KEEP CALM AND GO WWOOFING!

• Capitalism getting you down?

• City life ruining your health?

• Can’t afford a decent holiday?

You might benefit from spending some time WWOOFING!

“WWOOF UK is a membership charity, teaching people about organic growing and low-impact lifestyles through hands-on experience in the UK. WWOOF UK was founded by Sue Coppard in 1971 – she is still active with us today.“

There are now World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms on 700 wwoof sites in the UK and in 61 countries around the world!

With the help and encouragement of some good friends I was recently able to go for my first time wwoofing and I strongly recommend it, as; a cure for burnout, a break from capitalism (while building post-capitalism) and possibly a solid lifestyle choice which could change the world for the better without the need for pitchforks…well without the need for repurposing pitchforks…if you get me?

I was offgrid and virtually offline for a fortnight’s healthy eating and gentle, meaningful exercise and I feel SO much better for it, physically and psychologically. Using the pitchforks for their original purpose is much more satisfying than the prospect of upturning them!

When I first heard about wwoofing I assumed there must be some sort of catch, but as far as my first experience goes there was none. It’s a mutually beneficial free exchange – accommodation and (healthy, organic) food for some of your time helping to grow that food. It’s an opportunity to learn about sustainable living while living sustainably, principally developing the skills necessary to cultivate organic foods.

There was no pressure to overexert myself and the people running the site were incredible, inspiring, generous, warm and lovely. I learned loads and feel much more optimistic about our chances of building post-capitalism together.

Despite being in it’s 45th year, nobody seems to know about wwoofing! The people who set it up need wwoofers and if you’re sick of struggling to survive capitalism like me, you need wwoofs!

We filmed a fair bit of stuff which I’m going to start editing together into a documentary now. We intend to return as soon as possible and to visit other sites and continue documenting our experiences.

I’ve got loads more to report on this, but I’m excited, so for now here are some simple ‘Keep Calm’ images to start spreading the good word about wwoofing on social media (right-click and select ‘save image as’ to download):

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Here are some links if you want to find out more.

wwoof.net

wwoof.org.uk

wwoofinternational.org

diggersanddreamers.org.uk

Keep it lit!