Amanda Pearson

International Development Co-ordinator, FoWO

amanda@wwoof.net

WWOOF in 2015

Where did we come from?

Where are we now?

Where to next?

Once upon a time...

In 1971

Sue Coppard organised

first Working Weekend on

an Organic Farm at

Emerson College, Sussex

The deal

25-30 hours

help per week =

3 meals/day + accommodation

From Working Weekends to Willing Workers to World Wide Opportunities

And so the idea spread... to Aus (1973), NZ (1981), Canada (1985), Denmark (1986)...

Kenya (2013), S. Africa (2013),

Thailand (2013), Norway (2013) ,

Netherlands (2015)

The Federation of WWOOF Organisations...

Exists to ... unite, promote, protect and support the WWOOF movement around the world.

A non profit organisation: its member groups work together to look after WWOOF worldwide

Facts and figures (1)The largest WWOOF Organisations

1. Australia 6. Italy

2. New Zealand 7. UK

3. USA 8. Japan

4. Canada 9. Ireland

5. France 10. Spain

Facts and Figures (2)Highest ratio of WWOOFers to hosts

1. Guatemala 6. Germany

2. Costa Rica 7. France

3. Estonia 8. Spain

4. Ecuador 9. Portugal

5. Belize 10. Hungary

Facts and Figures (3)13,200 hosts

Facts and Figures (4)88,000 WWOOFers

who are typically...

18-24 (though people of all ages WWOOF – and older WWOOFers are increasingly common).

60% female/40% male

The competition?

WORKAWAY .

Threatening its existence?

Helping keep WWOOF pure? Or, threatening its existence?

Things to think about (1)

Communication! Communication! Communication!

Select your WWOOFers carefully

Be clear about your offer (especially food, accommodation and hours!)

Be clear about your expectations

Only promise a week...

Remember this is an exchange...NOT cheap labour

Things to think about...(2)

Always looking for new members (especially hosts)

Things to think about...(3)

Local WWOOFing – lets return to our roots!

Over to you...

www.wwoof.net

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