Is WWOOFing Always a Pleasant Experience? http://www.organicfacts.net Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:37:10 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.organicfacts.net/wwoof/wwoof-basics/is-wwoofing-always-a-pleasant-experience.html#josc688 From experience, I have found that it\'s best to ask many questions before committing to work on someone\'s land. Try to get familiar with the host and the land before arriving on their property. It makes for smoother communication later. Basic questions; *What the living arragements are? *Does everyone eat together or will you be cooking for yourself? *How can you wash your clothes? (very important, you will get DIRTY!) *What things are there to do when you have free time? You can expect weekends and evenings free so you want to have somewhere to go and enjoy yourself. *What are the transportation options to get away from the property if you want (need) to. There\'s nothing worse than being stuck on a remote piece of land. I look for farms where I can learn about permaculture, composting, worming and green building techniques, etc. That\'s why I wwoof! *Ask what their philosophies are? *What duties would you be doing? Wwoofing is a mixed bag! It can be hard work and physically challenging but hugely rewarding and fun. Be prepared for long days outdoors in any environment! Be sure your heart is in the right place before you volunteer yourself and you\'ll always be fine. If you\'re squeamish or weak you probably shouldn\'t wwoof. Two nightmare scenarios; There are people willing to freeload. They just take the free food and lodging offered but don\'t positively contribute. They just want a good time! If the farm is genuine and meets your standards, stick it out and make pleasant with people like that. They never stay long. On the other hand there are alot of social misfits with land looking for free labor or for a babysitter and maid. Ask relevant questions and Trust your gut! If they can\'t solidly describe what the wwoofers duties will be, if they\'re reluctant to describe themselves or the land to you or you get vague and indirect answers to your questions, don\'t even think about putting yourself on their property! My example; I worked on a farm in Australia. The farm\'s website sounded fantastic and I was enthusiastic to learn new skills! When I got there I found it not at all like the website described. There were fruit orchards planted long ago but the trees were so stunted, sometimes I couldn\'t even see the trees for the field of weeds! This farm of 40 acres had completely gone to rot. I was bent over, knee deep in muck hacking away with a machete and yanking on deep rooted weeds for 5 hours a day! The owner offered lots of excuses about previous wwoofers not really working or not staying long enough and I chose to believe him. The farm had an Aussie bush cook and enough food from an organic garden. I liked my shelter and enjoyed the few other wwoofers. I could see great potential so I kept weeding, hoping that once we got his orchards cleared we could start the composting, worming and indigenous replanting his website described. I had intended to stay for 3 months but 3 weeks into it another wwoofer (an Australian EMT) arrived, she brought up the question of what to do in case of snake or spider bite? We were often working alone, far away from each other. Our host insisted there were no snakes or spiders to worry about and simply dismissed it. He had no medical kit or plan for evacuation. This in Australia? The toilet and kitchen were down a hill which was muddy and overgrown with slippery grasses. Every so often we\'d find a leach on one of us but we were also having a good time with each other and everyone made due. The only way to wash our clothes was to hitchhike or walk to the nearest town and back (16Ks away on an unpaved road with little traffic). The owner had a poor relationship with the townspeople so he rarely went there. They didn\'t speak very well of him or the way he treats his wwoofers either. My final straw came when the Aussie cook got a blood infection (probably from a leach) he had to hitchhike alone to town. He was hospitalized for a week and every wwoofer went to visit him at least once. The owner never did. After that the cook left the farm and so did I. Do not risk your health to wwoof on someone else\'s land! If the owner of the property is careless. Leave. Do some research on the farm before committing! Get references if possible. Lorraine Godfrey Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:35:24 +0100 http://www.organicfacts.net/wwoof/wwoof-basics/is-wwoofing-always-a-pleasant-experience.html#josc838 Hello, I just read your comment and I\'d like to do wwoofing in Australia too that\'s why I\'d like to know in which farm you\'ve been and how old were you. I\'m 18 years old (I have no experience even if my family is organic), I live in Belgium and I\'d like to leave in January. Thanks ! Elodie Elodie Knubben Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:10:15 +0100 http://www.organicfacts.net/wwoof/wwoof-basics/is-wwoofing-always-a-pleasant-experience.html#josc3281 I am looking for woofers to assist me in the garden - mowing, weeding, planting, but also clearing the mill stream of obstructions -fallen trees, etc. This is an ancient property with some archaeological interests, including caves. The Dordogne is in south-west France. barry weightman Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:29:49 +0100 http://www.organicfacts.net/wwoof/wwoof-basics/is-wwoofing-always-a-pleasant-experience.html#josc4310 Your property sounds beautiful, and I am very interested to come work for you. I am a strong muscular 27 year old male from the U.S., and am looking to spread my wings. I do not complain about hardwork;I welcome it. Please feel free to email me at your leisure to discuss further arrangements. Thank you. -Dominick Dominick Martone Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:24:10 +0100 http://www.organicfacts.net/wwoof/wwoof-basics/is-wwoofing-always-a-pleasant-experience.html#josc4585 Hi, I really want to travel and love to work out doors. I really have an intrest in learning spanish and want to do wwoofing in a spanish speaking country. I no alot of spanish now i might ad. But did anyone do wwoofing in costa rica or spain or any spanish nation who had an excellent time. I would love to no were you stayed and who you stayed with. joe Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:00:25 +0100