People have been asking me:

‘Dave, what exactly are you going to be doing when you get over to Ireland?’

‘Do you have a job lined up?’

Far from it my friends.

Woofing. I’m going Woofing.

If you’ve never heard of this, just to clarify, it has absolutely nothing to to with dogs. Nothing at all.

Yes, it’s a weird name (acronym actually), it stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

This is what I shall be doing for the first few weeks after arriving, to make contacts and generally doing something utterly different from my usual routine. I won’t get paid in money – my labouring efforts will be reimbursed by the way of free food and free accommodation / washing facilities. If there is no spare accommodation available, I will sleep in my van.

It sounds like a pretty cool thing to experience and I’m sure there will be plenty of fellow alternative types to befriend.

www.wwoof.ie

According to the official website:

WWOOF is “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms”

WWOOF Ireland is a voluntary, educational exchange based on trust. By becoming members, volunteers from all over the world can arrange placements with host farms in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) to learn about organic growing and sustainable lifestyles. WWOOF Ireland is affiliated to Volunteering Ireland.

The aims of WWOOF

• To enable people to learn about organic growing techniques.
• To enable people to learn about sustainable living, healthier life styles and alternative ways of life.
• To provide opportunities to learn about life and culture by living with families in countries around the world.
• To give practical assistance to producers of organic food.
• To give people a chance to meet, talk, learn and exchange views with others in the organic movement.

WWOOFing in Ireland

WWOOF hosts in Ireland follow organic principles and have a general ethic of respect for the environment. Many have simple, sustainable lifestyles and practise Permaculture, Bio-dynamic or other organic methods. They may be individuals, families, commercial producers, co-operatives or communities including centres for yoga, crafts, arts or spiritual pursuits sharing the WWOOF ethos.

Then what?

After a few weeks of doing this, or even during this period, I’ll look for a paying job of some sort. I’m also considering Airbnb as an option for arranging a cheapo place to stay in between / after Woofing. This could provide further opportunities for meeting yet more people and even staying long term if the host is happy to allow it.

Next post will be when I am leaving!