WWOOF Thread Okay let me try this, if you dunno what WWOOFi

I've WWOOfed twice in the US.

The first time was at a farm in midstate NY. It was a pretty rundown farm and I was the only wwoofer and more or less the only one there aside from the lady who owned it who couldn't really do too much. I got to prepare my own food and lived in an old trailer house on the farm. I was able to get into town on bicycle and was expected 25-30 hours a week but logged my own hours and work. It was a pretty comfortable experience and everyone I met was nice and kind. I liked the lifestyle a lot, just reading and smoking and wandering around the property.

The second place I went was a ""farm"" in california which was just a stoner couple. They were pretty irresponsible with work materials (had me barefoot in clay that had nails in it), didn't really provide me any food, and had me up in an old trailer with no water or bathroom. It made me feel pretty awkward and uncomfortable so I got out of there after a few days.

More or less the second place I could've avoided by paying attention to the way they corresponded with me. The first place was very professional, had websites and materials and was pretty professional with regards to emails and information. The second was very casual, long times between responses and very short casual and uninformative emails.

My recommendation is to find well reviewed farms, ensure communications are clear and concise, and not to take chances. It's a good experience but there are some less than professional operations on there that you might want to avoid.

>>1264312
>The first time was at a farm in midstate NY. It was a pretty rundown farm and I was the only wwoofer and more or less the only one there aside from the lady who owned it who couldn't really do too much. I got to prepare my own food and lived in an old trailer house on the farm. I was able to get into town on bicycle and was expected 25-30 hours a week but logged my own hours and work. It was a pretty comfortable experience and everyone I met was nice and kind. I liked the lifestyle a lot, just reading and smoking and wandering around the property.

Comfy

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>Norway

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>>1264099
Wwoofing in Switzerland is the best shit ever, pic related. all you really do is cut a lot of grass, feed the animals and enjoy that natural beauty, which is everywhere you look and it takes hours to escape it in every direction.

the language barrier with older folks was difficult, but i knew German so it was better than only knowing english, I worked 30ish hours a week and had sundays off

pic very related, I would walk to the town over and tooks this picture, one of my personal favorite pictures from there

WWOOFing always struck me as being a bit exploitative, in that farmers are essentially skimping on labor costs by taking on volunteer laborers and working them 20-30 hours per week in exchange for a room and some food.

Doesn't really seem worthwhile, to be honest, but that's just my opinion.

>>1264648
I'm not going to lie, it is certainly a way for many people to cut costs. That said, I don't think it's exploitative. The people travelling have money and obviously could choose not to work wherever, yet they choose to accept room and board jobs where they basically have no employment rights. I don't think WWOOF and the like are right for everyone, but for someone looking to cut costs who isn't too hung up about possibly having to change their plans because of a shitty host, it can be good. So yeah, I think exploitation requires someone to actually be forced into something at least indirectly, and I don't think that qualifies here.

>>1264648
WWOOFing can be exploitative, you just need to be careful about the places you're going and have a backup plan to get out. The worst thing that can happen is that you make up some excuse and leave.

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Any advice on where to do it? East coast? West coast? Rockies?

>>1265239
I guess wherever you want, given seasonal farming times and access

The world is your oyster

What are the physical requirements for (vegetable) farming? I've had back surgery and I can't do heavy lifting.

>>1265728
It should be specific to the farm itself, quell over any question with the hosts.

You should be able to do some shit though and not just free load

>>1264099
I lived in Norway for 6 months. I really enjoyed the country. I think you will have a great time. Whereabouts?

>>1264654
>>1264665

I dunno.

I just always felt like the compensation seemed far too low in relation to the amount of labor being performed.

For example, if you're WWOOFing at a farm for 30 hours per week, does a simple bed and two or three meals per day justify the amount of work you're putting in? That's part of the reason why the idea of 'volunteering' at hostels never appealed to me - the owners often make the volunteers work upwards of 20 or 30 hours per week in exchange for a $10 or $20 per night bed in a shared room, and sometimes food.

I'm not saying I'm right, because I've never WWOOFed, but I would be interested to hear whether those of you who have think what you're getting is worth what you put in.

>>1266218
(i'm the second one you (((you)))"d)
sometimes the worth is less than what you're putting in, sure. But you always get food, and oftentimes the owners are enthusiastic to show you around the town or drive you to locales. The lady I stayed with was always willing to drive me to town (it was a tiny-ass town in the middle of nowhere, but you know) and was accomadating. My cousin WWOOfed (or did a similar program) in italy, and I'm told that he did very minimal work at places and the owners would just bring him to Rome and hang with him. I went to a place where I could've spent as long as I wanted smoking weed with hippies and just fucking around with clay as (((work))) for a few hours in the morning (wasn't my scene but probably a lot would like it).

That being said, sometimes it can be a bit exploitative, you put in 30 hours a week and don't get much to do. WWOOFing appeals to me a lot because spending a bunch of time hanging out in the country is as enjoyable to me as hanging out in city (if not more), but just because there are exploitative farms doesn't mean by any means that you have to work at those kind of farms.

WWOOFing/agrotourism in general is a pretty varied endeavor. There are workaway projects I've seen that are pretty much just helping people with household stuff/personal projects that call for only 15 hours a week, and oftentimes these are run by young people who you just spend a lot of time hanging out with. You can find WWOOF/workaway projects that have rather minimal effort. You just have to go by reviews and have some sensibility.

That being said, you can travel on WWOOF for literally nothing. You can really get to see a lot of the real side of countries and get to live the comfy pastoral life. But frankly if pastoral life doesn't appeal to you you're best off trying to find workaway projects in cities with minimal effort, or just not at all. But the this styleis oftentimes extremely rewarding.

>>1266218
I agree that the volunteering at hostels thing is retarded, but I think it's best to find something good. There are a few steps I take when looking to make sure it won't be shit.

First make sure you communicate how much work you'll be doing. I think anything more than 25 hours is a rip-off, and 20 is best. Also get information on where you'll be sleeping, I care about privacy so a private room is a priority, though a bunk or a two person room isn't bad. Beyond that there's just weighing the pros and cons. Find a place that you personally think you'll really like, and if the other stuff is in order then I'd consider it. This of course totally cuts down the amount of places I actually end up contacting, but there's usually still a few and at least a couple are open for the time I'm looking at. I've had varied experiences, but none of them have been horror shows, and the worst that happens is I end up doing something where our personalities don't mesh or the work style is something less than ideal. Worst case scenario is you just leave as well, so that helps. Personally I'd never work in a 10 bed hostel or whatever, but I can even see that being useful for people really strapped for cash who want to see the big cities.

>>1266167
I was thinking Oslo just to be safe if anything fails.

Though bergen seems swarmed with farms

>>1266222
Putting ((())) around words is used to indicate that the jews are behind it, just so you know.
Use something else for emphasis.

>>1264637

looks like Australia, not Switzerland

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Bump

>>1266974
XD haven't heard that joke a thousand fucking times

So whats everyones next adventure WWOOF'ing

And has anyone tried Africa? I only hear of european stories