Nick Clark tours Spain and pads his CV at the same time


I'm now a Wwoofer, "Where ya been?" "Wwoofing!" I like the sound of that! I know it doesn't mean much to most people back home, but let me tell you, we Wwoofers are a special group, and there are scores of people, from Peru to Australia who love us! Of course there are others who huff a, "Oh, you're Wwoofers are you?" We are seen as good workers, lifesavers, wasters, weirdoes, donkeys and fools in various measures.

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, a non-profit making company dedicated to the promotion of organic options. It sounded interesting so we paid our fee and searched the databases for places we fancied. There are all sorts, from professional artists or pianists with little gardens and workshops to equestrian centres with acres of olives, and odd yoghurt weavers with retired donkeys. There's something for everyone.

Once you've found somewhere you like the look of, it's best to write, I think, to give the people an idea about yourselves and what you can do for them, and there is no point in lying, you're not going for a job! And also, hopefully, you can get an idea about the kind of people you are going to live with and what they expect from you. Getting a correct idea of the hours and days expected to work is very important as what is printed on the web and what they expect of you can be two different things. Sort it out first! Lots of people just phone and then end up moaning when they get there.

We spent 6 months in Andalusia and a month in Portugal. The first place was up in the mountains near Granada. When we arrived the woman had just left her home and her drunken partner and had taken her horses with her and not much else. So we spent Christmas on the mountainside, living in two caravans, with no mains electric. The setting was breathtaking and we got fit traipsing up and down the slopes to feed the scattered horses. We built a wooden toilet. We diverted a mountain stream along miles of ancient cannels to fill up our tanks and we learnt stonewalling as we went along, constructing a shower shelter. We all mucked-in with cooking, cleaning and chopping and when money was short we were driven to the tapas bar and got tons of free food with our bought beer! We rode a lot and met nice people and had a fab Xmas dinner in a nearby stable lived in by a DJ and a masseur. I learned a lot about horses, improved my Spanish, got fit and discovered some nice places. The hours were long but we didn't mind as we felt like it was our baby too! The only possible drawback was that we only had one day off to explore, but then everyday was an adventure, so no draw back at all really.

The next two places were not so great, though they had their moments, great moments actually. We explored the countryside and the coast and Cadiz and Seville. We learnt more about horses and rode on the beach and through the forests to hidden local bars for lunch and galloped home rather the worse for wear. We learnt a lot about organic farming, which was hard work but very fulfilling. We spent four weeks planting bushes to protect the olive trees from the pesticides from the surrounding traditional farms and spent many an hour discussing the situation with stubborn old farmers and blacksmiths. But we also saw the bad side of Wwoofing; people using you as cheap labour and getting you to do stupid jobs when you know you could be doing something more worthwhile and interesting i.e. scrapping a roof for a week when a blow lamp would have done the job in a day. Cutting grass to feed horses because the owner has mismanaged the funds and then after having worked your butt off, having to scrap together a meal from the meagre supplies available, if they have bothered to go to the shops that day. Also having to put up with the eccentric behaviour of the hosts and still there are the continual arguments about free time and hours. Their entry on the site says one thing but when you arrive they say another.

In Portugal we had three days off, which was great, but we worked like donkeys for four. Basically construction work, organic only in that the stones and boulders were taken off the land! I got more fit (a bonus that Wwoofers go on about a lot!). Again the place was mismanaged and we were continually moaning about the lack of decent food. And then there is the question of whether or not we were taking work away from local workers.

But to be honest, looking back at it all the good times we had on our days off and the friendships we made with the other Wwoofers and workers outweigh the negative side of some of the hosts and the problems with the food and the days off. There is also another side to this exchange: not all the problems rest on the host's shoulders. People turn up uninvited or not at all or they leave early. Some Wwoofers treat the whole thing as a holiday, which it's not. You have to work and it's all about getting involved and mucking in. It's a great way to see a country, to get a real feel of the place, to get into the language and the local culture, but you gotta work! There has been a big debate about the issues of cheap labour and lazy Wwoofers on the web site and frankly I think it's a bit much when they advertise a lodge in Portugal where you work seven days a week and do bar work or cleaning. But then again you don't have to go!

All in all Wwoofing is a great way to see a country, learn some new skills and contribute in some small way to a better local environment. Our Olive friends sent us pictures of the veg garden we had built and toiled at and we were so proud and wanted to be back there to eat it all. And best of all we made many friends both local and Wwoofers and we are all still in contact. Like I said, it's nice to be part of a special group.

For more information see the official website at www.wwoof.org

www.organicfacts.net features a report on the fundamentals of Wwoofing plus lots of information on organic living.