E13 Futuresteading Shortie : The wonderful world of WWOOFing

06/14/20 • 20 min

If you've ever dreamed of trying your hand at farming (or other earthy project), programs like WWOOF could be for you.
In return for your time and energy, WWOOFing hosts offer accomodation, vittles and wisdom - sidestepping cash and capitalising on pure human exchange.
Like a smorgasbord of life’s options, WWOOF (or HelpX or Workaway) represent the perfect way to meet new folks, test drive a vast array of lifestyles and get enmeshed in the lives of others quickly and meaningfully. You'll make friends, learn new skills, live like a local, broaden your worldview and travel at very low cost.
As you can guess, Jade and Catie are both big fans of this exchange and bring you 20 minutes of lived experience, from both the host's and helper's perspective.
We hope that if you haven't already, you'll place a farm exchange on your to-do list: young or old, with or without a family, you can gain so much for stepping boldly into the agricultural unknown, getting front row seats to our food system and first hand-experience in the soil.
SHOW NOTES

Catie's volunteering rite-of-passage.
WWOOFing as a wonderful way to cram diversity into your life.
Avoiding tourist traps and getting a VIP pass to real life.
Why to relish the experience - even it's a little uncomfortable. It's about the story.
How it works as a host: the day in/day out routine.
How it encourages cultural sharing, illuminating how humans and communities are shaped.
How it creates a mini-village, with many hands participating in daily life.
The importance of vetting - for both volunteers and hosts.
Why having an open mind and acceptance of the unknown is critical.
Why to always pack warm and dirt-proof clothes!

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

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Catie's volunteering rite-of-passage.
WWOOFing as a wonderful way to cram diversity into your life.
Avoiding tourist traps and getting a VIP pass to real life.
Why to relish the experience - even it's a little uncomfortable. It's about the story.
How it works as a host: the day in/day out routine.
How it encourages cultural sharing, illuminating how humans and communities are shaped.
How it creates a mini-village, with many hands participating in daily life.
The importance of vetting - for both volunteers and hosts.
Why having an open mind and acceptance of the unknown is critical.
Why to always pack warm and dirt-proof clothes!

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

Support the show

Previous Episode

E12 Kirsten Bradley of Milkwood with big ideas in bite sized morsels

Kirsten Bradley has dedicated the last 13 years (in cahoots with partner Nick Ritar and a host of thinkers and doers) to helping people learn permaculture skills for living like it matters.

We’re referring to Milkwood, of course. And today we get a backstage pass to the brain of its co-creator; a joyous conversation indeed.

Kirsten has a knack for distilling big ideas into bite size words of wisdom, bringing decades of lived experience to our cuppa-tea-with-a-mate interview that will leave you feeling affirmed and hopeful.

She shares her trajectory from inner-city artist to iconic permaculture educator, author and champion of back-to-basics living. Her thoughts on long-term renting, community sufficiency, ways of stewarding land (that don’t necessarily involve buying a massive property), how to bypass hypocrisy and why to get comfy with shades of grey.

Post-episode, you’ll probably want to knock on your neighbour’s door and offer them surplus garden greens - because, according to Kirsten, community connection is the bedrock of a better life (and planet). Listen, absorb, enjoy.
SHOW NOTES

Living in Tassie - autonomy and community sufficiency.
Insights from their trials of different ways of living (including family farming, community living, homesteading, share houses).
Where and how their shift from inner city artists to sharers of skills came about
Alternative ways to steward land (other than ownership)
Actions to consider now foro a better future: 1. Growing food, anywhere/anyhow. 2. Community involvement - get enmeshed, get involved. 3. Figure out your greatest skills and what you can contribute to and learn from your community.
Reframing life towards what matters
Why helping people reclaim lost skills is the most incredible life path she could have chosen.
Bypassing the guilt of hypocrisy and embracing good habits.
The value of seeking out ‘wild spaces’.
Why getting to know your ecosystem is fundamental to living a good life (your watershed, the First Nations title for the land you reside on, your climate, your seasons)
The evolution of thought and practical outcomes which has come from living in different environments and communities.
Accepting shades of grey over black and white.
Stepping past the one family/one house concept.
The tension between tenancy, tenure, community values, land use/management and ownership.
How disasters crystallise community bedrock.
Why they'd rather steward less land, not more.

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

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Next Episode

E14 Sallie Jones talks milk, mental health, and gut-led decision-making.

Do we need a little more faith in agriculture?
This week we chat to Sallie Jones, cofounder of farmer-owned Gippsland Jersey, about how her faith helps her do good stuff in the world - without a crippling fear of failure.
And we reckon there's something in that, considering her immense achievements.
You'll learn so much from this champion for dairy farmers, cheerleader for responsible land management, extraordinary businesswoman and mother of three; not least of which, how to live a little more hopefully.
Sallie shares her gut-wrenching story of family loss, why we need to talk about mental health on farms (and everywhere for that matter), and offers wise advice for a simpler, more spiritual life; essential listening for anyone who feels a little isolated in striving for a better future (regardless of your belief system).

Note: This was recorded at the beginning of April 2020.
SHOW NOTES

Why not starting school until Grade Six offered her an unconventional - and rather free - way of thinking.
Why and how to side-step helicopter parenting.
The value of relying on a wide network of people with varying skills.
How story telling and her Dad's reputation have been core to Gippsland Jersey's success.
The importance of keeping it real!
Her experience of the raw milk movement.
How families experience grief in unique ways.
Her fundamental trust in her faith.
Why leaps of faith require immense courage.
Why the gut never lies (and can be relied upon as the right needle for all situations).
Why she's a fan of paths-of-less-resistance rather than being relentless.
Why community is central to her reason for being.
How she stays empathetic without burning out.
The importance of perspective to balanced life.
Why kindness and giving is good for everyone.
Her sense of place as white settlers.

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

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