Europe Through the Barn Door

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If I sat very still, birds and feral cats would approach me. I was allowed to do the chores in whatever order suited me. When the heat made weeding and brush clearing unbearable, I was offered indoor work, such as masonry. My daily routine was punctuated by newspaper and tea breaks and swimming in a pristine lake.

Normally, the day ended with wine and a meal in the garden. Meal preparation and washing up is typically a shared responsibility on most wwoofs, since volunteers must earn their room and board rather than pay for it. Esther and James elevated these mundane tasks to acts of ecological heroism. Only gentle, plant-based soaps were used so that the water carefully collected when showering and doing dishes could be reused in the garden.

Weekends were more flexible. We put in half a day of work on Saturday, then visited local markets and festivals. While Esther and James figured among my favorite hosts, they were not atypical. I have benefited from the patient guidance and generous hospitality of other hosts who not only taught me about gardening but who also took time out of their weekends to introduce me to local dignitaries, heroes of the French Resistance and environmental activists.

On the last day of my wwoof in the Lot, I took a final tour of what had been my home for two weeks. The chives had been weeded, the brush cleared and the artist’s studio cleaned out. Unlike many of the neighbor’s crops, our organic plants had withstood the drought. Nothing had been wasted. The fallen leaves had been collected for mulch—rather than for eventual burning— and some broken pottery found in the brush would be transformed into a table top.

I was very fortunate but life is not always a bed of roses for wwoofers so before packing your bags, be sure to know what’s expected of you and keep these tips in mind:

—While some hosts offer volunteers rooms in their homes, one wwoofer I met was given an old mattress on the floor of a dingy room.

—A typical work day is supposed to last about six hours but be sure to ask about what kind of work needs done and if you will be the only one working. The same volunteer complained that the host made phone calls while he weeded the garden in the midday sun. Keep in mind that if things go awry when you get there, you can report exploitative hosts to the organization. On the other hand, if you’re enjoying the experience, ask if you can stay longer.

—Volunteer for short bursts at first. I’ve lined up two apprenticeships with a few days off in between. If the first farm turned out to be a disaster, I was able to call the second farm to ask if they needed me ahead of schedule. If the farms are remote, find out if hosts can pick you up and drop you off at a train or bus station. Always have a backup plan so that you’re not trapped in a house where you feel uncomfortable.

—Many hosts are vegetarian but if you have special dietary needs, let them know in advance. Some live far from town and may shop for supplies infrequently.

—Don’t let a lack of gardening experience deter you. Hosts complain about “slacker” wwoofers who exploit the network as a form of budget travel, not about enthusiastic, conscientious novices.

—Read a basic organic gardening book before you go. While soil types and growing seasons vary from country to country, it’s useful to understand basic techniques. “Organic Gardening for Dummies” by Ann Whitman and “Rodale’s All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener” by Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis are two I would recommend.

Some of my friends worried that wwoofing meant I’d be stuck “outside of civilization,” particularly when they discovered that I once had to negotiate my way through a field of Limousin cows to use the nearest telephone. On the other hand, nobody in that hamlet locked their doors; the mailman let himself in and there were no violent crimes. That’s more “civilized” behavior than I’ve encountered in the city.

Linda Handiak is a teacher, translator and freelance journalist from Montreal. She has worked abroad at schools, heritage restoration sites and organic farms.

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