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Dear Friends,
We thank you for your interest in becoming a Host with WWOOF Australia.
WWOOF has been operating in Australia for over 25 years, and has blossomed into a smorgasbord of Australia's alternative lifestyles, offering students, backpackers and travellers from Australia and overseas a taste of Australian life. There are now over 1,500 Hosts in the WWOOF Book, offering a wide range of opportunities both for the serious student of organics as well as the budget traveller. The WWOOF Book provides contact details, a description of each property, the work to be done, accommodation and all meals. The WWOOFer simply browses through the book, chooses a place they would like to go, and then contacts the Host to arrange a mutually suitable time to visit. The choice may be based on geography (close to a route they are travelling); or philosophy (such as biodynamic farming practices); cultural (many of our Hosts speak other languages as well as English) or it may just sound like an interesting place to visit. WWOOFers live and work with the Host families in the same way as relatives and friends do when they visit.
The essential requirements of a WWOOF Host are being involved in organics in some way, growing or producing organic products, and you
need to be willing to become an "Ambassador for Australia" in providing both a safe haven for Willing Workers as well as engaging in a mutual cultural exchange. WWOOF Hosts provide all food and clean, comfortable accommodation to travellers and students in exchange for between 4 and 6 hours of work per day. This work can include everything from gardening and landscaping to animal care and property maintenance. Some WWOOFers have no gardening skills whatsoever and your role will be to teach them your methods. When a WWOOFer calls you, ask what skills they have!
We get so much positive feedback from our existing WWOOF Hosts about their wonderful experiences, but let's not pretend that it's all roses in the garden! Being a WWOOF Host may not be everyone's cup of tea. It is important that you carefully consider the following issues BEFORE deciding to become a WWOOF Host and
be prepared to deal with them if they arise. WWOOFers may be unskilled, in fact, some have never been out of a city and have never picked up a spade. This can lead to breakage of tools
and weeding out of vegetables instead of weeds. WWOOFers who book in but then never show up can be a huge disappointment for many Hosts. Cultural, lifestyle, personality and language differences can lead to misunderstandings between Hosts and WWOOFers. The WWOOF program is NOT about free slave labour, nor is it about Willing Workers who are not willing! Good effective communication between hosts and
WWOOFers is essential. With patience, understanding and compassion, it is a worthwhile and memorable experience for the majority of our WWOOF Hosts.
The minimum stay is 2 nights (to prevent people turning up, eating and sleeping, then leaving the next morning) the maximum stay is up to the Host and the WWOOFer. We have heard of WWOOFers staying for more than a year!
Many Hosts follow permaculture and biodynamic principles in addition to using organic practices, and we assume you are not using farm chemicals as a matter of routine.
Please be aware that WWOOFers MUST NOT use man-made chemicals/fertilizers,
approved organic alternatives are acceptable. We trust our Hosts not to use WWOOFers as cheap labour; WWOOFers should be treated as part of the family. Being a WWOOF Host requires a long-term commitment and should not be seen as a quick fix solution for a short-term need. Please read the guidelines carefully and contact other Hosts in your area for feedback on how the program operates at the grass roots level.
Two other very important points need to be mentioned here: You are accepting total strangers into your home. To safeguard yourselves, it is imperative you keep a
Guestbook to register the WWOOFer's membership number and matching ID (passport, drivers licence, etc) and type of Visa (for overseas WWOOFers) when they arrive. Failure to do this may result in problems. WWOOFing can be done on a Tourist visa under the following conditions: 1) an applicant's main purpose in visiting Australia is tourism, and that any voluntary work remains incidental to this (i.e. the voluntary work is not a way of circumventing the prohibition on work). 2) the work involved would not otherwise be undertaken in return for wages by an Australian resident (board and lodging may be excepted). 3) the work activities are genuinely voluntary.
If WWOOFers possess a Working Holiday Makers Visa, they are allowed to work for no more than 6 months at any one establishment at a time. WWOOFers can now qualify for a second Working Holiday Makers Visa if they spend a total of 3 months WWOOFing in specified regional areas, performing seasonal work for a primary producer (This can be worked with a number of different hosts). For more information on this issue, visit the Australian Immigration Department's Website and read the section on Volunteer Work Tourism Schemes
In general, people see WWOOF as an association or a club. We bring WWOOF Hosts and WWOOFers together in a voluntary work situation, which does not take away any jobs.
Please
download a
Host Pack,
or email us for a Host Pack, which includes the host guidelines and some information about insurance. There is also a copy of our Host application for you to complete and return together with your membership fee. The initial cost to join WWOOF as a Host farm is $50.00*, after 12 months you will be sent a tax invoice for the yearly renewal fee of $45.00* (concession $30.00*) The farm and job description is to be in your own words, and
MUST be an accurate description of your property and what you are offering
WWOOFers, up to approximately 100 words (we reserve the right to edit entries if necessary)
*If you provide us with a copy of your current certification with an AQIS accredited Certifying body (eg. NASAA, ACO/BFA, OGA, TOP, SFQ or OFC) membership is free.
If you meet our host guidelines , (either growing or producing organic products or are certified organic or biodynamic), you will be registered as a Host and will be sent a proof copy of your entry. You will need to respond urgently if changes are required. Your full entry will then be printed in our next book, which is updated and republished every 6 months (usually January and July) depending on demand (see application form for deadlines). Your entry will also be included in an amendment list of new hosts which is readily available to WWOOFers. The best way to get WWOOFers initially is advertise on our Bulletin Board
and to contact other hosts in your area, who may direct them your way. Our WWOOF Host Newsletter will be sent to you 3 times per year, via e-mail or post.
WWOOF started as a learning exchange where students/travellers could gain practical experience and understanding of organic growing, working with their Host in exchange for meals and accommodation. Some Hosts want WWOOFers from this group only, and we will make a note in your entry if this is the case. More recently we have found that many overseas travellers are using WWOOF to learn more about Australian life and customs as well as organic growing, and these cultural exchange students now constitute a high proportion of WWOOFers. Many Hosts are happy to accept these people, as well as the serious organic students.
We rely heavily on feedback from all members to maintain a working system. Complaints need to be backed up with names, membership numbers, and dates if they are to be treated seriously. For this reason it is essential that you ask to see the handbook and some form of identification on WWOOFers arrival
and record their details in your
Guestbook. If one of your WWOOFers confides in you of a bad experience involving another host, please have them contact us so that we can deal with the problem.
Keeping your
Host entry accurate and up to date is one way of avoiding complaints by WWOOFers. Your entry is important for WWOOFers making decisions where to visit. Palace or shack, accuracy when describing what you offer is important.
We hope this has given you enough information, in your decision to become one of our Hosts enjoying the benefits of WWOOFing.
Yours sincerely
Garry Ainsworth
For the WWOOF Team
WWOOF is operated by WWOOF Pty Ltd, A.C.N 085-920-690
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New hosts cannot join on-line.
You may download our
Host Pack*
or email us for
Host Pack, which includes the Host guidelines, some information about
insurance and a host application form for you to complete and return together with your membership fee of $50.00 (inc GST) or if you provide us with a copy of your current certification with an AQIS accredited Certifying body (eg. NASAA, ACO/BFA, OGA, TOP, SFQ or OFC) membership is free.
*The
Host Pack
is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You will need the Acrobat viewer to view these files. which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe
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