WWOOFing

I was wondering if anyone here has WWOOFed in India before? If you're interested in what WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, is heres their website, http://www.wwoofindia.org/.

For anyone who has WWOOFed or knows anyone who has I'd love to hear about it, I am planning on WWOOFing this summer but I want to know a bit more about what I'm getting into!

Hi johnchae.
Not that I can fill you in on WWOOF in India. I just learned about it a few weeks ago I met a couple who are WWOOFing on my Aunt and Uncles small farm in Ashland Ore. It’s a good deal for both parties the WWOOF do 4 hours of work 5 days a week for room and board. One of the kids had WWOOFed in Central America and New Zealand and had enjoyed it very much. I wondered if it could be done in India and you just answered that thought, thanks.
I think doing that in India would be a very good way it get an inside view of life there which would be difficult to get when one is just passing through.
Do you have any opportunities presenting themselves there to you yet, which you’re looking into? Since you’ll be doing this in the summer I would look for opportunities in the hillstations if that’s possible. It will be hot.

yeah i was a bit worried about the heat, i wish i could be traveling during cooler months..

thus far i've looked into opportunities in rajasthan and near bangalore, the host farms both seem very welcoming but hard to know what i'd be getting into from the Internet and emails. since i really want to do this i'll just have to dive in but it would be nice to hear from someone who has WWOOFed in India.

i'm glad to hear that its working out for your aunt and uncle, hopefully i'll have a similar situation.

we're wondering about wwoofing in india as well; we are thinking of something in tamil nadu or kerala. we have a wwoof membership and it has like 30 farms on it or so. we've been wondering what other peoples' experience with it has been. and about wwoofing in a monsoon???

luke and molly
dustyanddirty@gmail.com

Oh me too.. I am planning to go in November to Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Wwoof.. any idea?

my e-mail fate0909@hotmail.com

I'm leaving to India tomorrow, will be WWOOFing in Jaipur and Dehra Dun. I wish i was able to hear from other WWOOFers about there experiences but i guess they just aren't on this forum. So, i'll definitely post about my experience when i get back. i'll be there from july 16th-aug 18th, wish me luck!

Good luck John!

please do come back and tell us how it went for you. it could be a wonderful opportunity to do something fulfilling and productive while learning a lot too. hope it works out well for you.

(unfortunately there are some wwoof situations - I'm not talking about India here, I've no experience of wwoof in India - where the wwoofers are exploited by having to work longer hours or work on other things such as cleaning or building. I'm sure this is a small minority but it does happen. And it must be said there are some wwoofers who go with the wrong attitude - ie taking advantage of a free holiday! - too.)

so your feedback will be really valuable!

I'm interested in the place in Dehradun - is it Vandana Shiva's place somewhere just off the Rajpur Road? A friend of mine (from Mussoorie) has visited there and I might be interested in going to look myself some time.

again, good luck!

During monsoon and just post monsoon is actually an excellent time to wwoof in the south of india! I worked on a reforestation project that is listed on the India wwoofing list, Sadhana Forest in Auroville, Tamil Nadu for nearly 3 months earlier this year and they actually do the majority of their reforestation work between now and september. And that's when they have the least hands (but need the most!) so if you're in the area, i'd highly recommend going and checking it out!!! They've got a beautiful community of volunteers set up there and everyone cooks and eats together in a big communal area and you end up like a big family working to plant trees, grow vegetables and maintain the community. There's also an earthship being constructed in kodaikanal (also in tamil nadu) that needs volunteers so if you've any interest in eco-building it's a great project!

I have just signed up for WWOOF in India about a week ago and was wondering what the typical response time is. I sent my paypal payment as well. Hopefully I will be able to get a response before I leave, as it will provide me a little comfort knowing that I will be access this network and this great opportunity. Anyone else have positive experiences WWOOFing in India??

I also joined quite a while ago. got a reply pretty quickly within 3days time.
Not yet be with a host yet. But was in contact with some of them. ( they are quite nice, in e-mail at least)
And the India WWOOF in charge is really nice & Helpful.
I bet you can receive his reply soon.
Good luck. and me too. LOL!!

Hello,

I'm thinking about signing up as I'm really desperate to get my hands in some mud, but I really wanted to know if there were plenty of host farms in the hills/mountains in northern india and I don't really want to pay for membership unless there are because i haven't got to the mountains yet but know that's where i want to be for some time. I will be in Darjeeling soon, but anywhere in utteranchal, Himachal or northern punjab etc, I've not been to these places yet (v.excited) Anyway I'm not looking for addresses as I'm happy to sign up, just want to know if wwooof farms exist in those places.

Cheers x

Hi yorkshirepud,

I'm a member of wwoof-India. I just had a quick flick through the host list and there seem to be around 12 places in the hills, around Dharamsala, Nainital, even Ladakh!

I'm glad you are planning to become a member - there was someone on here a few months ago wanting me to pass on my membership number to him

Have you wwoofed before? I get the impression from the Indian list that there is a lot of variation between the places, some being much more established and experienced than others. Some are commercial operations, some yoga/ashram type places, some research/demonstration farms ...etc

Good luck, and come back here to tell us how you get on!

Thanks for nthe reply,

no I haven't woofed but always meant to. I did a permaculture course in Wales last year, it was great and I wanna keep it up, the only thing is now I'm thinking of going through Nepal to get to North india and I might get distracted there. Woofing Nepal anyone?

wow there is woof nepal!

Are you in India now? And thinking of going to Nepal and then back to India? Are you aware of the 2 month-gap-between-visits -to-India-on tourist visa rule?

See the links to FAQ in the first post of this thread:
http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...please-t96729/