conclusion, so to speak
This sounds like a totally sweet deal for the adventurous, outdoorsy types who also want to make our world a better place (corny but true, huh? That’s okay.). Also, those of you free enough to get around, of course (the especially lucky among us!).
If you have experience with WWOOF, please share your thoughts and impressions! It sounds great, but there are always two sides to every story (at least).
WWOOF’ing around the world is fantastic and a great opportunity to mix and blend with the local’s who are the norm since are running farms are very practical, honest and down to earth. Many treat you as a family member.
My last experience just a few months ago was in Borneo in Sarawak, Kuching on the eastern Malaysia side. I had backpacked my way to a national park and was at a lost when i had missed the last bus back and the park chalets were not within my budget.
Some villagers pointed me to a organic farm which was owned by an australian expat and he was most kind to let me stay the night. I eventually stayed for 9 nights after offering to WWOOF for him introducing the whole concept.
I dug ditches, repaired the goat house (well some hammering nails), planted some tree’s, helped weed the vegetable patch, cleaned a bungalow as the farm also had a homestay offer to help with expenses, helped check the water pipes and so on. What did i get in return?
For those days i worked a total of 6 full days and had 3 days ‘off’ but the best thing was i managed to get a lift to the Kubah National Park, the Matang Wildlife Center, visit the turtle islands Satang Besar, and the Matang Family Park. In between i got to follow the owner to explore Kuching City a bit, go down to some fishing villages even during ‘work time’. I will not even bother to mention too much on the fun parts when we went check the crab and prawn traps or lay the nets in the fish pond. Meals were always more than enough, simple and good wholesome homecooked food. Dessert was to my choice of whatever fruits there were in season.
Overall a very good experience and have made friends for life. I hardly spent on anything as food, lodging was covered and even the trip back to the airport was covered by a lift from the owner. Having the use of the farm motorbike was awesome as popping down to the nearby shops was easy.
Yes, WWOOF’ing is an experience that every traveller on a budget must try. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. My next trip is to Japan in September.
Twitter: ecodestinations
says:
That’s incredible! I’d love to hear about your adventures in Japan and I hope to follow your lead once I stop moving around and get my stuff together enough to take a long trip somewhere amazing like Borneo or Japan.
(I hadn’t seen this comment until now, for some reason. Sorry about that!)
organic farms could actually save us from carcinogens and toxins:’”
Twitter: ecodestinations
says:
They would absolutely help, Samuel! They may not eradicate all the carcinogens and toxins already out there, but they would help get rid of them and replace them with clean air and nutrients. I plan to start growing food organically in my apartment within the next few months. I can at least do that, since I can’t have a farm in the city.
organic farms will be the trend of the future coz we don’t like artificial stuffs inside our body”;:
Twitter: ecodestinations
says:
Agreed!
;-” I am really thankful to this topic because it really gives great information ,,;