Greeting from Ventura, California! I write this blog post as I spend my first morning at my host families urban permaculture site right off the Pacific Ocean 45 miles north of Los Angeles. This my 8th day of backpacking in California and so far I have been amazed at the local ecology, geography and culture. Before I share anymore, I should first get everyone up to speed about WWOOF.
WWOOF stands for (World Wide Opputunites on Organic Farms). WWOOF is a global directory for organic farms, urban gardens and permaculture projects that serves to facilitate work exchanges, internships and travel opportunities of all types with the common mission of connecting traveling volunteers with safe places to sleep in exchange for rent-free living in sometimes food. WWOOF hosts benefit from much need labor and assistance, whereas the WWOOF traveler benefits from flexibility in travel and safe quarters to sleep as one travels in a given geographic area. The WWOOF network can be compared to Couch Surfing or Craigslist, but what’s special about this directory is that it is designed for farmers and people interested in agriculture.
This is my first time using the WWOOF network for travel and so far I have been very pleased. As a person who makes his living through land-base applications and food production, there is only so much planning and looking at seed catalogs that I can do before I’m burned out and depressed waiting for Spring to arrive. The winter time for farm workers in the Mid West is very slow and given this economy I imagine many marginalized farm workers are finding it difficult to make ends meet while waiting for the ice to thaw and blossoms to bloom. So, in the spirit of taking lessons from nature, if you find yourself freezing, hungry and out of work, do what the birds do and migrate to a more life supporting environment!
Permaculture is HUGE along the coast and there are lots of people who need help with their backyards. Water issues are a big concern and the gardens are alive year round. There are many active permaculture organizations out here and there are many oppurtunties for networking and learning from each other.
Time to get to work, stay tuned for more!