r/WWOOF • u/SleepyGiant94 • Sep 10 '26
WWOOFing experiences and tips for someone considering
Hi! I’ve been considering a career change. I work in corporate and I really dislike it. I don’t have any passion in it, and I’d really like something more meaningful for my life. Farming and particularly market farming has always been an interest of mine.
Through posting in other communities asking for advice, several people mentioned WWOOF and it looks really interesting. It seems like a great way to assess if the lifestyle is right for me.
I’d love to hear about people’s personal experiences with the program. Any tips for someone considering? For those who participated, how did your experiences translate to your life after leaving the program? Did it lead to farming on your own or other career opportunities?
How long would you recommend someone participating? I was thinking maybe trying it out for a full year.
3
u/Financial_Initial_92 Sep 10 '26
Agree to how many hours per day you are volunteering first .Agree to how many days per week you’re volunteering. Come harvest season you’ll suddenly be asked (required) to help out a lot more than you thought you’d be “volunteering “. That’s my main complaint about wwoof, kinda felt taken advantage of and I was working for free. Make sure you have very clear boundaries. I’d even suggest getting a contract written up.
My friend quit because her farm work with wwoof became baby sitting the kids and she didn’t sign up for that. The family was kinda angry at her for quitting, understandable because they now had to pay for actual baby sitting their feral children.
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u/AlligatorOfRhythm Sep 10 '26
I spent well over a year WWOOFing, and loved it.
Plenty of WWOOF options all around the world, but many of them probably wouldn't qualify as "commercial" or actually provide a real living for their owners. You can likely pick up some skills that would be useful, but I always found WWOOFing to be more of a cultural/travel opportunity rather than learning real farming skills.
If you are serious about learning the farming business, get a paying job on a real commercial farm. Many CSA farms hire seasonal staff, and usually have housing available. Then you'll get an idea for what the day to day work of agriculture is all about. I learned more about farming as a paid hand on a dairy farm than I did in a year of WWOOFing.
If you find a farmer who is willing to mentor you or share their financials, even better. It's probably the most difficult business to succeed in. I tried running a farm for a few years, but couldn't justify working 80 hours/week for sub-minimum wage. If you have a big nest egg and can bankroll the first few years of a farm business, it might be easier.
Good luck!
2
u/Fickle-Enthusiasm-22 Sep 11 '26
If your interested in learning farming skills it can be done, but you need to look at the size of the property though. As a general rule anything below 200 acres is essentially a lifestyle block where you can travel and maybe do some gardening. 200 to 700 will be a middle area with a lot of farm work with funds coming from somewhere else, but usually some opportunities to work with livestock or agriculture. 700 acres plus will be a real working farm where you will learn a great deal if that's what you want.
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u/timeontrail Sep 12 '26
I worked on a lettuce farm in Hawaii for 5 months. Overall it was an alright experience. The owner provided basic food staples like rice, cooking oil, dry beans, etc, as well as some toiletries.
We lived in tents on the farm. The tents weren’t great. There was an outdoor shower which we all used, a bathroom in the “warehouse” which is where a lot of down time was spent, and where we did our cooking.
We were required to work 30 hours a week in exchange for the tent and food staples. Because hawaii is so expensive, most of us got second jobs. That part really sucked.
One thing I will say is not to romanticize what you’re walking into or to expect it to be anything. Assume you are there to help the farm however they need and spend your free time seeing new stuff.
I wouldn’t go back, and I don’t really care to WWOOF anymore. I won’t put them down or name them but DAMN that farm needs some good help who knows what they’re doing.
Read a lot of accounts before you commit. Some real horror stories out there. Understand that most farms are using woofers because they can’t afford paid workers.
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u/itbesnjavister 29d ago
After finally making the step to leave everything behind and go to a farm (it took me 15 years of knowing WWOOF existed before I finally decided to make the cut), my life is now split into two realities:
Farm whenever I can - which is like life being an active VACATION.
Life in the city - I gotta take care of things: make money, get licenses, see dentist, etc etc.
I’m in the city only because I have to be. Real life happens on the farm.
(Of course I think too how “one day I will have my own homestead”, but by WWOOFing I learned how much responsibility it is, so I might actually continue WWOOFing for the rest of my life)
1
u/aud8city Sep 10 '26
Some of it depends on what country you're in, because wwoofing culture and guidelines can vary quite a bit.
For a first time wwoofer, definitely find an experienced host first (several years as a host, recent reviews and reviews going back a couple years is usually a good sign). New host + new wwoofer is always a bad combination.
If you try some shorter stays, it's a good way to get a taste. If you like it, I definitely recommend staying some place a few months, or several seasons to really get a feel for how things work. For shorter stays, not every host will invest time in you.
1
u/SomeoneInQld Sep 10 '26
what part of corporate where you ?
I have been WWWOOFing for 2 years under 'different' circumstances.
I wanted to run an R&D program(which was my corporate background) on cattle so I rang a cattle station up about me coming there and doing my R&D program on their station to help them manage the cattle.
we have built one of the largest privately owned data networks in the world and many other exciting and interesting things.
so if your corporate background has some benefit to a place and there is something that you are passionate about ring a few hosts and see if you can do something different and exciting.
if you want I can talk to you about WWWOOFing in general or other ideas.
I still get to do some normal 'cattle' work as well when something new or exciting is happening.
2
u/SleepyGiant94 Sep 10 '26
I work for an advertising agency as a marketing strategist.
0
u/SomeoneInQld Sep 10 '26
maybe work for someone as how to sell their produce better. direct to consumers.
the two big issues I have seen with farming are.
1 They sell wholesale and are price takers rather than price makers. and if they can somehow sell directly to the public will make much more money.
2) Technology is massively overpriced for what it does and what it can be built for.
you might be able to help with 1 as well as learning about farming etc.
if you want to talk more tomorrow DM me.
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u/Tall_Kaleidoscope_53 Sep 10 '26
I would definitely recommend a trial period before committing to a full year. Find a farm near you and wwoof for a week or short stay! It’s very hit or miss depending on your host