Wwoofing to see the world on a small budget

1. You essentially only pay you transportation costs and for any souvenirs you may buy. During the time of your stay at the host farm, you have your lodgings and food covered.

2. You can learn the local language if you want. Whether a beginning or advanced student of the language, you will definitely add to your language skills if you put in the effort to do so. Hosts are most likely quite happy to have you practise speaking in their language as long as it does not interfere with their ability to explain tasks in a way you can understand.

3. You learn other skills - I learned to milk goats, to take goats and sheep to pasture with a sheep dog, to make one kind of cheese. Other skills that can be learned are the various aspects of permaculture, such as composting, building construction using local materials, cropping using natural means of weed and pest control, and more.

4. You are immersed in the local culture and you learn your host family's way of life:  daily schedule, meal planning and eating patterns, social interactions, family ties, community dynamics.

5. Meet people from other parts of the world. There may be other wwoofers together with you and you thereby meet other interesting people of all ages who are wwoofing each for their own reasons. You hear about other places that may be worth visiting and you learn more about how to make the wwoofing experience a hassel-free enjoyable one.

1. The reality may be very different from the impressions you got before you committed to go. In order to have a better picture of the place and the hosts, check the Internet for write-ups on the particular farm, email the hosts beforehand and ask about the place and their expectations for the wwoofer. Make sure you know the kind of work you will be asked to do, how many hours per day and days per week you are expected to work, what the sleep arrangement are, whether or not you eat with the family, how far it is from the local town and transportation to and from the farm. This last point will let you know how dependent you are on the hosts for getting into town and back if you should want a change of pace.

2. If you have any particular health issues or dietary requirements, check with the host first that this will not be a problem. I have problem knees and I spoke with the host on the phone before deciding to volunteer on his farm. He had no problem with that.  Are you vegetarian?  That is likely not a problem, but do check first.

3. The host is unfriendly, overdemanding, you are doing work you did not expect to do - if you had exchanged emails in advance, you have his email to draw on to reclarify expectations. If you are not happy, you are not under contract and can leave at any time.  If you find yourself having this kind of problem repeatedly, the problem may be with you and not the hosts. If the host was misleading and/or inconsiderate of the volunteer, please write to the wwoof organization to which the farm belongs and tell them of your experience. Without feedback, they have no idea what is going on and cannot take action.

In September 2011 I spent two weeks practising my French and learning animal husbandry at an organic farm in the Pyrenees. My hosts were wonderful. The town was quaint and picturesque. To get an idea of what wwoofing is like, you can read about my experience and see some of the photos I took here.

A Weekend Seminar on Permaculture from Woof Israel