WWOOFing an experience by Rebecca from Germany

Woofing - Willing Workers on Organic Farms

I heard about WWOOFing from another traveller when I was living and working in New Zealand in 2007.I was a bit unsure at first about what to expect from wwoofing - but also very interested. I decided to get some more information and the more I got to know about it, the better I liked the idea of becoming a WWOOFer.

It seemed to be an awesome way of travelling, meeting interesting people, learning, and doing things that I had never done before (I have to admit, though, that even pulling weeds was something that I had rarely done up to then because I grew up in an apartment building - not many weeds to pull out there...).

I had a weird experience as a WWOOFer at a place near Melbourne. The lady that I stayed with made honey...well, actually, the bees make the honey, of course. And she had this machine (please, don't ask me what it's called in English!) to get the honey out of the honeycomb. This machine, though, broke down at a point when there were only a few honeycombs left. So she asked me if I'd like to give it a try to press the honey out ofthe combs with bare hands. I thought to myself: "Well, somehow people a long time ago must have done that, too!" and gave it a go. Standing out there in the sun, trying to press honey out of honeycombs didn't quite work and was a pretty weird feeling - but a great feeling, too! I don't think that I'll ever need to do that again or that it will somehow help me in any way for my life, my career, or whatever. But - hey! - who can say that they have ever tried to press out honeycombs with their bare hands!?! I have!

I've had many rewarding experiences as a WWOOFer! For a start, so many people have let me into their houses and their lives. That alone is always a rewarding experience. Most of the people that I stayed with were very open-minded and interested in me and in people in general. Above that, there were people who taught me how to work in the garden and on farms...people who taught me how to look after animals (e.g. after orphaned wombats!)...people who brought me closer to the world of art...peope who taught me more about other people's cultures (e.g. Aboriginal culture)...people who introduced me to new kinds of food (yummy!)...people who showed me that a more relaxed way of life IS possible...people who told me that they really enjoyed my company...

I never had a really, really bad experience with WWOOFing. Luckily, I've only heard about them. I think the worst experience for me was one host who clearly had a different sort of humour from mine... It felt more like sexual harassment to me. He wasn't dangerous or anything - on the contrary, apart from that he was very nice. But - as I said - not quite my kind of humour.

To become a WWOOFer, you sign up with the WWOOFing organisation in the country that you want to travel. You pay a certain amount of money which entitles you to be a WWOOFer for one year - that includes a book with the list of all the current hosts and a (liability???) insurance. At least, that's how it works in Australia.When you have decided which region you want to travel to, you read through the list (also available on the internet) and try to find a place that sounds like it suits your expectations. Some people want you to contact them a long time in advance - some are happy if you contact them on short notice. In every case of course, you have to be prepared that they can't take any (more) WWOOFers and that you have to contact a few more people until you find the right place. With your hosts you arrange how and when you get there, for how long you can stay, which sort of work needs doing and the amount of work you are expected to do.If you should be really unhappy with your hosts, when you get there, remember that you can leave anytime. Nobody can force you to stay and work for them.

In exchange for the work that you do, you'll get food and accommodation, and often people will also want to share their experiences with you,introduce you to their friends and maybe take you out on a trip or so.

I mostly worked in the garden and in the household. Since I'm not a natural gardener, I mainly did weeding out in the garden. And in the household mostly cleaning and helping with the cooking. But depending on where I was and what they needed me for, I was also able to help with planting or harvesting, help with construction work, look after animals/work on the farm, etc.

I thought it was a fair amount of work for the accommodation I received. But I've heard of places where they expect far too much work. I don't understand, though, why WWOOFers stay at those places and don't complain to the WWOOFing organisation.Apart from that there are people who argue that compared to the amount of money that you could earn within an hour, you get hardly anything as a WWOOFer. In my opinion, though, these people forget, that usually when you work at a place, you aren't a guest in the same sense as you are as a WWOOFer - most hosts try to include you into their daily routine just as if you were a family member or a good friend visiting them. And it's usually not rich people trying to get WWOOFers as cheap workers so that

they can become even richer - the hosts are usually pretty ordinary people.

From my experience, though, I'd say Wwoofing appeals to people who aren't only interested in partying and sightseeing, but also/foremost in people and lifestyles. If you want to know how ordinary people in another country live their lives and what they think and feel, you're better off working your way around a country as a WWOOFer (or the like) than staying at hostels and hotels where you will mostly meet other travellers.

Meeting other travellers is a nice and very rewarding experience, too; but it doesn't get you any closer to the country that you're travelling.

I would definitely recommend it and you should make sure that you are well-informed about how the system works, etc. before you head off. And of course, you should always have a sort of 'emergency plan' if something really goes wrong. But in general: yes, yes, yes! I certainly do recommend it!

I’d do it again and I'd do it now. Even if it was only here in Germany...I'm sure there are things about my own country and people that I don't know yet and things that I could learn.

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