My adult D (28) with an extensive background in couturier fashion design, has spent the last couple of years becoming a Court of Master certified sommelier, and working at a prestigious restaurant in NYC, as a sommelier. She has always (and I mean always!) marched to her own drum, and has been a bohemian since birth (truth be told, that apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). She has been a world traveler her entire life, and loves all things history, food, travel, art and culture.
She’s giving up her job and in November heading solo to East Asia for 6 weeks (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) to decide what the “next chapter” of her life will be. This plan is solid and has been in the works since April (the 6 week sabbatical).
She’s seriously considering “WWOOFing” (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) for a year or two starting in 2017. She is quite friendly with several organic vintners around the world, and thought this might be an opportunity to get some travel as well as some horticultural experience in worldwide while figuring out her “next chapter” -
I’m immersing myself in YouTube videos and reading everything I can get my hands on, and it sounds like a unique experience, especially for “young” people, and those without encumbrances -
I just wondered if anyone here has a “kid” or a friend with firsthand experience?
@thumper1 - do you know how long he stayed on each & if there were other “wwoofers” there? Any idea the types of work and if there was free time for exploring?
Just last week, I met a woman whose twenty-something D had just become a sommelier and she was telling me how involved the process was, like getting a PhD in wine. But she didn’t use the term WWOOF and I had to open your post to understand what you were talking about.
I don’t think the WWOOF has anything to,do with being a sommelier.
My relative actually did this with a friend. I am not sure how long he was in each place…at least a few months, I think. They did farming on organic farms. He was sort of in the middle of college when he took the year off to do this. Part of his motivation was wanting to become fluent in Italian…which happened.
They worked…it wasn’t a vacation by any measure or means.
Right, and right. I only brought up sommelier as a way to describe my D - it has nothing to do with “wwoofing” specifically, but possibly a lead on an organic farm in France as she knows the vintner. And definitely not a vacation! She’s looking forward to tending the land and learning about agriculture in the process.
My kids have WWOOFed. Other programs/orgs to look at are Workaday and helpX - both of which are working in exchange for room and board but cover things other than just organic farming.
A few questions:
I assume this is something she wants to do after the Asia trip or is it during?
Does she want to use and grow upon her sommelier experience? Working solely in vineyards or more broad based exposure?
Given her background, she may also want to reach out to vineyards in areas of geographic interest directly and see what she can arrange on her own outside the established programs. One of my kids did that this summer in an area where he wanted to be and was able to arrange an internship.
In our conversations, @doschicos, she says she’s very interested in the organic farming as she herself is vegan, and nearly exclusively organic. The WWOOFing will be after her Asia trip - that trip has been in the planning stages for a few months now, and will not include WWOOFing (although last night night she said, “…but it could!” - I’ll share the other 2 orgs you’ve mentioned to her. I think she’s planning on sticking to the known organizations VS independently reaching out, however, as she’s mentioned she did find at least one vintner she knows personally sho’s listed with WWOOF, so might give them a go first. I do think she wants to enhance her sommelier experience. Getting certified with Court of Masters was no picnic and she’s very good at it, and likes it. I could see her living on a vineyard someplace awesome using her somm experience and loving life!
WWOOFing can be great but my kids have met others who have had some bad hosts. It’s important to do your homework and be flexible and willing to leave if the situation isn’t as expected. If she is vegan, she should also make sure she finds places that can accommodate that. Many places also raise and butcher animals which might be an issue for her so she’ll have to cull those out.
My DD did it 2 …ack make that 4 years ago, in France. It was sort of a disappointment for her, actually. She felt VERY frustrated that the hosts didn’t get back to her one way or another in any sort of timely way. And so she was without a place longer than she wanted. The one place she DID do was building onto their old farm house. She liked the people, although they were again not ORGANIZED about what they wanted done. She went alone, and there was one other girl there for part of it, but not the whole time. DD was really annooyed that the young guys who had LESS of a clue than she did about some of the power tools kept grabbing them so she didn’t get to do much . She said she wouldn’t recommend it again, unless it was a longer stay (hers was 2 or 3 weeks) and you were able to really talk to the people and see how they operated before you accepted. … … She did say that the host woman was a marvelous cook and the food was great however!
Woofing in Asia, especially Thailand, Koea or Japan could be quite interesting.
D spent the summer after semester abroad Woofing in France and to a more limited extent, Spain. Woofimg is what really made her French develop into fluency, as she was living the culture. She carefully structured that summer to be a diverse set of experiences. Some market gardeners, a goat cheese place in Corsica, and a rural camping sort of farm experience for guests near Barcelona. She also spent a few weeks with a couple who only wanted her to work on their suburban yard. She was bored and found a reason to leave that particular place.
One of my favorite photos of her is selling vegetables at a favorite farm in southern France. That particular farm has been a regular stop on return trips to France.
Heck, as love learning about rural life, I want to Woof!
Woofing in Asia, especially Thailand, Koea or Japan could be quite interesting.
D spent the summer after semester abroad Woofing in France and to a more limited extent, Spain. Woofimg is what really made her French develop into fluency, as she was living the culture. She carefully structured that summer to be a diverse set of experiences. Some market gardeners, a goat cheese place in Corsica, and a rural camping sort of farm experience for guests near Barcelona. She also spent a few weeks with a couple who only wanted her to work on their suburban yard. She was bored and found a reason to leave that particular place.
One of my favorite photos of her is selling vegetables at a favorite farm in southern France. That particular farm has been a regular stop on return trips to France.
Heck, as love learning about rural life, I want to Woof!