Feature photo: www.worldon2wheels.com; Photo: emma.maria
Blissed out by the idea of WWOOFing? You’d better ask these four questions first.
In response to my question about how many hours a day the WWOOFers worked, the host replied, “We expect the WWOFers to enjoy the work enough not to mind how many hours they work.”
A red flag should have begun waving itself madly, but all I could see was the cheese factory on site, the fact they made their own pasta, and the assortment of animals on the farm. I ended up working about 12 hours a day on that farm, but never with the cheese or the pasta.
After having good and bad experiences WWOOFing in four different countries, these are the questions I’ve learned to ask:
1. How many hours do I work each day?
The purpose of this question is to be prepared for the expectations of the farm. The answer also gives you a reference point for addressing concerns if you find a significant discrepancy once you’re at the farm.
Asking about days off is also a good idea. One guy arrived at a farm and thought he had every weekend off. He was unpleasantly surprised to learn this was not the case.
2. What kind of work will I be doing?
Photo: strikeael
I always like to know there is a variety of work to be done. At one farm I never did the same thing twice; I faced new challenges like milking goats and making a basket out of willow.
At another farm I only did two things: herd goats and cut grass. Which one do you think I enjoyed most? This question is important because you can find out if the work will suit you physically and if the tasks offer the experiences and challenges what you want.
3. I only speak English. Does that matter?
In France, I WWOOFed at a host who had moved from England, so language was not a problem. In Italy, however, I encountered a few problems at two farms. The first host did not like speaking in English. Instead, the host spoke to the other WWOOFers who spoke Italian, never directing anything to me.
Photo: strikeael
Their listing had indicated English was spoken, but it was a quiet and unsocial two weeks. At the second farm there was frequent miscommunication because the host spoke little English and was impatient with misunderstandings. Better to be clear from the start!
4. Do you allow WWOOFers to use the internet?
WWOOFers are often travelers who want to stay in touch with family and be able to make further travel arrangements. Yet I was surprised by the number of farms that were unhappy to let me send a quick email or look up a train schedule.
Some people are simply of an earlier generation, don’t use the internet themselves, and don’t see why you should. Others have had bad experiences of WWOOFers using their computers. Either way, if you plan to stay connected, it’s wise to ask about the host’s policy.
Make sure you leave for a host prepared; otherwise, unpleasant surprises might take away from what could be a rewarding experience.
Community Connection:
Read some other practical tips in our First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOFing.
About the Author
Related Posts
10 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Good article for us, thanks for sharring^^
↵ -
Good to know; I’ll keep these in mind when I check out farms in New Zealand.
↵ -
Thanks for the tips!
↵ -
I especially agree with your second point. When I was WWOOFING in Australia they forgot to tell us babysitting was part of the job, I did not see that one coming! Something else I would like to know before going is if you will be the only WWOOFer there, or not. If the placement where you’re staying is very remote, and you don’t speak the language, it might be quite hard to have only yourself to talk to…
↵ -
i’m about to dive into my frist WWOOFing xperience in New Zealand…
thanks or sharing this!!
↵ -
all valid points! i am buzy setting up to receive wwoofers, i have an awsome spot in south africa kzn, 5min from the beach, that covers all the bases. loads to do in the area. all wwoofers welcome! we grow aloes veg, mushrooms, an loads of others. see you all soon an keep it organic!
↵ -
The wife and I just completed a 3.5 month stint on an amazing garden farm in Maui, Haleakuagardenfarm.com and these tips are dead on. We also had NVC classes in Non-Violent Communication, extra cleaning duties, shopping trips and work related meetings to add to our schedule… so do ask questions before you go! We also started out camping in tents there and were upgraded to a room once the major rains started here, so ask if indoor accomodations are available too.
Food is an issue so do make sure you can harvest from the farm or have a weekly budget for food bought in local markets. Enjoy and check out my Wwoof’ing pictures at http://www.jradimages.com
Mahalo,
Jared↵ -
Jrad- Sweet- thanks for sharing your experiences and validating the advice in this article. Looking forward to checking out your photos!
↵ -
I agree with all of the above. It’s really important to share your thoughts with your country Wwoof coordinator – I had a really bad experience in Puglia – basically left on my own in a very isolated place for a couple of days.
I contacted the coordinator who checked it out and the place was removed from the list.I like Help X because you can read about other people’s experiences and you can also leave feedback for others. I think that would improve the Wwoof experience.
Having said all of that my suggestions are: remember that you are in someone else’s home/space; be flexible, take advantage of the great opportunities presented.
There was one place that didn’t have electricity – but it was one of the best experiences, there was another place where we worked long days but I made a very good friend. So think of it as swings and roundabouts.
Oh how I miss it!
↵
