Approfondimenti per WWOOFer

WWOOFing is never employment

It means having diversified tasks, not having fixed schedules and hierarchical relationships, sharing field work and one’s daily routine in a non-consumerist logic and outside of monetary exchanges or simple barter.

Establishing an Education Center means putting at the center a concept of relationship, of mutual and equal teaching and learning. To be predisposed to the exchange of knowledge in the area of organic farming, cultural diversity, life experience and the dissemination of sustainable lifestyles through practical activity.

They are the “traveling members”

WWOOFers are mostly young people between 18 and 29 years old but there is no age limit. We also have retirees among our members! There are many reasons why they travel. There are those who want to go on a “busy vacation,” those who are looking for inspiration, and those who make it a real educational journey. The relationship with a WWOOFer is always different. Sometimes it is fun, often it is challenging, but it always leaves one richer. It is a relationship of mutual sharing and trust.

You have to get to know each other slowly, without prejudice.
Better start doing this from the very first posts on the website.
To make it simple, treat WWOOFers as your dear but distant relative come to understand how you manage to live in the country and be happy.

We are in compliance…

…but only if we abide by our membership covenant and its values.

The WWOOFing relationship is not employment, nor is it an exchange of labor for room and board: a key concept that underlies our association relationship. A principle also recognized by the Certification that WWOOF Italy obtained in 2014 from the Biagi Institute of the University of Modena. Thanks to this, WWOOF Italy’s legal team can offer concrete support and positively resolve inspections

We have stakes!

WWOOFers, follow the same obligations regarding work safety as family members and direct farmers: use appropriate work equipment and be provided with personal protective equipment. You do not have to make a safety plan but you must take care in communicating to WWOOFers all hazards related to farm activities, eliminating them or if not possible minimizing them. Included in the WWOOFers’ membership fee is an insurance policy taken out with CAES. It covers risks arising from injury or illness and damage caused to property or persons.
Hosts are responsible for the health and safety of WWOOFers.

In case you own a business with a safety plan, take even more care than usual in communicating the risks to WWOOFers.

It depends on where it comes from and where it is housed

If you are not hosting tourists on your farm, you only have obligations if the WWOOFer is not an EU citizen: you must report their presence to the authorities within 48 hours. On the other hand, if you are in the tourist circuit, you also have to be careful if you are hosting in your home or in a room of the business. If you are hosting in private rooms that are not registered for tourist use, you do not need to make any notification.

If, on the other hand, you are hosting a WWOOFer in an accommodation usually intended for tourists, all the fulfillments as a non-paying guest apply.Tourist tax is regulated at the local level, but since WWOOFers are assimilated to family and friends it is generally not due.

Watch out for the cards!

Many WWOOFers travel in pairs: this is perfectly normal. Sometimes it’s whole families traveling together! Sharing one’s daily life with several people is very nice but beware: we can only call it WWOOFing if both the host and all the travelers are members of WWOOF Italia A.P.S. Being a member not only guarantees assistance in case of accidents but also guarantees the goodness of actions before the law.

The traveler who is not a member can never be brought back to WWOOF no matter what happens. You can still conduct activities with them, as you do with friends and family, but it is your responsibility. Ask for your membership card or a link to a valid profile on wwoof.com to verify your membership status.

In principle: no

Learning about natural agriculture in the field: this is the main reason WWOOFers come to you, and that is where they will want and need to spend most of their collaboration time. This can include activities related to agriculture and sustainable lifestyles (repairing fences or doing green building work). Never personal service work. Under no circumstances can WWOOFers replace a professional. In a HACCP kitchen, WWOOFers cannot enter.

Exceptionally, and only if they request it, they will be able to help out in tourist and accommodation facilities, in family caretaking or language teaching duties, always abiding by the constraints of the association pact.

We are an association not a platform!

Since it is not a job exchange site, the purpose of WWOOF is not to provide volunteers to farms, but to spread lifestyle choices in harmony with nature. Mainly we do this by allowing free movement of people to farm realities, but we do not stop there. WWOOF Italy cultivates network relationships, supports actions at the local, national and international levels, encourages the activity of working groups that have an impact on rural everyday life.

The association is made up of all members who come forward to compare and actively participate. That is, also by you. There is no “Mr. WWOOF.”

Of course. WWOOF promotes local networks

Living in the countryside to practice agriculture with natural methods is a very strong choice not only for environmental balances but also for social ones. The everydayness of rural relationships is very different from metropolitan ones: there is both an opportunity and a need to renew social fabrics.

Some areas already have strong experiences with farmer networks, others less so. Being a member of WWOOF Italy often helps to recognize each other among like-minded people. In many provinces there are one or more WWOOF Local Coordinators. They are members like you, with a little more experience on their shoulders, who will welcome you into the WWOOF world through live acquaintance. Sometimes they also facilitate networking activities by becoming the liaison between WWOOF and farmer organizations or institutions in the area and by scheduling local meetings.

Small and shared projects

WWOOF keeps the host/WWOOFer exchange at its core even though it is not limited to it. In order to promote relationships and the development of natural farming as a lifestyle choice, we devote part of our budget each year to support projects in line with our values, funding with concrete help the ideas born in the assembly, proposed by the Board or coming directly from our members.

We are international

The idea behind WWOOF was born in 1971 in England and soon spread around the world by word of mouth. Supporting the development and spread of natural farming is why so many people begin to organize Host lists in their own countries.

WWOOFers thus began to travel, gain experience and become disseminators of knowledge around the world. Having originated before the Internet, the WWOOF movement was structured into national organizations independent of each other. Today, the peculiarities developed by each country instead have the opportunity to be shared globally. This is why the Federation of WWOOF Organizations (FoWO) was formed in 2013 to coordinate the movement internationally.

As a member of WWOOF Italy, you are part of a really big family!