It’s a bright, cool morning in the valley between Portela de Unhais and Pamphilosa da Serra when the barking of eight dogs wakes us up.  The windmills perched on the ridges above have been spinning since around six, pumping energy down into the valley, past our little organic farm.  A friend and I were WWOOFing here in Portugal, a volunteering agreement between farmers and volunteers.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) – and thus the term WWOOFing – was born in 1971 in Britain, when Sue Coppard put an ad in her local newspaper looking for people interested in helping out on a farm.  Coppard had grown up in the country but had since moved to London and was missing her rural roots.  Several people responded to that ad, and from there things grew into the multi-national organization it is today that puts volunteers from over forty-five countries to work. Volunteers agree to work six hours a day, in return for room and board and hopefully some education about organic farming.

As we touched down in San Diego, my friend and I discussed our answers to the question we would inevitably soon have to answer: “would we WWOOF again?”  My answer was yes, his was probably not.  Here’s why.

We WWOOF’ed (one of the many incarnations of the acronym) to learn about organic farming and to experience the Portuguese countryside.  We wanted to learn some Portuguese, help out on the farm, learn how to sow seeds and till and help build the guest house.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a wonderful British family, and ten other WWOOF’ers who were already living and working at the farm.  With the twelve of us, there was relatively little work to go around, as well as little one-on-one instruction.  Everyone spoke English and spent the afternoons and evenings together rather than exploring the surrounding area.  Basically, we weren’t achieving the goals we had set for ourselves.  After five days of work, we bid farewell to our hosts, and returned to the Portuguese coast.

We enjoyed our time on the farm, met great people and definitely learned a few things about farming.  Waking up each morning to the breeze, surrounded by wooded hills and fresh produce is enough to keep my spirits up.  I would definitely WWOOF again, but when I do I’ll keep a few things in mind:

1.    Before you WWOOF think first about why you’re doing it.  People WWOOF for any number or reasons: to save money, to learn skills, to find themselves, to travel etc.  Understand why you’re interested in volunteering on an organic farm and make sure that while you there, you seek out that opportunity and fulfill that interest.
2.    You’re a volunteer.  WWOOF is a partnership between farmers and workers, and if designed to allow both sides benefit.  Communicate to your host family what you’re interested in, and always remember that it’s supposed to be fun.
3.    WWOOF is not always a great way to “see the country/state/region.”  Many times you’re in a rural area, away from cities and public transportation.  Sometimes this is the best way to get to know a country, but don’t expect to see a lot of the region, especially in countries outside the US.
4.    Every WWOOF experience is different.  We worked in Portugal with 10 other volunteers from all over the world, for a couple from the UK helping to set up their fledgling farm.  Two friends of mine worked alone on a goat farm with an arborist in Washington.  No two WWOOF sites are the same.  Look through the descriptions carefully and pick something that looks interesting to you.  Don’t be afraid to ask the contact before you commit about the kind of work you’ll be doing.
5.    Be flexible.  It might not be what you expected, and that’s ok.  WWOOF was established to help people get back to the root of food, to see a new side of the world.  You might not be doing what you were expecting, and you shouldn’t let that ruin the experience.
6.    You don’t have to be young.  Many people have said to me, “Oh that sounds like fun, I wish I was young enough to do it.”  There is no age limit on WWOOFing.  One of the women we worked with was 52.  She had watched her children go off to college and took up gardening.  When she discovered WWOOF it was a dream come true, an opportunity for her to travel and to garden, two things she loved to do.

At night we would walk to our little city of tents under a sky filled with more stars than I had ever seen.  These are the moments that WWOOFing can offer you, nights where you can lay beneath the stars after a day of learning about salt deposits in the soil, irrigation techniques and the best rabbit feed.

(photos above, provided by WWOOF Web site)