Woofers for the weekend

Hi Sue,

This is a great idea and as I am new to this whole area of being a host I wouldnt know where to start but I just wanted to say i think your idea is great and could perhaps be expanded on.

Problem is, this flies in the face of the whole WWOOF ethic.
It could be a minefield as far as legal issues are concerned. Would these youngsters be required to join WWOOF Ireland? How would they be found? How would you know there was genuine interest?
I think your idea is laudable, but in the end, we'd be unpaid social workers, in loco parentis, heaven help us!
Maybe someone with plenty of spare time on a weekend might want to take the idea on, but for most Organic farmers the weekends are taken up with doing the jobs we gratefully share with our WWOOFers through the week.
WWOOFers for the weekend great! Foster parents for the weekend ....... not on your nelly!

Thanks, but no thanks!

Is this not a WWOOF publicity issue? If wwoofing was advertised in 'those' areas then it could and would be a positive choice for city folks and they could decide. They'd have to join the wwoof organisation for sure and they'd need insurance etc. Even if I have friends to 'wwoof' here they have to be members, have insurance etc. So great idea but wwoofers have to be woofers! Also weekends are my 'catching up' days and even sometimes relaxing days!

Interesting discussion here!  It has arisen from a request from a WWOOFer who is an agricultural student and wants to get experience at the weekends - and far from being against the whole WWOOF ethic, its how it all started in the early 70's with Sue Coppard - 'Weekend workers on Organic Farms' - taking office workers out to the field and spreading the organic message more widely.  Its interesting to hear everybodies perspectives on this though! Worthy of more discussion!!

I'm all for WWOOFers at the weekend. We were having weekend WWOOFers in the 1980s and it worked well. But just taking youngsters to reconnect them to nature ...

I guess its a matter of choice - some hosts would be happy to have more 'disadvantaged' young WWOOFers and others would be interested in the agricultural student variety - but the idea of having WWOOFers at the weekends only is the main issue and who the hosts select to have for this would be up to them - any other comments on this?

Seems to be a very interesting idea. My partner and I have been talking about a similar idea for a while. We find it sometimes difficult to commit to rwo or three week stays or longer since jobs here can vary so much and what we can do is always dependent on the weather (as for all hosts i guess in Ireland)our budget and many other things.
Since we live in a very isolated area, we find it challenging for us and wwoofers to be staying here for long term periodesm since it is not easy for wwoofers to get into town or go to a pub or similar since there are no buses or any public transport. the nearest town is 12miles away... So for us it would be a very good alternative and possibly a more fun and productive alternative for both sides to have people staying for a few days only over the weekends.
There is also the advantage that those wwoofers are actually living in their own accomodation in town and therefore would be able to come back weekend after weekend and host and wwoofer could get to know each other over a longer periode and build up a steady trusting relationship which can be good for both side in the long run. anyway, I guess it's an individual choice for everyone. I think it is good to think outside the box and to be open to possibilities like this.
There is no pressure to commit to anything, if the idea doesn't seem appealing for some people or after trying, doesn't work out, that's okay, no need to make it a general yes or no for everyone since we all have our individual lifestyles and things that work for us. Can't see either how it is against the wwoofing ethos. It's about an exchange isn't it? Learning from each other, give and take. It would still be the same arrangement, food and accomodation provided for the time wwoofers are sraying at the host's house, it would just be for a shorter periode. For me I think it opens up more options and possibilities, which makes it more interesting and more attractive and accessible for awider range of people which is only a good thing as far as I can see.
So anyway, if there are wwoofers out there reading this blog and are interested in the idea of wwoofing for 2 or 3 days at the weekends, do get in touch with us.
Happy days, Franzi