I have been interested in organic gardening for years, but it was 2004 before I finally had a chance to have a go at growing veg. I didn't have a garden or an allotment and I wanted to go travelling anyway, so I joined WWOOF. WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms, or World Wide Organisation for Organic Farmers. It is an amazing organisation that connects volunteers with people who need help on their land. The volunteer works in exchange for food and accommodation. The amount of hours worked and the type of work is agreed before the volunteer arrives. When I first joined WWOOF in Canada I paid just 15 dollars for a booklet with over 400 contacts. I could browse the contacts to find a farm that suited my needs in an area I wanted to visit.
In Canada I was a WWOOFER at three different places on Vancouver Island; I stayed with a Herbalist, helped at a market garden and stayed at Sungoma - a community for musicians and artists. When I returned to the UK I worked on a farm in Wales. After this I stayed with a family in Ireland. I then went to Spain for a year. I stayed at a community near Coin for a few weeks. I then went to volunteer with a couple nearby. I spent most of that year helping Gemma and Mike in Casabermeja. I spent the summer in France where I helped with a market garden, stayed with a couple who lived near some waterfalls, stayed with a family, at a herb farm and with another community. I returned to Spain and stayed at a community called Valle de Sensaciones. I also helped with the olive harvest near Orgiva. I also stayed with Gemma's friend John for a while. Most of these exchanges were organised through WWOOF, but a couple came through word of mouth or through VON. VON is an organisation that promotes cruelty free organic farming and they have a small list of farms/small holdings around the world that take volunteers.
In total I have stayed at 15 different places. Most were good, others were brilliant. Only a few places were not so good but I learnt a great deal from all of them. It is not just an exchange of food and accommodation - I had the chance to visit places I never would have gone to. I met some really interesting people and I learnt a lot about the many different ways of organic gardening, sustainable living and herb growing. I also had access to a lot of interesting books from which I also learnt a great deal. I had lots of free time for exploring new areas and for doing creative things. It is also very satisfying to help others. I would definitely recommend WWOOFing to anyone who wants to learn more about organic gardening or sustainable living. I also recommend it for anyone who wants a break, but wants to do something different. It is a good way to travel on a low budget and to see some very remote parts of the world. WWOOF operates in many countries all over the world and their website is here.
For anyone who is considering WWOOFing:
It's important to contact the host beforehand to arrange a convenient time to go. You should also agree on the the hours of work, the type of work and accommodation/dietary requirements. It is important that you don't get exploited, so make sure that the amount of hours and the type of work is good for you before you go.
There's not much allotment news at the moment. I was hoping to go this weekend to have a bit of a tidy up, but there was snow on the ground, so I decided against it. I'm looking forward to warmer days when I can spend more time on my plot!
Photos:
Top: Kitchen at Valle de Sensaciones
Middle: Valley where I used to sleep in my hammock at Valle de Sensaciones
Bottom: Fire pit at Valle de Sensaciones
