Sustainable farming methods...Pass It On!

Everyone has some sort of "Top 10 things you want to do before you die" list, and on my list is to do volunteer work abroad, teaching sustainable methods of living. But you would be surprised how difficult it is to work for free outside of the United States. Most places have discovered that they can make good money from people's desire to give back, and therefore many businesses have started to charge a fee to volunteer with them. You could be charged anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands for the "experience." This is crazy to me. Why should I have to pay a hefty fee for working from the goodness of my heart?

Lucky for me my mom introduced me to WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). WWOOF gives you a list of host farms who are practicing organic methods of gardening and farming, and then it is up to you to contact the farms you are interested in working for and schedule length of stay and dates. A lot of the work is helping to build structures, set up composts, harvest fruits and vegis, etc. There is a small fee of about $27 to access the list of host families, but beside that WWOOF doesn't charge a fee and you will get free room and board in exchange for your services. Isn't that the way it should be?

In September I have plans to work my way around Europe. Spain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Hungary are all on my itinerary. All I have to pay for is the airline tickets, eurorail pass and food during my travels. This will be the first time I travel alone, and I am very nervous about it, but optimistic that everything will work out. If my mother can do it, so can I. What an exciting experience this will be!