Why to WWOOF in 2016

The other day I spoke to a guy who rents an allotment outside Barcelona city where he grows his own vegetables. He spends a lot of his free time there and enjoys it a great deal: looks like it represents a great place to work and also to hang out with friends. At some point soon he is planning to have a traditional Catalan BBQ – Calçotada there as the calçots - special onions are ready to be eaten now!. (And yes! I am secretly praying that I get invited. I just can’t say no to organic foods these days.)

I have discovered my interest in organic foods in 2015, and I would like to share with you one the coolest experiences I had during this year.

My experience of living and learning on an organic farm

I am a city girl and I have never had a garden. My grandparents used to have a summer house when I was little, but I do not remember much about it. So in 2015 I was aiming at discovering opportunities to learn something new while connecting with nature. WWOOFing turned out to be a perfect option as it is an opportunity to spend time outdoors, be physically active and also learn a new skill.

In a nutshell WWOOFING means living and working on an organic farm for a period of time (it can be a week or a month, depending on the farm and your plan) http://www.wwoof.net/ . In my case it was a small farm in the South of France where I was picking fruits and vegetables for a week.

This experience made a very positive impact on me, so I am sharing my thoughts on it with you:

• In general, working on a farm means learning a new skill, which equals to your personal growth and development
• For example, while making basil buckets for the Sunday market you have time to reflect on your career and think about what you want to do in life :)
• You gain more understanding on how the world works and how interconnected humans, insects, animals and plants are
• You appreciate food more as you really see where it is coming from
• It feels good to have back pain after picking vegetables rather than from sitting in front of the computer in the office!

WWOOFing is also amazing because:

• This experience is very healthy as you work outdoors
• You can learn or practise a foreign language if you choose to WWOOF abroad
• You connect to the people from a different industry, not corporate world
• You learn about organic lifestyles and reflect on your own

WWOOFing is your contribution to the organic farming but also a great alternative for a holiday full of new experiences and learning.


I would definitely recommend this experience to everyone in 2016! Try it out if you don’t get a chance to rent an allotment or if your grandma doesn’t have a garden to help with!