WWOOF, World Travel, and Organic Farming

Organic farming – it’s a beautiful thing!

Ever since I started eating more healthy, I wanted to connect more with my food, understand where it comes from, how it’s grown, and the farmers involved. I learned from a friend that there is a program, available all around the world, where people can volunteer on a farm in exchange for food and shelter, and learn about farming, growing food, and more. This program is called WWOOF – World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

WWOOFing on a Pumpkin Patch in Washington

Fresh organic vegetables

After cutting my trip short on the last farm, I was ready to move to the next farm. I contacted a farm that was fairly close by and was invited to come by. Their profile on the WWOOF website said they have a large farm with many varieties of organic vegetables, fruit trees, and pumpkins, comfortable accommodations, they will teach about farming, and it had positive reviews. Sounds good to me. I checked the rideshare section on Craigslist, and found someone who would give me a ride 30 miles north to Longview. The girl giving me a ride was also giving a ride to another ridesharer, who was an activist in the tree farming and paper industry, which sounded interesting because it’s hard not to notice all the tree farming and lumber mills in Washington.

WWOOFing in Santa Barbara, California

Juiciest, sweetest, heirloom watermelon – ever!

After lots of thought, research, and preparation in setting off on backpacking around the world, I found a farm to visit in the beautiful town of Santa Barbara. This will be my first stop on my journey and my first WWOOFing experience.

This farm is a completely organic commercial farm of 40 acres that sells at local farmers markets and CSAs. I would be staying in the living quarters of their warehouse, which has a private section for WWOOFers, complete with refrigerator, stove, beds, and a bathroom with shower. I would help myself to food from the farm – all I can eat (music to my ears).