WWOOF – Who let the Dogs Out? Not!

This post was written by Colleen Easley on January 22, 2008

Have you heard the term WWOOFING? I have to admit that although I had heard it once or twice in the past, I really had no idea what it was all about. But in the past weeks it become a little more personal when my brother, Bruce sent an email home about his WWOOFING experiences in New Zealand.

Bruce is a retired elementary school teacher living on San Juan Island in Washington state. He is married to Tina, who is of Australian heritage, and this past fall they embarked on a year long trip to Australia and New Zealand. Currently he and Tina are WWOOFING on a dairy farm at the southern end of the south island of NZ and they plan to do another project at the northern end of the island once they are done at that farm.

When our mother got the email about this WWOOF experience, she was a little confused as to what it was all about. I told her I’d look into it more and here is what I’ve found.

WWOOF. It stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and was started in the UK in 1971. It provides volunteer opportunities for all ages and levels of experience. You can WWOOF in over 70 countries in any season for variable durations. It’s a great way to get around the world “on the cheap” and have fun learning new things.

In return for your work you generally receive food, accommodation, and training for the project you’re working on. Although most WWOOF opportunities involve either organic farming or gardening, there are also opportunities for handy persons, cooks, teachers, builders, child care and and just about any other skill you might have.

WWOOF volunteers do not pay for their stay and WWOOF hosts do not pay their volunteers for their help. There is a small fee to join a WWOOF organization in the country where you want to work.

This sounds like fun and I’m not surprised that my brother has become involved with WWOOF. He has always been the more adventurous one in the family. I get my adventure fix every summer by heading up to Alaska to work as a tour guide, but someday when I finally retire from that adventure, maybe Dale and I will look into WWOOFING.

At http://www.wwoof.org/ that they have a list of all the countries that have a WWOOF organization. Let’s see now – where should we go first?? Of course you can WWOOF in the US as well as in Canada. It all depends on how far you want to travel.

So What’s the Take Away?

WWOOF has become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living. It’s an affordable way to travel, it’s educational, and you make lots of new friends. And it’s all about going green and the low carbon footprint that we’re hearing so much about these days. If you’ve got the time, but lack the money for a luxury vacation, maybe WWOOFING is for you.