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international WWOOFing suggestions?

 
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Hello, I am 23 years old and recently started an interest in permaculture. I am a hard worker with some cooking experience and I have experimented in my parents 200 sq ft garden with interplanting and the three sisters method. I would really like to learn more about it as well as travel to locations where this type of living is more common than the east coast. I've been looking at WOOFers in Oregon, California, and Colorado but I'm open to any recommendations even outside of the US. I would like to stay from spring to fall. I don't have any animals I need to bring with me. It would be nice to have outdoor activities to do on my free time like swimming or hiking but that isn't necessary. If anyone has any recommendations or experiences they can share I would love to hear it good or bad so I know which ones to avoid. Thank you for your help
 
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Try checking out the listings on HelpX.net - it's a homestay/worker exchange that has tons of listings for farms, residences, B&Bs, hotels, etc. that need volunteers for any number of things. Good luck!
 
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Location: At home with my soulmate <3 Living in a hot dry place.
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My suggestion is to remember that almost everyone likes to make themselves sound wonderful and their farms/ranches/whatever truly exciting. So whenever you read a host profile remain slightly skeptical. In my experience what most places really want is a lot of grunt work doing the stinky messy tasks that nobody else wants to do. Some of that is to be expected, naturally, as you participate in life on a working farm. But if they say they're doing all sorts of other stuff, just be aware that it might merely be that they want to be doing it...someday, and might not look anything like what it sounds like.

Be sure you know what kind of living quarters you will be in, what the meals will be like (do they provide it all, do you help with some or all of the cooking, etc.), and how much time they expect from you.

Some will have references on site, but I recommend asking them to forward your contact information to some of their previous helpers so you can get more information. One place we spent considerable time had many people come through, but nobody left references, including us. Some was good, but it's hard to know how to say something negative in a nice way, kwim?

So remember that in writing your own personal helper profile as well. Be honest about your skills and interests. It's okay to say nice things about yourself, but don't overdo it.
 
Dan Hulse
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Thank you so much for your advice

Initially I was trying to find a place to go to simply learn this lifestyle hands on by someone with experience. I heard about how I could could work, learn, and stay for free by WWOOFing so I decided to take a look at it. If anyone is looking for an apprentice that would be ideal. It would be a much better situation then being hired as cheap labor. I'm not set on a specific destination but the closer the better. The apple tree guild would be an amazing thing to learn if possible. I got the impression that some types require climbing to harvest, which sounds like a dream job to me. Making houses from clay is another thing I would like to learn. Even if you've simply heard of a good school where I could learn any of these things that would be helpful! Thank you for taking the time to read!
 
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