Applegater Winter 2012 9
Connecting to the source
by hAley MAy
When considering traveling for an
extended period, cost is a major concern—
plane tickets, bus fare, taxis, food, hotel
rooms, campsites, and hostels all require
money. For those who have not developed
a career and will not have income on the
wing, this is no small challenge (especially
in the face of an economic downturn).
Luckily, anyone can fulfill dreams of
travel through international communities
like Facebook, Craigslist, Rideshare,
CouchSurfing, HelpX, Hostelworld and
WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities
on Organic Farms).
All of these web-oriented tools can
make travel cheaper for decent amounts
of time (over two weeks). Both HelpX
(short for “help exchange”) and WWOOF
offer work-for-housing/food trades. HelpX
includes babysitting, cooking, cleaning,
gardening and yard work in exchange for
a place to stay and/or groceries and meals.
WWOOFing is typically a half-day’s work
on an organic farm for room and board,
and an unforgettable experience that you
cannot buy.
My interest in WWOOFing began
when I decided to travel for a year. I
also had the desire to reconnect with the
“roots,” both literally and figuratively, of
that which sustains me: food. Having been
raised on a farm, I was not convinced by
the prevalent attitude that food is limitless,
easy to get and ever more convenient
to consume. Because most of us are not
regularly faced with the reality of resources
and work required for its production, the
lack of connection with what we eat is
understandable. The media encourages the
illusion that food comes from “somewhere
out there.” Besides wanting to rediscover
homegrown food for myself, I wanted
to work outside and travel the world.
WWOOFing made all of this possible
for me.
I’m writing this article from Hawaii,
where my WWOOFing experience began
in September 2011. I was on the North
Shore of Oahu at a farm called Mohala for
two months. I remember being amused
by the directions provided by the farm’s
director, Mark Hamamoto: “Turn left at
the ‘Goats for Sale’ sign.” Though twice the
amount of typical work hours were asked
of me, I also had twice the opportunity for
hands-on experience forming soil blocks,
planting, making compost, harvesting,
selling at market and, of course, weeding.
It was worthy work for fresh papaya, lilikoi
(passion fruit), lemons, pomegranate,
arugula, collard greens, dino kale, basil,
lemongrass, and oregano, as well as
introductions to Hawaiian/Asian foods like
poke (raw fish salad) and natto (fermented
soybeans). I learned an enormous amount
by immersing myself into the work.
I was not surprised when I came
home from my eight-month trip to
Hawaii, Fiji and New Zealand that this
symbiotic style of farming is going on
Haley May and Mark Hamamoto weeding at Mohala farm in Oahu, Hawaii.
(Photo by Andrew Peterson.)
in the Rogue Valley and the Applegate
region. When I was in Wyoming this
summer, my grandmother, Joan Peterson,
sent me an article from the Mail Tribune
providing some details, a piece that I
recommend looking up online. In June
2012 the Tribune describes the WWOOF
trend succinctly: “(A)s the organic and,
more recently, eat-local movements have
picked up speed, the number of WWOOF
farms—more than 1,500 in the United
States—also has grown. WWOOF farms
in Oregon tripled in number to 92 over the
past six years. More than a third of those
are in Jackson and Josephine counties.”
What better place to WWOOF than here
in southern Oregon.”
The numbers are impressive,
considering that WWOOFers are unpaid
volunteers and often outside their zone
of comfort. Even with my background, I
ran into my own “growth opportunities.”
Centipedes and fire ants, well-worn dirt-
caked clothes, and competition with mice
for my food were not easy to accept. But
what I came to realize is that it is amazing
what you can get used to and how little you
actually need to live. And if you can arrive
at a point where this becomes realized,
discomforts and inconveniences become
a small price for the experience, as many
WWOOFers can agree.
Those of us who have had the pleasure
of living in the Applegate know this
is where the “good life” is; there is an
awareness about the sources that sustain us.
Whether you are interested in travel or just
want to get your hands dirty, opportunities
are waiting at home and abroad. Think
about it over the winter months. For
myself, I find it exciting to discover and
share novel and useful ways of fitting into
the circle of life. As said in Hawaii, “Ola
Mai Ka Piko...” (connecting to the source).
Haley May
hmaylmt@gmail.com
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