See more about wwoofers who visited with me.
Doreen Schäbel
The
telephone rings, a voice of a young lady says: “Here is Solange”….I remained
silent (Who is
this? I wonder,) … she
says “Is this Ilania?”…. “Yes”…”I am a Wwoofer, and wondered
if you have some work for the next two weeks”…. Well…There is the wood to
stack in the back porch, raking to do, bulbs to plant for next spring.
Imagine having the help of a willing worker for just a warm welcome, room
and board! Unfortunately I had to decline, since I already have another
Wwoofer arriving after a 2-year stay in a farm.
Being a
Wwoofer host is certainly rewarding. I have had the experience
this past summer.
Doreen
Schäbel came to me after a few days’ stay with my friend, Monique Laramée,
who has a small organic farm. Doreen arrived in Vancouver August 2003
through a student exchange program. After her 6-month stay in Vancouver
(where she
worked in the office of the Dean at a college, and brushed up her English),
Doreen found out about WWOOF, and decided to travel across the Canadian
provinces. She worked in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and
Quebec. She stayed with me for 10 days,
helped me a lot, and was a pleasure to have. Thanks to Doreen, my wood is
stacked in the basement, and my garden looked much better. Despite the
heavy rains, she did visit a few Laurentian spots and art exhibits with me,
met my friends and family, even a few baby raccoons who came by for the
afternoon, swam in Lake Dainava,
and
finally we toured Montreal and walked across the picturesque parts of Old
Montreal.
Doreen went
on to Quebec City, worked on a farm in New Brunswick, stayed in Nova Scotia,
where she enjoyed whale watching. She is now back in Hamburg, Germany doing
her 2-year law articling working with a judge. (She
hopes to become a public prosecutor.)
Doreen was an exemplary visitor, good natured, assiduous, perceptive, and
exceptionally intelligent. After this pleasant encounter, I am looking
forward to the next Wwoofer!
WWOOF is a Canadian
non-profit organization that places young international travelers to work in
organic farms for room and board. When I registered, I was surprised to see
that there are but a few English-speaking Wwoofer hosts in
Quebec. Laurentian farmers and organic gardeners would enjoy having these
Willing Workers on Organic Farms.
There
may also be some Laurentian would-be travelers
(over 16)
who might consider this opportunity to travel cheaply, meet local people
worldwide, and make new friends. The cost of being listed as a host
farm (or organic
garden) is $35. WWOOF
updates its booklet in November of each year, if you register late; your
listing will still be included on their Website. (Cost
of booklet: $10.) The address is:
WWOOF Canada, 4429 Carlson Rd., Nelson, BC, V1L 6X3, (250) 354-4417
(Mon-Fri. 9-5 Pacific Coast time), E-mail
wwoofcan@shaw.ca,
Website:
http://www.wwoof.ca.
Colours
and dimensions artwork may be slightly different from the original.
