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Riffing off Severine’s post on farm camps for kids, one of our recent interns shares a few resources he’s found in his own quest for a summertime eco-agri-experience.  Chrisso Babcock, 20, would be a junior at Skidmore College, but he is currently taking a semester off to work, live and play in NYC.  He is in the final stages of planning his summer–he’s got it narrowed it down to a couple of farms and is now in the enviable position of having to choose where to spend a month this summer learning to garden, weed, make soap, make cheese, build structures, and play with Alpacas.  We’re jealous. Thanks for the post Chrisso, and have fun!

I first heard about WWOOF, (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) about a year ago from a friend who had WWOOFed across New Zealand. She had traveled independently, lived and worked on farms, met amazing people and explored one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I immediately decided that I too, one day, would WWOOF.

WWOOF puts globe-trotters who wish to earn their keep and gain farming experience in touch with farmers who enjoy the company and could use the help.  WWOOF was the first site of this kind that I stumbled upon, and in the past months I have been finding more and more resources for this kind of opportunity.

I believe that I am part of a new generation of more ecologically minded young people who want to learn once-common skills like small scale farming, artisanal food production and animal husbandry, and it turns out that there are many farmers who are excited to meet young people interested in sustainable living and willing to exchange room and board and knowledge for a little hard work.

It is not too late to find a summer or fall opportunity that could easily combine travel, community, and hands-on training in working towards a more sustainability; I offer the following as suggestions not only for students, but for anyone who has a few months of free time and an interest in sustainable foods and environmental issues.  For students, I would add one thing- in a world where we are becoming further and further alienated from both the earth and simple skills of subsistence, there is no better education than learning how to grow your own food.

WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
www.wwoof.org

WWOOF is quite nearly the perfect travel resource for the student. It is nearly free of cost, and an amazing opportunity both to travel and to learn.  Not only can the experience be personally enriching for the student, but the host farms receive the help they need for next to nothing; cultural exchange naturally occurs as skills are traded and shared, and community is built between people working and living together.  For those who want to see a little more than the farm, a little planning can create an itinerary traveling across most countries, farm to farm, for stays of a week or more.

Where: 53 countries, and more than 500 listings in the US.

Cost: A small yearly membership fee that may vary from country to country; membership gives access to a massive database of organic farms and contact information, but the actual stay on the farm is nearly always free, with room and board provided in exchange for a number of hours worked per day.  Within the US, $20 for a single yearly membership, $30 for two traveling together.

ATTRA: National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
attrainternships.ncat.org

For those looking to stay a bit closer to home, ATTRA provides a large list of farm internships and apprenticeships throughout the US and Canada.  For those who really want to learn to farm, want to someday work on a farm or operate a private garden or greenhouse, this is the site.  The apprenticeships offered are less for the wandering traveler and more for the amateur farmer.  Through ATTRA you can find an intensive learning experience on one farm, for a month, two months, or preferably an entire growing season.  The student-farmer will sacrifice a certain amount of mobility for an intensive learning experience, and perhaps even come away with a little money.

Where: US, Canada.

Cost: Free to use database, some farms will pay stipend in the range of $100-150 per week, as well as room and board, in return for a certain number of hours per week.

Organic Volunteers
www.organicvolunteers.com

Organic Volunteers offers a little bit of both, and more options for the budding activist.  Its database offers a few thousand opportunities across the US and into Latin and South America, and allows you to search by type for the experience you are looking for, including academic, apprenticeship, employment and wwoof.  You can also search by type of host, including choices like “activism,” “alterna-building,” and “husbandry.”  Accordingly, the database is not all farms, like WWOOF or ATTRA listings; in addition, there are non-profit organizations, community advocacy and lobbying groups, and schools for sustainable living.

Where: US, Latin America, South America

Cost: Free to view database, $20 one-time fee to see contact information for the database.

To the dedicated searcher there are many other options as well.  Check out the USDA’s page of alternative farming links, listed by state. ATTRA also has an excellent list of suggestions of places to look.  If all else fails, find a farm in your area on your own and contact them. Many have emails and phone numbers listed, or search through the Eat Well Guide’s farm listings.  Call up farms; if they don’t need any help, ask if they have neighbors nearby who might.