Many students want to study a foreign language, get certificates, and do international activities like international student exchange programs and working holidays to get experiences and achieve their goals, aiming to get a job. Among many international activities, I recommend WWOOF, which isn’t famous in Korea yet. WWOOF is a program that helps volunteers on organic farms or smallholdings to learn about organic growing and a healthier lifestyle, and provides volunteers with many opportunities to make a good relationship with people from around the world and to experience local culture. The Gazette will introduce WWOOF.
1. What is WWOOF?
WWOOF is an abbreviation of World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF originated with Sue Coppard, who is English, being provided with food and accommodation in return for giving a hand on an organic farm in a rural area of Sussex in 1971. WWOOF is a program in which travelers called WWOOFers are provided with food and accommodation in return for help on an organic farm or smallholding. WWOOFers live with the farmer’s family. Work time is from 4 to 6 hours. WWOOF provides an opportunity to visit attractions in other countries, improve basic foreign language skills, and experience local culture. Also, WWOOF provides long-term as well as short-term programs for anyone who is over 18 without any restriction of nationality.
2. Terms of WWOOF
WWOOF is not greatly famous in Korea yet. Therefore, we need to check some basic terms of WWOOF.
①WWOOFer
A WWOOFer is someone who volunteers his or her help on organic farms or smallholdings for an agreed number of hours, from 4 to 6 on average. WWOOFers have to be a member of the WWOOF organization, and make contact with a host farm themselves.
②Host
A host is a farmer who is looking for volunteer help. Hosts offer information about his or her farm or smallholding to recruit WWOOFers in periods of labor shortage. Hosts have to have farms or smallholdings on which crops are grown organically, and provide hands-on experience of organic growing, food, and clean and comfortable accommodation for their WWOOFers.
③WWOOFing
WWOOFing is becoming a member of a WWOOF organization, volunteering, and living with a farmer’s family.
3. World-wide WWOOF Organizations
WWOOF has a world-wide network and is conducted in 107 countries all over the world. Out of the 107 countries, 52 countries have their own national WWOOF organization including Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the USA in America; Austria, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic in Europe; Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda in Africa; and Bangladesh, China, Japan, and Korea in Asia. If you want more detailed information about countries with national WWOOF organizations, check the Web site www.wwoof.org.
Out of the 107 countries, WWOOF Independents which don’t have a national WWOOF organization are Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, and El Salvador in Latin America; Belgium, Croatia, and Finland in Europe; Egypt, Gabon, and Kenya in Africa; and Cambodia, Malaysia, and French Polynesia in the Asia-Pacific region. If you want to enjoy WWOOF in these countries, check the Web site www.wwoofindependents.org.
Although national WWOOF organizations operate independently, they follow the same aims: to enable people to learn and experience organic growing, local culture, and farming and meet and share their thoughts and experiences with others in the world. WWOOF started just for the purpose of spreading organic growing. However, currently, it has changed into a world-wide program conducted in 107 countries. WWOOF has established itself as an opportunity to learn and experience culture as well as to spread organic growing.
4. WWOOF Korea
WWOOF Korea is an organization which helps people pursue an environmentally-friendly life, meet many people, and experience local culture. WWOOF Korea does educational activities for people to share each other’s thoughts and views. WWOOF Korea was established in 1997 and has extended WWOOF programs to local people since 2011. Furthermore, WWOOF Korea hosted the 2011 WWOOF International Conference.
The major tasks of WWOOF Korea are conducting programs of international cultural exchange, programs that enable people to experience WWOOF Korea, and group overseas training, and give information about working holidays in other countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan. Also, they look for hosts and WWOOFers in Korea, give information about how WWOOF Korea works, advertise WWOOF, and do some educational activities. If you want more information about WWOOF Korea, check the Web site www.wwoofkorea.co.kr.
5. Joining WWOOF
If you want to enjoy WWOOF Korea as a WWOOFer, you have to be a member of WWOOF Korea’s Daum cafe, and pay a membership charge of 50,000 won. You should download the application form and send it with a copy of your ID which has a picture of you to WWOOF by e-mail or fax. You will get a membership card from WWOOF Korea. It is valid for a year after registering as a WWOOFer. You can also browse all host information which is listed in WWOOF Korea, and you can work as a WWOOFer on a host farm.
If you want to be a host, you also have to be a member of WWOOF Korea’s Daum cafe. You should download an application form and send it with 5 pictures of the accommodations, family, and the farm to WWOOF Korea by e-mail. The host membership charge is 100,000 won. You will get a membership card from WWOOF Korea. It is also valid for a year. Registering as a host is possible just four times, in March, June, September, and December.
If you want to participate in a foreign country’s WWOOF, you have to be a member of the country’s WWOOF organization and get permission from the country’s WWOOF organization to access information. You can subscribe to the member’s book and login to the homepage of the other country to see information on hosts.
6. Interview
The Gazette interviewed Choi Eun-ji, who is a senior in Inha University and whose major is Culture and Contents, and Kota, who is a WWOOFer from Kyoto and an employee of WWOOF Korea. Choi Eun-ji participated in WWOOF and worked at eight farms in Australia from February to May 2010. She thought WWOOF has many attractive points like enabling her to do language training abroad with little money as well as learning and experiencing culture and organic growing. Kota has worked in WWOOF Korea since May 2011.
Q. What do you think are WWOOF’s special features? -Kota: A special feature is exchange, not giving something, but helping each other. Also, it is cheap. If you pay the membership charge, you can join a program cheaply. Furthermore, WWOOF is a global program which enables people to work with people from all over the world because WWOOF has a world-wide network.
Q. How is the situation on the farms? -Kota: The farms are evenly spread all over Korea. The tasks are different depending on the season. I can’t tell you exactly because it can change depending on the host and season. The tasks are very diverse. The basic work is farming and WWOOFers could do tasks related to vegetables, fruit, and animals depending on the situation. Also, they sometimes do tasks related to assistance with events, housework, and education.
Q. What is the most valuable thing that you can get from WWOOF? -Choi: The most valuable thing to me is a changed perception. Many Koreans have a prejudice that if someone lives in the country or on a farm, their life is difficulty and dirty. However, I realized the importance of food production and management because of WWOOF. -Kota: I think the most valuable thing is that we can see the life of a host.
Q. Where is the next country that you want to join WWOOF? And why? -Choi: It is Canada. According to my acquaintances who went on WWOOF Canada, Canada was more developed than Australia in organic farming techniques and their overall satisfaction is high. So, I really want to go to Canada. -Kota: I want to enjoy WWOOF in China and Taiwan because I want to see other neighboring countries. I hope interest in organic farming will be a foundation for cooperation and development all over Asia, not for competition between countries, because interest in organic farming is a really good thing.
These days, WWOOF is getting a wider network and the countries which conduct WWOOF are increasing. The Gazette hopes many Keimyung students participate in WWOOF and kill two birds with one stone, getting a chance to learn a foreign language and to experience many things like food, customs, and local culture as well as organic growing. In addition, you can make new friends around the world. Enjoy it!
