Wwoofers or not?

🗣️ There is a recurring argument in our field that farms relying on WWOOFers or volunteers are undermining the economic stability of professional agriculture. The logic suggests that if a farm cannot afford to pay full wages for every hour of labour, it is a failed business model that shouldn't exist.

💸 I find this critique ironic because it ignores the rigged game we are playing. Industrial agriculture is propped up by massive State subsidies (CAP) and artificially cheap fossil fuels—invisible supports that allow big farms to lower costs despite their ecological inefficiencies. For small-scale farms that operate outside this subsidy bubble, volunteer energy is a useful counterbalance. We are trading non-renewable energy for labour, and machinery for human hands. In a market that heavily penalises labour-intensive restoration, the volunteer model is often one of the most effective ways to make the regeneration of the landscape viable.

🤝 There is also the accusation that volunteering displaces "real" jobs. But this relies on the false assumption that a volunteer and an employee are interchangeable units. They are not. A WWOOFer is not a substitute worker; they are a student and a temporary community member. The value exchanged is not just labour for cash, but assistance for education, food, and mentorship. If we were forced to monetise this interaction, we wouldn't replace the volunteer with a paid employee; we would simply stop hosting. The result wouldn't be more jobs, but less access to land and knowledge. We are trying to cultivate an "ecology of freedom," where relationships are defined by mutual aid rather than just a contract.

👩‍🌾 Some argue that because only the privileged can afford to work for free, this is merely "rural tourism" for the wealthy. But this argument inadvertently defends the very capitalist logic it claims to oppose: it assumes that money is the only legitimate mediator of value. By exchanging food and shelter for help, we allow a person to live without selling their time to the market. This is not replacing paid jobs; it is a refusal of wage slavery. I don't want to be an employer managing employees; I believe in mutual aid, not State ratification. We are not extracting labour but sharing the 'means of production'—land and skills. This isn't tourism; it is an attempt at radical redistribution of capability.

👨‍🏫 Of course, this is not "free" labour. It is an intense investment. I take immense pride in the hours I spend teaching, correcting posture, and explaining the biological "why" behind a task. This is why we prioritise long-term stays at Ortoforesta. We invest heavily in the first few weeks so that the volunteer evolves into a skilled steward. By the time they have learned, they are contributing meaningfully, not just as "help," but as capable growers.

🛠️ This creates a layer of resilience that money can't buy. We are engaging in a cross-pollination of skills, hosting engineers, carpenters, and creatives who bring solutions a standard payroll could never capture. It is a symbiotic relationship: they gain access to land and knowledge, and the farm gains a diverse, adaptive intelligence that strengthens it against shocks.

📜 It is also worth remembering that these exchanges are legal. Frameworks like WWOOF are recognised associations facilitating educational exchange, not subordinate employment. They exist to bridge the gap between urban life and rural reality. To equate a structured educational stay with exploitation is to misunderstand the fundamental distinction between an employee and an apprentice.

🌱 This distinction is vital, because - I don’t know about you - but the world I am working towards is one of small-scale community effort, involving less money movement and more resource and skill exchange. As a vegetable grower, selling produce is almost marginal to the mission of regenerating the role of food in our ecosystemic interactions. If I lose a customer because they decide to go off and grow their own food, I have succeeded. Similarly, if I lose an apprentice because they go off and start their own farm, I celebrate it. They will return not to buy a product or to work, but to exchange advice, seedlings, and expertise.