WWOOFing at La Fieffe

What do you do when you have 1001 projects (http://palmer-permaculture.blogspot.fr/2014/10/what-tools-we-use-permaculture.html), two aging semi-disabled "labourers" and a full-time mother of two under 5?  You get help. 

(Removal of Box hedgerow)

We have been fortunate the past couple of years that a friend visits from Wisconsin and lends us his labour.  He has been a godsend in the Spring months to increase our output.  There's probably maths involved in it, but instead of increasing our output by a factor of one, an additional body seems to increase if by a factor of 2 or 3... perhaps we are shamed into working harder!  We look forward to welcoming him back next Spring... he better be coming back!

(Turning Box hedgerow into Hugelkultur bed - more on this in my next blog posting)

His efforts illustrate to us how we could probably benefit, at other times of the year from, young, fit, willing workers.  People who may want to offer their labour, in exchange for experiencing something different from their usual life, and our life is certainly not the common way people choose to exist.

So, we took the decision to approach an organisation, WWOOF, to register as a host venue for WWOOFers.  World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a membership charity "teaching people about organic growing and low-impact lifestyles through hands-on experience" (https://www.wwoof.org.uk/), that was founded by Sue Coppard in 1971.  The Guardian newspaper in the UK wrote this article about it, describing it pretty well: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/apr/23/wwoof-world-wide-opportunities-on-organic-farms?INTCMP=SRC.

Worldwide, there are an estimated 6,000 hosts in 100 countries so, we decided to register this summer with WWOOF France (http://www.wwoof.fr/) to become 6001(ish) https://app.wwoof.fr/host/2559) .  So far we have been contacted by 8 people ranging in age from teenagers to someone in their sixth decade and coming from England, Portugal, France and the USA.  We should've done this years ago!  The WWOOFers stay with you as volunteers, so you determine between you for how long.  Provide them with a number of jobs that need to be done and let them get on.  The most competent require very little assistance, others require more hands-on tuition.  The key really is to try to offer new experiences, whilst enlisting help of your volunteers in the everyday and seasonal jobs that are required to be done on a organically run small holding.  As long as the coming together is of mutual benefit!

AND before anyone shouts slave labour, it's free association, labour offered and a chance to pick up and use skills in exchange for board and food.  If either party doesn't get the most out of the experience, you move on.

(Remi creating a mix of green cover crops)

I will be documenting, with individual WWOOFers agreement, the projects that we carry out with them.  A crucial aspect that I wasn't prepared for was how much WE LEARN as hosts from our guests and it is most welcome.  Our current WWOOFer, Remi, is vegetarian and we have chosen to be vegetarian with him, which encourages us to cook a different (arguably more healthy) menu than what we are accustomed to having.  May the cooperative nature, the collective pool of knowledge, the new experiences and the challenge of welcoming strangers into our small home continue... it's a blast.