What the F*ck is Wwoofing?

Wwoofing – Not barking but World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms-ing. What’s the deally?  This network was developed to link volunteers to organic farms with available volunteer opportunities.  You volunteer on an international farm for an agreed amount of hours and they feed and house you.  Pretty fair deal.  Nothing extravagant here but given the prices of organic, fresh-from-the-ground food (which is a myth in metropolitan U.S. cities) and housing, it’s a good trade off. 

Why care about organic farms?

The problem is that factory farming has overrun the United States meat production industry and is spreading its long arm overseas.  You have all seen the hidden camera videos of animals in large farms being abused and neglected.  Chickens with breasts so large their legs break, cramped in tiny spaces to maximize production.  Diseased cows falling over, pigs being electrocuted and turkeys being strangled all in the name of producing the millions of burgers, nuggets and what-nots we’re all so attached to.

When animals become commodities, and farmers are replaced by factories, humane methods of raising and slaughtering animals are compromised to turn higher profits. In response, some have chosen to become vegetarians while others have differed their hard earned cash to more expensive organic, free-range meat options.  But, the sad truth is factory farming methods are spreading to farms throughout the world and causing small, humane, family-owned farms to struggle in competition.  Being a vegetarian, vegan or organic/free-range meat-eater is a statement; rolling up your sleeves and actually getting down and dirty at a farm is putting your statement into action. 

Wwoofing does not require farming experience.  Daily duties range from milking cows to plowing, sowing, maintaining animal sheds and planting seeds.  This work will be hard and you will get that ugly farmer’s tan, but your contribution will be greatly appreciated and rewarded.

Even if you could care less about the well-being of animals, by volunteering you get to live in a foreign country of your choice as a farmer (which is the closest you can get to local culture) and escape all tourist traps by living in the countryside.  Plus, you get the freshest food available in the region daily.

Convinced?  This is how you do it:

• There is a small fee for joining the wwoofing network (it’s used to maintain the organization).  Wwoofing organizations exist almost everywhere in the world where there is a farm.  The fee is paid on a per country basis (i.e. you pay the fee and get a list of farms that need volunteers for the country you choose; there is no global wwoof membership).  Go to http://www.wwoof.org/ for country specific fees (its only $30 per year for Argentina, $28 for Brazil and 15 Euros for France; Estonia is FREE).
• Choose your ideal farm (animal, fruit and vegetable, grain or a combination) from the list you get as a wwoofing member.  Keep in mind the type of work will correlate with the kind of farm you choose.
•  Contact the farm to make a volunteer arrangement.  Find out about: duration of volunteership, hours of work per day, days of work per week, type of accommodations offered (tent, private/shared room), and proximity of surrounding towns.
• Get a plane ticket then get to work.

Whether you’re a vegetarian looking to support small farms or a meat-eater looking for a unique (and damn cheap) way to live and eat abroad, or both – hooking up with a farm through the wwoofing network is a good idea.  While your friends back home are eating canned, frozen and pesticide-ridden produce, you’ll be holding a fresh, organic vegetable in one hand and a hoe in the other.  Wwoof wwoof, baby.

Written By:  Anna Starostinetskaya

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