Today’s blog is a follow-up to last weeks blog in which I told you about the different options you have for finding places to stay on the road. If you haven’t read that one, check it out here for a list of all your options. This time I wanted to focus more on WWOOFing, what it is, and how it might help you find your nomadic niche. First of all, what is WWOOFing?
WWOOF stands for “Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms“. It was founded in the UK in the early 70’s and has since spread internationally. It has went by different names in the past, but due to labor laws and such, its now worldwide opportunities. “WWOOFing” is therefore the act of engaging in these opportunities and a “WWOOFer” is the person doing the WWOOFing.
The opportunities afforded by WWOOF are those of cultural exchange in regards for farming and agriculture. Don’t just think planting and harvesting crops, either. There are opportunities abound to learn just about anything you you might want to. You can learn about the organic farming industry or how to have your own homestead. You might find a farm that offers beekeeping, planting and harvesting, care of livestock, care of the grounds, self-sufficiency, construction and so much more. Its a great opportunity to learn something you’re really interested in or check something off your bucket list.
Once on the farm, you exchange about 4-5 hours of labor per day in exchange for room and board. This might also include meals, groceries, and some places may even offer you a stipend. Because its focused on cultural exchange, its community based. This means the hosts are going to want to get to know you and they are going to share their knowledge. This way, organic farming has a larger support system and smaller farms are more easily sustainable.
How It Works
To become a WWOOFer, you’ll need to have a membership. You can get that on the WWOOFing website for the country you’re wanting to visit. If you’re in the US, you can visit that HERE or visit the main website HERE. This membership helps keep everyone safe and vetted, so you can confidently reach out and stay with people whom you know won’t put you in harms way (and vice versa).
Once you’re a member, you can browse through different farms and find what suits your fancy. Livestock not your thing? Look for a farm specializing in herbs. Want to learn construction? Look for someone who needs helping building farm structures. Hosts list what their wanting help with on their profiles, so you can easily see what you’ll be getting into ahead of time. You can also see the time frame that they want help for. Some folks want shorter term help and some want longer term help.
When you’ve found a host you’re interesting in lending a hand to, you’ll need to reach out to them to communicate interest in their farm. Its important to set expectations up front to make sure that both you and the host are a good fit. Length of time you’re available to help along with special considerations like disability accommodations are good things to square away before heading out. Remember, this isn’t a job opportunity. Its communal living and cultural exchange, so communication is very important.
If you’re looking for a low-cost way to travel wand want some really awesome, one of a kind opportunities WWOOFing is a great option! If LuLu’s build goes along smoothly enough this spring, I’m hoping that maybe this summer I can WWOOF here in Colorado. What kind of WWOOFing opportunities spark your fancy? Comment down below!
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