Why Do You Want To WWOOF Hawaii?

What is your travel to learn ratio?

Identifying your needs and intentions for WWOOFing helps assure that your experience & the farms experience ends in a positive sendoff.

Are you looking to build your understanding of a particular aspect of farming or are you more interested in a place to stay while you explore and have fun? Are you interested in vegetable production, cattle grazing techniques, milking goats, grafting fruit trees, jumping off cliffs, or full moon beach parties?

It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you predominately fall on, only that you are clear about which side you prefer to spend most of your time. Some people WWOOF Hawaii for a place to stay while they explore the island, that is great. Some people WWOOF Hawaii with an intense desire to learn more about farming, that is great. You will end up seeing that there isn't one better than the other only that it is important to be clear on which reason you wish to WWOOF Hawaii.

There is a farm location that can help make your desires possible, learn or explore.

Are you more interested in farming or having a place to stay while you explore the islands? That is our first question to answer. Think about it with a clear mind and heart, there isn't one better than the other. Life isn't usually black or white and often people will be in a position where they are say something like “I would love to do both”. Great, if you would like to explore both then which is your dominant side, travel or learn. Even if you are interested in both you will still have a dominant reason and it will become extremely important when we move forward.

If you were to explain your reason for WWOOFing to a farmer right now what would it sound like?

WWOOF Hawaii – Living Environments

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

The good news is we are all capable of making our way through the worst of any situation. If you haven’t been tested yet it may not seem like it is possible but through personal experience and conversation with many many travelers it turns out that we are all capable of much more than we dreamed possible.

What environment works for you?

Are you a regular outdoors type of person who is camping multiple days out of a backpack or are you more used to navigating the wonders of the social urban environment? Living out of a backpack away from modern conveniences is a different experience. Even if you have doing it for days at a time doing it for months at a time can be different challenge.

There is going to be a lot of newness coming at you all at once and it can be overwhelming; traveling thousands of miles to a far off island, new people, new ideas, and possibly no transportation. Again these are all things that you can and will manage but are you comfortable taking a shower from a hose while doing it? Some will say yes and some will prefer an outdoor door shower while others will prefer something with walls. There isn’t a right or wrong only knowing how far you want to push your boundaries at this moment. A quick side not would be how cool it is to see your boundary lines shift, it can happen rather quickly while in an experience like this. One minute you have only ever used traditional plumbing and after a short time you can’t imagine ever not using an outdoor shower & composting toilet, so cool.

Here are some of the main living issues you should consider:

Sleeping / Personal Storage Space

Where are you going to sleep and keep your personal belongings.  Always ask for pictures of the proposed living situation and how recent the pictures were taken so you have a good reference.  With today's technology there isn't a good reason for someone to provide something as simple as pictures.  If they can't or aren't willing to do so that should be a red flag about their commitment to ensuring that the experience is mutually beneficial.

• The simplest would be a tent situation.  Are you bringing your own or do they have one?  Is the tenting area on a platform or on the ground?Is the tent space covered or open to the sky?  How far from the various facilities and the other WWOOFer accommodations is the tent space?
  •  If they are providing a tent how old or what type of condition is it in?  If you are bringing one will the size fit the space provided?
  • If the space isn't on a platform you will be subject to rain / ground water or dampness.  If it is a platform will you tent fit on the space?
  • If the space isn't covered you are exposed to the elements again and if you are WWOOFing in a rainy part of the islands it could be unfavorable.
  • Finding out where the space is in relation to things like the bathroom, showers, kitchen, communal area can be nice to know.
  • Are mosquitos prevalent in that area?
• Another option would probably be something that has been converted into WWOOFER housing.  Things like an old pop up camper, school bus, a tree house, shipping container etc.
  • What is the size of the space and isn't a shared space?  Many times these accommodations can be a shared space situation.
  • What furniture is in the space?  Is there a bed, nightstand, dresser, or closet etc?  If there is a bed do you need to bring sheets?
  • Electricity?
  • Location to the main facilities?
  • Are there any issues weather related, like leaks?
• The WWOOF Farm may have constructed housing units for the WWOOFers.  Some farms have the means to construct stand alone housing units that are made from traditional or alternative building materials.
  • These units might remind someone university dorm living.  Often they can be shared with a fellow WWOOFer.  Will you be sharing the space?
  • What furniture is in the space?  Is there a bed, nightstand, dresser, or closet etc?  If there is a bed do you need to bring sheets?
  • Electricity?
  • Location to the main facilities?
  • Are there any issues weather related, like leaks?
• Living the main house with the land owners.  There are some farms that have a home with an extra room that they allow a WWOOFer to stay in.
  • What furniture is in the space?  Is there a bed, nightstand, dresser, or closet etc?  If there is a bed do you need to bring sheets?
  • What is available in terms of bathroom facilities, kitchen, internet, laundry, phone?

Bathroom & Shower

You are going to want to find out about the toilet and shower.  What do they have?

• If it is a composting toilet what is the setup, 5 gallon bucket, pit latrine, or a manufactured composting toilet?  Does it have walls or is it open to the environment?
• Do you need to provide your own toilet paper?
• Is the shower outdoors or indoors?  Does it have walls or is it open?
• Do they have hot water?  Some places might not.  If they do were does it come from?  Is it solar heated, paloma heater, or a traditional water heater?  You many not have hot water at all times of the day.
• How many toilets and showers do they have for how many people?  Is there a regular wait or line for the facilities?  If so what is the traffic like?
• Is there a regular cleaning schedule?

Kitchen / Cooking

Where will you be preparing your meals when at the farm?

• If you have a particular diet what are the requirements for that diet and will the kitchen provide for your needs?
• What do they provide in terms of food storage, both dry and refrigerated?
• What types of cooking equipment do they provide?
• Are there set hours for use of the kitchen?
• Is their drinking water in the kitchen or on site?  What type of filtering process do they have?  If they have water it will most likely be water catchment.  Country water might be an option and rarely do you find a well.  Some places might have water catchment that is good for washing dishes but not drinking.  UV water filtration is one of the best options for the final filtration method on water catchment systems or county water.

How To Prepare For The WWOOFing Experience

Make your WWOOF Hawaii trip the best!

Being diligent in your preparations for becoming a WWOOFer will be appreciated by the farms you contact as well as put you in position to get the most out of what you want from the experience. Not all WWOOF Hawaii situations are the same; they actually vary to a great degree with some being the ideal dreamlike situation and others, unfortunately, can be comparable to a nightmare.

What determines the ideal dream situation or the complete nightmare isn’t always dependent on the farm environment itself, although there are poorly run & organized farms out there that will disappoint, rather it can easily be that your personality and expectations vary from the host farm and weren’t properly explored to the detriment of both you and the farm. Establishing a basic understanding of why you want to WWOOF, what you are willing to do, what you are capable of doing, and what you desire to learn is essential before contacting any farms. I will also give you a few clues to the mindset of the people organizing the farm operations so you can better understand their side of the WWOOFing experience and the needs they have from you.

My goal is to help you figure out what you want and how to clearly communicate with the potential WWOOFing farm opportunities so that everyone involved comes away a winner. Clear & concise communication can truly work wonders in our daily journey

Are you ready to take the first steps? Of course you are!

Willing Workers & WWOOF Hawaii

What Is Your WWOOFer Style?

This is where understanding the needs of the farm and being clear on what you truly want from the situation begin to come together. The farm operation has a goal of being profitable, providing a service to the community, & possibly the environment. In order for that to happen the farm needs to have their end goal realized by the people working on the farm.

One of the main reasons farms offer WWOOFing opportunities is to get additional labor to help the farm operate. Trading a place to stay & the educational opportunity for labor makes sense in many ways for the farm. We will come back to this in a minute.

First, you need to grasp the realization that educating a person on how to farm is a time intensive project. Learning to farm happens over longer periods of time where the act of farming is practiced.

Imagine a farm that is operated by a couple people that accepts WWOOFers who cycle through at a rate of 2 or 3 per month. If that farm stopped and ran a truly intensive farming educational program for every person that cycle through they wouldn’t be able to keep the farm in operation.

However, that farm could surely use some people who were able to fulfill some simple tasks that don’t take much time to train a person in or to let people use skills that they came to the farm with. This approach lets the farmer farm and the WWOOFers be of assistance to the farmer. “But I really want to learn how to farm” you say, hang in there we will get to you.

Back to the original question of do you want to learn to farm or are you looking for a base camp to travel the island from. If you are looking for a base camp and have a general curiosity about farming you can see why a farmer wouldn’t want to invest large sums of time into educating you on farming. Lets be honest it is more of a curiosity than a passion and that is fine. Through clear communication everyone wins, the farmer gets assistance in simple chores and you get a place to stay and potentially more. Don’t get me wrong either most farmers will talk farming when the time is available, round the evening dinner table or water breaks. Educating people about the food issue is something most natural farmers enjoy.

If this sounds like you I would openly convey my intentions to the farmer. I would say something like “Mr. Farmer I am a solid worker and willing to be of assistance on your farm. I want to be up front with you and let you know that I am not necessarily interested in becoming a farmer. I am interested in the farming process and I like seeing how things work. Being a part of the process would be something to remember. During my WWOOFing research I have come to understand that giving each WWOOFer an intensive farming education isn’t practical and I am ok with that. I am primarily interested in trading my labor for a place to stay while experiencing the island lifestyle. Does that sound like something that would work for you?”

For the people who really want to learn how to farm there are a few things you need to understand about what the farmer has most likely experienced prior to you.

One of the biggest things the farmer has experienced is people saying they want to farm and once the labor and real work begins they don’t really want to farm anymore. You are going to need to prove that you can handle the work, that you are committed. When a farmer has someone who can listen, learn, and complete tasks in an efficient and effective manner the willingness to take time and invest in that person grows. You can’t expect to get something for nothing. The farmer doesn’t owe you anything when you show up.   You owe it to the farmer and yourself to prove that you really want to farm. You do this by completing the tasks the farmer sets out before you.

Depending on your previous farming experience level I would approach the farmer in a couple different ways. If you have never done any type of farming or gardening I would approach the farmer like this “Mr. Farmer I am interested in learning about farming. I have no gardening or farming experience. From my research I have come to understand that a good percentage of people who haven’t farmed or gardened before say they want to learn and after they arrive and the work begins they don’t necessarily want to farm any longer. My understanding is that this type of situation can be costly to you in terms of time spent educating people instead of making your farm productive. What has to happen for you to see that I am truly interested in farming? How would I get to a place where you want to invest in my farming knowledge?”

If you have a good amount of farming / gardening knowledge I would say something like “Mr. Farmer I am interested in building on my current level of farming / gardening knowledge. I understand from my research that WWOOF farms have a fair amount of people arrive with a dedication to farming and once the work starts they often fade. I can assure you that farming / gardening is a passion of mine. What would have to take place for you to be comfortable investing time into my learning process?”

If you have a farming / gardening base already and are interested in expanding that knowledge it would be worthwhile to have a open direct conversation with the farmer and see what you can offer one another.

Something to remember to is that the longer you plan on staying the more it makes sense for the farmer to incorporate you into the system, to invest in you. If you are going to be there for two weeks you shouldn’t expect to do more than general manual labor or provide work based on talents you brought with you.

I remember someone in sales once telling me that if they were going to get a “no” or lose a customer they would rather do it immediately. Be clear in what you want, have open conversation and find the situation that will offer you what it is that you are looking for.

Potential questions to ask:

• What type of work will I be assigned to?
• What makes up the bulk of the work?
• What is the weekly work schedule?

Quality Introduction To WWOOFing

“A farm includes the passion of the farmer's heart, the interest of the farm's customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm — it's everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism. The tragedy of our time is that cultural philosophies and market realities are squeezing life's vitality out of most farms. And that is why the average farmer is now 60 years old. Serfdom just doesn't attract the best and brightest.”
― Joel Salatin

Eco Menu