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WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms or World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
You must have often wished to know about organic farming. If you are living in a city, reading books and browsing the Internet must have been you way of learning organic farming. However, we all know that learning through books and online sources gives only a glimpse of the techniques involved in organic farming.
But don’t worry; you can get some real knowledge on organic farming now. WWOOF provides an excellent opportunity to people like you to learn first hand organic farming techniques, and at the same time experience the rural lifestyle and interact with people from different parts of the world.
Some terms involved in WWOOF
WWOOFing is volunteering to work on organic farms to learn the principles involved in organic farming. A WWOOFer is a volunteer who works on an organic farm for a few hours (generally 5-6 hours a day) in exchange of food, bed and learning experience. The person who owns the organic farm is called a WWOOF host. To facilitate the entire WWOOFing activity, there are various WWOOF Organizations. These are not for profit organizations that provide a list of hosts and membership cards to aspiring WWOOFers.
How does WWOOF normally work?
A WWOOFer gains access to the list of hosts with an organization by becoming its member. The WWOOFer then contacts a few hosts based on their descriptions in the list and when a host agrees to provide stay, he/she plans for the tour.
When the WWOOFer reaches the host farm, he/she has to provide the WWOOF membership card. In some cases, such as if the WWOOFer is member of WWOOF USA, a hard copy of the member directory acts as the membership card. The WWOOFer then stays for the one to three weeks (sometimes more or less), depending upon the convenience of the WWOOFer and the host.
During the stay, the WWOOFer works on the host farm as a volunteer and gains knowledge about organic farming. He/she also helps the host family in various household activities.
It should be noted that WWOOF is a voluntary activity and a WWOOF worker is not entitled to a pay or wage for his/her work. Some hosts do offer a pay, but this is not a necessary aspect of WWOOF.
What does WWOOF stand for?
Apart from Willing Workers on Organic Farms or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, some people also like to use We’re Welcome on Organic Farms or World Wide Orientation on Organic Farms or Working Weekends on Organic Farms.
Out of these five, Willing Workers on Organic Farms is most commonly used to describe the activity. The International WWOOF Association and other WWOOF organizations, however, prefer to use World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Irrespective of which long form is used to describe WWOOF, the activity remains same.
WWOOF History
The concept of WWOOF first started in the UK in 1971, when people in the cities used to spend their weekends on organic farms in the country side. The activity was then called Working Weekends on Organic Farms. Later WWOOF started in New Zealand and many other countries. Read History of WWOOF UK for more details.
Is WWOOFing Always a Pleasant Experience?
Tips for WWOOFers
Myths about WWOOF
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