Ever heard of WWOOF? No? I hadn't either until I recently read an article about the organization called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It is basically an option for those of you who love travel, or would like to visit another country, and takes away the reason of having no money for a trip. It's definitely not the first-class way to travel, but it is travel nonetheless. Throughout Europe and around the world, WWOOF provides free room and board to travelers while simultaneously providing free labor to local farms. That's right! You gotta give back, it's not just a free couch surfing program.
According to a traveler who had taken part in the program before, those who go for it "have to earn their keep, whether by mending stone fences, tending goats, or as I did, growing vegetables. For as little as a week or as long as three months, you get to develop new skills (I learned to transplant baby lettuces) and perfect old ones (carpentry is always in demand)". The trade-off would at this point begin to seem more than beneficial to all parties involved, but wait! It gets better. It's not all back-breaking work and endless toiling while in the country of your choice, but in fact quite the opposite. Not only would the experience put you into a full immersion circumstance with the hosts, and not only would you partake in their way of life (preparing produce for local markets, enjoying life in the Tuscan, French or English countryside), but once your minimum hours are put in each day, the rest is yours to do what you will. Take a train into town, ride horses, and just explore the land. Imagine herding llamas in the Andes for a couple weeks! At some point taking hikes through the beautiful terrain and stumbling upon ancient ruins...
Anyroad, thought I'd let you guys know!
According to a traveler who had taken part in the program before, those who go for it "have to earn their keep, whether by mending stone fences, tending goats, or as I did, growing vegetables. For as little as a week or as long as three months, you get to develop new skills (I learned to transplant baby lettuces) and perfect old ones (carpentry is always in demand)". The trade-off would at this point begin to seem more than beneficial to all parties involved, but wait! It gets better. It's not all back-breaking work and endless toiling while in the country of your choice, but in fact quite the opposite. Not only would the experience put you into a full immersion circumstance with the hosts, and not only would you partake in their way of life (preparing produce for local markets, enjoying life in the Tuscan, French or English countryside), but once your minimum hours are put in each day, the rest is yours to do what you will. Take a train into town, ride horses, and just explore the land. Imagine herding llamas in the Andes for a couple weeks! At some point taking hikes through the beautiful terrain and stumbling upon ancient ruins...
Anyroad, thought I'd let you guys know!
3 comments:
That sounds like fun! And what a great feeling at the end of the day that you helped someone! and.... you might learn something too! wow... what a great opportunity! good job zach... your writing is wonderful. you are very talented... you will know me by my dots...
Well written article! The cultural immersion would be very cool. Still, it would be nice to just go and do whatever whenever.
Oh absolutely it would be. Cultural immersion can just as easily be done by independent means, I'm sure. More freedom that way for sure. Interesting organization though, for sure!
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