I’ve always been intrigued by the organization WWOOF (“World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms”), which connects organic farms around the world with willing workers who are usually travelers looking for a deeper connection to a country. Every person I know who has worked on an organic farm through WWOOF has raved about their experience, which usually included light farm labor, healthy meals, and a family-like atmosphere. Up until now, I’ve balked at registering for WWOOF, however, because you have to pay to view the hosts for each country. I’m too non-committal for that – until now.
Since I’m headed to China with a six-month visa, I thought it would be the perfect time to test out WWOOF. I paid my $40 with an innocent (and ignorant) daydream of working ankle-deep in rice paddies or some other pastoral setting. Imagine my disappointment when I logged on to find that the majority of hosts live in or very close to a major city, and are looking mostly for language teachers. One host needed an accountant, another an engineer.
It appears that WWOOF has loosened the rules for Chinese hosts: in order to encourage participation they’ve waived the host registration fee, and also state that hosts need only “have some work for a WWOOF China traveler who comes to your place to do each day.” Pretty broad.
I’ll skip the housekeeping in central Beijing for now, and hope that more farmers – organic or not! – are able to register.