Goodbye to WWOOFing for now

Many of you know that we have chosen to spend some of our time while we travel volunteering on organic farms (wwoofing). Our wwoofing list has recently expired and we have decided we don't have time to renew it this trip. Our experiences on the farms we have visited have been very valuable. Our time spent wwoofing has turned out to be as much about learning about and participating in different cultures and living with people different then we are as it was about farming. I found it interesting how each of the farms we worked on had made their connection to wwoofing. The connection usually came from the west either by marriage or other some other relationship. In the Philippines it was the project of a dedicated peace corp volunteer who got the Ecna farm connected to wwoofing. When this relationship was healthy it made for a better experience and working environment. We were able to see some tropical plants grow. The food we were provided with was always good and it was good to be able to see how food is prepared in the home. We tried some interesting things like banana hearts, local ferns, and pig lungs - always served with rice. When we were on farms we ate rice three times a day. At first this felt unusual especially for breakfast but soon it became a normal part of our routine. Now when we go to a restaurant and have a omelet we comment on it would be nice if it came with some rice to fill us up. We learned that making organic compost can be a lot of work as this was by far the most labour intensive project given to us, but it was also rewarding because the progress made was easy to see. I have really valued our time on the farms we have visited and found it to be very important part of our trip . I hope we can try wwoofing in Canada and perhaps other countries in the future.