Given the number of blank stares I’ve gotten recently when I mention WWOOF or Workaway, I’m guessing most of our readers have never heard about them either! But when I explain what they are, and how we recruit workers on our farm from both platforms, people get really excited. To make a long story short – both are platforms that promote training of young entrepreneurs by established farmers in exchange for room, board, training and long-lasting relationships.
We started accepting WWOOFers (World-Wide-Opportunities-in-Organic-Farming) in 2017 at our farm in Pennsylvania and have been so grateful to experience these mentoring and growth opportunities ever since. We started accepting Work-Away volunteers at our ranch in Colorado as well – just because we can’t do as much organic growing as we’d like at this elevation, and didn’t want to mislead WWOOFers – but we’re so excited since our lease arrangement, to be able to take on WWOOFers again starting in 2023.
For the most part, we train and provide some spending money in addition to full room and board in exchange for labor on our farm. I also work hard to make sure that our accommodations + pay and training are inline with today’s economy – which is a major challenge because of inflation and rapid price changes! But it means alot to me to be fair – sometimes it works out because we do have some secret trade practices that really give farmers a head start (commercial no-manure veggie and flower farming) but sometimes we’re learning too (growing mushrooms for instance) in which case we have to admit we’re learning just as much as they are.
More than anything – I’m so grateful to the many young folks we’ve hosted over the years, both here and in Pennsylvania. I’ve learned everything from video-editing and great business tips on how to use Youtube to unique recipes that me and my daughter still find crave-worthy. We’ve also formed relationships and friendships that we still treasure.
If my little post is the first time you’re hearing about Workaway and/or WWOOFing, I encourage you to really look into the opportunities available and try to put aside your fear, or figure out a way to mitigate it (for instance, providing a warm bunkroom in the barn if having them sleep in your home is scary to plan for).
For me – even being the single mom of a young daughter who has hosted for 7 yrs now – of course be careful, check out your applicants, and ALWAYS do your due diligence. Hosting from both platforms for us has been incredibly rewarding- from shared recipes, lessons learned, love and acceptance, learning new cultures and making life-long friends – I truly recommend hosting young workers interested in bettering our planet, our opportunities, and just overall making the earth better. I’ve learned alot from our young wanna- be farmers, and I’m grateful for everything that hosting contributed to rearing my daughter as a single mom.