It’s like going to a friend’s house to help out — you don’t do it to get free meals and a place to sleep, right?
“Food and accommodation” is just a way of welcoming and hosting someone, not the goal.
Since the 1970s, WWOOFing has always been about human, non-consumerist relationships.
“Non-consumerist human relationships”?
WWOOFing is, above all, about curiosity for others and for the world.
It’s because I want to help that food and accommodation become nothing more than a way to host me.
WWOOFing: a community spirit
In this era of collaborative economy – where everything becomes a trade – WWOOFing still believes in the joy of simply being, living and acting together, without money involved!
It’s a balancing act to uphold WWOOF’s values in a world shaped by commercial relationships.
But that’s our role as an association: to preserve a spirit of resistance and do so without naivety.
Terri, Host in Provence: “A form of hands-on learning”
“I come from a teaching background, and I see WWOOFing as a form of learning through doing.
We believe it’s important to work with the people who come WWOOFing, not just hand them a task and leave them to it.
Whether it’s cutting lavender or extracting honey, they’re not unpaid workers – they’re people who come to help us.
It’s about sharing the hard tasks and the daily joys. That creates mutual respect.
Curiosity is one of the most important qualities a WWOOFer can have.
Those who come here are usually very curious and interested in farming, the land, the environment.
So they naturally want to learn, and as a Host, I think it’s important to take the time to teach them.
After all, the goal isn’t to host workers, but to share our know-how, our culture, and our way of life.
There’s also mutual support among everyone, like in a small community.
It’s about discovering new ways of living – it’s simply a true melting pot.” numa pequena comunidade. É uma descoberta de novas formas de estar — é, simplesmente, um verdadeiro melting pot”.
