WWOOF is a worldwide network of volunteers (WWOOFers) and organic farms. WWOOFers are involved in the daily life on WWOOF farms, help voluntarily and can thus gain first-hand knowledge about organic farming, gardening and self-sufficiency in the countryside.
At WWOOF, people of all ages and with the most diverse life backgrounds come into the situation of spending everyday life together. Among the farms there are family farms, farm communities, individuals and always the quality of a WWOOF stay gains with the quality of the relationship of the people involved. WWOOF is thus an exciting learning field in terms of communicating one’s own needs and boundaries, mutual appreciation and joint conflict resolution.
Common values underlying voluntary exchange and living together on WWOOF farms are trust, cooperativeness, tolerance, and a willingness to learn something new.
WWOOF-Germany is recognized as a non-profit organization due to the promotion of environmental protection and landscape conservation. It has been shown that the association achieves this goal especially by raising awareness among the participants: people learn how healthy food is produced by doing it themselves and by learning about different nature-oriented/alternative/sustainable living concepts.
The German Commission for UNESCO lists WWOOF-Germany as an actor of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
