Archive for wwoof

WWOOF ~ 2009 Season

April 10, 2009 at 2:09 pm · Filed under Ag-Tourism, wwoof ·Tagged ,

Anyone out there planning a WWOOFing adventure this year? Our farm is a member and we are hoping to have some travelers this year.

Last season was out first experience as WWOOF hosts. It was a challenge in the beginning but well worth it. I can say it was a challenge for some of our guest too! In the beginning the WWOOFer cabin wasn’t quite ready to go, but our first guests helped with that. The accommodations are ‘rustic’, so if wwoofers are used to all the urban amenities and are not prepared for camping like conditions, well, they will not have a good time. But we had responses ranging from “this is where I will stay???” to “WOW, I LOVE IT!!!”. So it is all in the individual’s approach to life and new experiences.

Last season we had only one sleeping space, the cabin. But now we have purchased an authentic Mongolian yurt/ger. It is very cool and if I was a wwoofer, the opportunity to experience that would be enough motivation for me! By they way, you don’t have to be a wwoofer to stay in our yurt, we rent it for weekend retreats too!

If you are thinking about traveling cross Canada this summer, give WWOOFing consideration. It is really a great way to see the country, meet people, and help small farmers. Hope to meet you soon!

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wonderful world of wwoofing

August 12, 2008 at 1:38 pm · Filed under Ag-Tourism, wwoof ·Tagged

Wow. What a summer so far. We have had a fantastic response from the wwoofer program! This summer we have had volunteers from Germany (2), Canada (2), and France. Each of the volunteers contributed special skills and interesting conversation for the week that they were here.

Being a wwoof host is not as easy as it would seem. We have to juggle meal times and work schedules with ourselves, our regular staff and the wwoofers. Making meals has been the biggest challenge, as we generally don’t finish working until 9 or 10 pm and most woofers are pretty hungry by that point!

But we have met some really interesting people and that has been worth it. The added bonus is that they have helped out around the farm and at farmers market, reducing some of our work load and filling in for labour shortages that exist in this province. We give each one a great big thank you!

For the remainder of August we will be taking break from hosting wwoofers, but will accept new volunteers later in September or October. If anyone is wondering what it is like to work at a pumpkin patch, well this would be your opportunity to find out. We would love if some artistically inclined volunteers showed up to help build the strawbale maze, haunted house and other attractions that we construct during October.

Cheers

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Our first WWOOFer!

June 7, 2008 at 1:40 pm · Filed under wwoof ·Tagged ,

Well, when we signed up with the wwoof network we really didn’t expect to have a response, thinking that most travelers would want to stay in the more populated areas of BC, Quebec and Ontario. But we have had contact with a few interested people already and one wwoofer will arrive this week.

It is a totally new experience for us, so we are a bit nervous and anxious about the whole thing. We do not have room in our house for a guest so the wwoofer will have to stay in the non-modern cottage on the farm. It is comfortable, but there is no running water (there is electricity!). I have no idea what kind of accommodation other farms provide so we hope that the experience at our farm won’t be too different.

We also have a traveller who will be camping at the farm. He will do some odd jobs for us while he is here. He has been staying at Spirit Haven Retreat Centre in Craven where he painted and did other projects. It is great to have people like this who are interested in helping out while they are in the region!

So off to work a little early so I can finish cleaning and preparing the cottage for our wwoofer.

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WWOOF’er?

April 11, 2008 at 2:01 pm · Filed under wwoof ·Tagged , ,

We signed up with the WWOOF organization.

Our hope is that we will be have some interested volunteers to help with the further development of the organic herb garden and the strawberry picking season. Our herb garden is being transformed into a formal garden with raised beds and paths through the garden beds. We are also building a 30 foot labyrinth at the beginning of the walking trails, so there is a lot of work that a volunteer could do.

It is our first attempt at offering a position like this on our farm. Through this organization, volunteers work 3-5 hours per day on the farm in exchange for free accommodation and meals. On our farm, they will need to work independently quite a bit, but I am sure they can go out to the main fields too if they want.

So far we have had one person contact us, but nothing is firm yet. Many of the volunteers who become involved in WWOOFing are backpackers from europe and asia. It is a way for them to meet people while they travel and also visit regions of our country that are off the beaten path. We are excited to meet ‘fellow travelers” like this.

Of course we invite regular employees too! We need all the help we can get.
Cheers

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