IN A NUTSHELL IT IS TRAVELING FOR FREE. Sort-of…
I didn’t even know this organization existed until I ran across a website about it earlier this week. It stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, there are a few different acronyms floating around out there but they all pretty much mean the same thing~~ Volunteering your time on a farm. It is a person that volunteers at a farm for NO MONETARY PAYMENTS for free meals, room, and board~~ all while donating your time helping on the farm. I have come to understand that this is a great cheap way to travel for free in countries that you may not otherwise be able to afford. There are over 99 countries that participate and many in the USA.

Let’s make up a scenario… Why would someone want to WWOOF?

You as a college student would like to spend the summer in Hawaii but you have very little money and would never be able to stay for an extended period of time. You find a few friends that you would like to start this journey with, friends are not necessary to WWOOF BUT as a mom, I insist you take friends with you! So you do the research and decide to sign up on the Hawaii WWOOF website. Once a Host Farm is found and you are accepted, all you need to do is get there. They provide room, board, and meals. You will get a work schedule to help on the farm and on your off hours you can travel around and see the sights. Remember you are not getting paid so you need to have some form of money while you are there. You will also not have a car for transportation. However, you are living in Hawaii for free.

Many of these WWOOF’n opportunities last from weekend trips to years.

It is an interesting concept. If I were younger, I would seriously be interested in traveling to Europe or Australia that way. Not now… Now I am ‘give me a hotel, no schedule, and a swimming pool’ kind of gal.

A few websites that explain more info: WWOOFF USA, The History of WWOOF at wwoof.net

Here is also a YouTube Video that I found of an actual WWOOF participant that explains it from a girls perspective.