Every year several dozen girls and boys aged 16 to 18 participate in WWOOF Italy’s Minors Project. Some of them are Italian and perhaps visit a farm near their country of residence, while others come from abroad to learn about rural life in Italy.

For hosts to host minors can be a challenge, and it certainly requires a greater commitment and a different sensitivity than hosting more mature volunteers. However, the satisfaction can also be higher, and exchanges above one’s expectations can arise. Our hosts Elena and Soheil tell us about their experience with Róza, Lilly, Mia, Gabi, four underage girls who arrived from the Czech Republic.

“We accepted WWOOF’s proposal to offer volunteer experience to underage boys as well.
We did not know what to expect; we imagined a challenging experience in which we would have to devote a lot of attention and energy given the target age group.
We were amazed at how much richness came to us and how much more teaching came from Róza, Lilly, Mia and Gabi-the four wonderful girls from the Czech Republic we hosted.
They came into Oobeh with a beautiful charge and energy of sharing, they helped us with various activities in our community, and we had the opportunity to exchange cultural and life-sharing moments around a campfire and between swims in the river…
They helped us with so many jobs: they took care of the interior decoration of a room we recently restored, created curtains by putting their colorful and creative artistic touch, carefully analyzed and studied the plants we have in the field, took care of the vegetable garden, participated in all the daily community activities… And so much more.
We are grateful for this experience and to the WWOOF team for this new initiative 🙂

Full of joy,

Soheil and Elena”

In turn, our young WWOOFers also had a great time at their host institution. Four 17-year-old girls, full of resourcefulness, who had already had a WWOOF experience in Italy last summer. Here are their words describing their time with Soheil and Elena.

“At Oobeh house we all felt welcomed by both Soheil and Elena. Even though we were all probably a bit unsure how it’s gonna go, since we are a group of four seventeen year old students, we can now for sure say that our stay there was abundant and in the end we were hoping that we could stay for longer.
The activities there were very diverse. There was something new to do everyday, and not just regular work, we also got to cook, go swimming together, make art, listen to music or even meet the family of Elena. Being bored was one thing that we did not have to worry about.
Working and living together we got to know Soheil … going to work very early in the morning and after coming back from exhausting day at work, he still worked on the house with us. … and Elena, sharing our thoughts together, talking about her spiritual journey and our lifestyles. We could see that they both feel fulfilled by this community lifestyle and by working on this project together with so many various people from all over the world.
We also met other volunteers from many different places which was great.

We left feeling in harmony, with much new knowledge and that we left something behind that will hopefully make us remembered in the house. Just as we will remember the house, Elena, Soheil, the dogs and the others we met. And if all goes well, one day we will get to visit and light the fire together once again.
Thank you all!

With love,

Róza, Lilly, Mia, Gabi :)”

[In Oobeh we all felt warmly welcomed by both Soheil and Elena. Although we were probably all a little uncertain about how it would go, since we are a group of four seventeen-year-old female students, we can now say with certainty that our stay there was plentiful, and in the end we hoped to stay longer.
The activities were very varied. There was something new to do every day, and not just routine work, but also cooking, going swimming together, making art, listening to music, or even meeting Elena’s family. We didn’t have to worry about being bored.
As we worked and lived together, we got to know Soheil … who went to work very early in the morning and who, after returning from an exhausting day of work, continued to work on the house with us. … and Elena, sharing our thoughts, talking about his spiritual path and our lifestyles. We could see that they both feel fulfilled by this community lifestyle and working on this project together with so many different people from all over the world.We also met other volunteers from many different places, which was great.

We left feeling in harmony, with many new acquaintances and with the knowledge that we left something behind that we hope will be remembered in the house. Just as we will remember the house, Elena, Soheil, the dogs and the other people we met. And hopefully one day we will come back to visit them and light a fire together.
Thank you all!” .

With affection

Róza, Lilly, Mia, Gabi :)]