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Farmer, Farmer
Put away that DDT
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!

-Joni Mitchell “Big Yellow Taxi”

What is WWOOFing?

WWOOFing is Willing Workers On Organic Farms, or WorldWide Opportunities On Organic Farms. However you want to call it, it’s a first-rate program that gets young (and not so young), energetic volunteers together with organic farms who need help. There aren’t a lot of rules, and you can find people from all different backgrounds, ages, countries, and belief systems WWOOFing and being hosts around the world. We discovered WWOOFing in Canada as a way to get free rent, and although it’s saved our butt in that regard a number of times, it is much more than that. We have come to believe that small organic farms are tremendously important, and that the “organic” label is not just a way to make more money.

Why is organic important?

The “food” we eat today is often so covered with chemicals – preservatives, pesticides, artificial colors and flavors, fake sugar and fat, etc. that our ancestors would never recognize it. The taste, color and texture of overprocessed and mass-produced food items, especially the commerically available ones, are so far from reality that few of us know what a fresh, homegrown apple tastes like. Only a lucky few of us produce our own food and know exactly where it came from (and why it tastes so good!). But besides not tasting as good, those chemicals are bad for our health! Several pesticides and other chemicals that were used in the past have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects, and even those that are used today in the US are banned in some other countries, like Germany. There are studies that indicate that fake fats, sugars, flavors, and other chemicals contribute to obesity, ADHD and autism. The truth is, we don’t really know the long-term effects of many of the things that are in our food. Why take the risk?

Why do food producers use this crap?

When our ancestors grew and produced their food, the didn’t have access to a lot of the things we have today. Farming was back-breaking work, and people had large families or many servants to help them get it done. Most people produced their own food, or bought it from their own villages and towns. The food supply was unsure: on any given year, the crops could fail, livestock could succumb to disease, and then people would starve. These problems were solved with the advent of tractors and pesticides. Now a small family could provide food for a large population with a smaller amount of effort. And the crops were more stable. The need to feed millions of soldiers in both world wars led to improvements in preserving food including canning and chemical preservatives. Now food from a good harvest could be kept for years without spoiling and the threat of bad harvests and starvation due to crop failure became a thing of the past. Farming became big business, and family-owned farms began to be pushed back as corporations bought them out or out-competed them with low prices. Using chemicals and machines instead of people to remove pests and weeds, sow seeds, and even harvest the crop, agri-business could offer food for lower prices. Which is great for economics, but not good for our health. Besides the problems with chemicals, when we don’t go through the physical labor of producing our own food and we have a sedentary lifestyle, we gain weight and health problems. It’s easier to buy a ready-made meal at a store or restaurant than to directly work and make that meal (from seed to harvest) for ourselves. Most of us don’t do it. One more reason that mega farms need to use pesticides, herbicides and fungicides is that they plant huge fields of the same crop (monoculture). Bugs and diseases can multiply rapidly and infest everything in sight. With more variety, this wouldn’t be such a problem.

Why is WWOOFing important?

WWOOFing helps take that competitive edge off of big business farming. If WWOOF host farms don’t have to pay for their labor, they can get more work done, and sell their food cheaper. Organic farming, since it doesn’t use chemicals, requires lots of hands to pull weeds and remove bugs and things that cause disease (for example, raking leaves away from apple trees to prevent scab instead of spraying them with fungicide). It requires thinking outside the box, and researching new (and forgotten traditional) ways to prevent disease and grow tastier, bigger, prettier produce without copping out with Miracle Grow. There are a lot of different kinds of organic farms, and there are some huge corporations out there, but most are small farms that focus on variety and crop rotation, instead of planting huge fields of the same kind of produce. With smaller plots of the same kind of produce, you can’t use larger machinery efficiently. Harvesting and planting is often done by hand. When farms have to hire workers, they have to raise the price of their food. If they have volunteers, they can keep it relatively low. WWOOFing also helps keep small businesses, who would otherwise struggle, afloat. A hired worker does not just mean an hourly wage. There are taxes, social security, insurance and so on. In my experience a lot of WWOOFers are interested in other ways of helping the environment – recycling, alternative energy, vegetarianism, etc. It’s a grass roots movement, but these small things really make a difference. WWOOFing also gives young people – college students and young families, the most common WWOOFers – the chance to learn about farming and growing their own food, so they can pass this knowledge on and possibly have their own organic farm someday. This is a dream my husband and I have for when we return to the US and are able to settle down.

Where can I find food produced with the help of WWOOFing?

It’s hard to tell if your local supermarket sells WWOOF produced food. Labels may say the food is organic, but it usually doesn’t tell you exactly how its grown. The best way to find WWOOF food is by visiting your local farmer’s market and asking around. You can also check the WWOOF listings for your country and state and find farms near you that support WWOOFing. If you already use a local farm for your groceries, ask if they are using WWOOFing. They may not be aware of the program, and would be glad for the advice and help.

Where can I sign up to be a WWOOFer or a WWOOF host?

In the United States http://wwoofusa.org/
In Canada http://www.wwoof.ca
In France http://wwoof.fr/

There are also sites for other countries listed on these websites, as well as similar programs.

How much does it cost?

There is a cost for the list of farms that you can apply to, and a cost to be on the list as a host farm.
It varies by country. Some countries do not have their own WWOOF program, and are listed under independents. I’ve found the fee to be around 30 dollars US. When you consider the cost of a hotel room for one night, or a month’s rent, the fee isn’t bad. If you are WWOOFing in another country, you have to handle any visa requirements (and fees) yourself, and travel is not included, although some WWOOF hosts will travel a little way to pick you up (i.e. from a train or bus station, or your last host if close by).

Who can be a WWOOFER? Who can be a host?

Anyone can be a WWOOFer if they’re willing to work hard and be a team member. Hosts are individuals, so you need to read the listing to see if you fit their needs, then contact them to see if they’re available! Many hosts will not accept smokers or people who are likely to party and do drugs. Some don’t allow children or pets, while others do. Some want only singles, some prefer couples. It all depends on the host. How long you work depends on what benefits you get, and your skills. Some hosts expect a few hours a day or week, others want you to work a full day. Most provide at least one meal, but depending on the situation you may have to cook for yourself part of the time. The busiest times of the year is when crops need to be planted or harvested. Off-season, you may be able to find an alternative arrangement based on maintenance or house-sitting.

As a host, you can determine who you want to come to your farm. If it’s not a good time (or you have no work this month) you can turn people down. It’s an informal agreement, and most people prefer to give a new WWOOFer a week or two trial period to see how they all get along before settling in. Most WWOOF hosts are strictly organic farms (that is the idea, after all) but I have seen hostels, wellness retreats and homeschooling cooperatives that use WWOOFing. Contact the program for your country for more information.

Is it really worth it to be a WWOOFer?

We have had great experiences WWOOFing as a family, and I wish we had discovered it long ago. We have learned a lot about farming and the side interests of organic gardening – recycling, vegetarian cooking, raw food, alternative medicine and spirituality. Plus we have met like-minded people who are as close as family to us now. It’s a great way to travel internationally, experiencing how real people live instead of hitting all the tourist spots and bringing home collectible spoons. And even in your home country or state, it’s a great way to give back to the community. At some locations we have been able to do extra work for a little money. One of the greatest benefits was enjoying fresh organic produce, free-range eggs, meat, cheese, fish and milk at the various farms. It’s a life that most cannot afford to buy, but many can achieve it with a little time and hard work.

Photo credit: missyredboots

Are you WWOOFing? Do you want to learn more? Tell me your stories, and ask me your questions in the contact form below.