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No, wwoofers are not professional dog walkers. Think about kibbutzers backpacking
in Israel (usually for that great combo of hard work and no pay) and you’re
getting close.
WWOOF stands for both WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms and Willing Workers
On Organic Farms. It’s an organization that provides work experience in
the organic farming movement. Farmers get extra hands to pull weeds, pick grapes
or milk the cows for about five hours a day, five days a week; in exchange, the
farmers share their knowledge and passion and provide accommodation and meals
to the volunteers.
WWOOF finds placements for tens of thousands of wwoofers in 70 countries. More
than 650 organic farms across Canada are listed, 50 percent of which are in British
Columbia and Alberta. And anyone can join. Wwoofers generally come from big cities
abroad and long to connect with nature, their host farmers and fellow wwoofers—and
often want to learn English. Some find it a cheap way to travel, while others
passionately want to learn firsthand how to live on organic food and cultivate
a sustainable lifestyle. Here are a few we visited for insight into the wwoofing
life.
Goat’s Pride Dairy, Abbotsford
“I always wanted to work on a farm—hard to do with my urban lifestyle
in South Korea,” says Sunny Choi, 29. “And I want to learn how to
make cheese.” Choi helped with cheese packaging, some milking and with feeding
the animals. When we spoke last summer, Choi said: “Next week I will be
travelling across Canada. Hopefully, I will find another cheese farm in Quebec.”
“Many wwoofers just want to learn English,” says the farm’s
owner. When screening applicants she does ask about the potential wwoofers’
hobbies; if they’re into computer games, farm life likely isn’t for
them. “Some choose our farm because they want to start an organic operation
at home and others specifically want to work with goats,” she explains.
Ranch O Plato, South Cowichan Valley
Nicole Stewart, 22, is an engineering student from Boston, Massachusetts. “Host
Donna Martin was my first choice because she needed a grey water recycling system
built,” says Stewart. “They seemed to be like-minded people who were
socially conscious and environmentally aware.”
Stewart was soon shopping for pipes and old bathtubs in salvage yards, shovelling
gravel and picking rocks—not sexy tasks. So what’s in it for her?
“My main purpose is to learn about sustainable ways of living,” she
explains. “I’m studying industrial engineering and I want to get into
energy conservation. And it is all about meeting people with the same values.”
It takes a certain type of volunteer to do this kind of work. “We’d
keep her all summer if we could,” says Martin, laughing. “We hope
a wwoofer leaves here with a glimpse into sustainable living and we hope they
get as much out of their stay as we get from them.”
Ironwood Farm, Fanny Bay
If it wasn’t for wwoofers, the Odegards of Ironwood Farm would do things
differently. “We wouldn’t grow as many types of vegetables on such
a large scale,” says Barbara Odegard.
Over the years, the Odegards have hosted about 500 wwoofers. “Most of them
have no knowledge of organic farming, but they leave with a profound sense of
how to grow food and a huge respect for what we do,” says Odegard. “They
realize there are other ways to live life, on a much simpler level.” Serious
wwoofers might arrive early in the growing season and return in the fall, learning
about organic farming techniques such as crop rotation.
Rhode Island’s Claire Harlan-Orsi and three other wwoofers from Germany
were getting ready for the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market during our visit.
“The most rewarding part is selling at the market,” says Harlan-Orsi.
“‘Ooh, look at that beautiful chard,’ a customer says. I was
partly responsible for that.”
Josi Kehl and Ariane Wiedau, both 19, and Christian Gerlach, 28, all from Germany,
chose Ironwood because of the location. When I first meet them, two eagles soar
over the verdant, gently sloping hills surrounding the farm, headed toward distant
snow-capped mountains. Gerlach knew nothing about organic farming before arriving
at Ironwood—the closest he had gotten to farming was picking a few apples.
Now, he has a deep appreciation for the work, which is much more than he expected,
that goes into organic produce. “We are never idle, but useful,” says
Gerlach, laughing.
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