So, I got my WWOOF book and my membership for the year.

Why not go and work for 3-months and earn money?
In principle, that’s a nice idea, but there’s no substance to that experience. At least, in my opinion. While I may consider this an option further down the line, I am going the volunteer route for now and heading across Australia with WWOOF.

Okay, so, why WWOOF?
Why not? Experience and knowledge, basically. It’s just as good as paid work, and I see it as being that bit more involved. Not necessarily work wise, because you’re basically doing the exact same work, but knowledge wise. I think most people who are WWOOF hosts are going to be a bit more involved with you while you are staying, and more willing to share their knowledge of their operation and everything that is involved in organic farming.

Personally, I see the paid work, especially fruit picking, a bit cattle-truck like. They ship you in, you pick fruit for 8-hours, they ship you out again. I want to know why there are certain fruits growing, which varieties of apple or orange are more hardy. I always have questions and I always want to learn – those particular objectives seem a little more hard to come by via paid work.

So onto the volunteering… It’s always good for the heart to ‘help out’ and feel useful. Besides, no amount of money is going to get you the cultural experiences and life stories that can only come from Australian (and others!) farmers who have seen it all, and in the case of some hosts, been at it for years with plenty of stories to tell. Where else could you be totally immersed in a family and farming life?