Have You Ever Known a WWOOFer? They’re Helping Farmers All Over the Big Island!
By Hadley Catalano
Dana Ronnquist had always been interested in permaculture and organic farming. Growing up in Westchester County, New York, an hour outside the city, the 24-year-old hadn’t had the opportunity to get hands-on experience in what she felt was the only way to truly understand where food comes from and how it grows.
The same agricultural face-time is a common wish for many people around the world. In a time when sustainability and eating local has taken the forefront in our communities, citizens are stepping forward to engage in the growing and understanding of their nourishment.
An awakened desire to return to the earth, to get out of the office, get a personal and intimate relationship with food has jumpstarted dormant movements such as Slow Food, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), Voluntourism, or GrowFood, among others, dropping them on the front burner and watching them ignite.
Ronnquist and college friend Rachel Stedman, after being informed by friends about opportunities to volunteer on organic farms, signed up and paid the nominal fee to join WWOOF.
“I wanted to come to Hawai‘i (Hawai‘i has its own WWOOF site) because I didn’t want to stay on the mainland and while it’s a very different climate here (compared to New York) I could still take home some practices,” Ronnquist said. “While I won’t be chopping down bananas, I can still use concepts like vermiculture, worm composting.”
The mid-20 year olds said they have had a “wonderful experience and good situation” working on Hoku Farm, in South Kona.
“We communicated a lot through email,” Stedman explained about the duo’s farm research and conversations with Hoku owner Diana Duff. “You, yourself, need to be responsible to research each farm; it’s like applying for college. You need to be specific and very detailed in questions to establish what you are giving and what you are receiving.”
The WWOOF experience is a hands-on internship for those seeking to gain exposure to organic growing, farm life and sustainable practices.
Formed in the United Kingdom in 1971, the strictly-volunteer work association has grown to become a recognized, sustainability-minded international movement (with host farm sites on six continents). WWOOF is an exchange between worker and farmer, linking individuals seeking to volunteer with interested farmers looking for like-minded, volunteered help.
Farms, gardens or smallholdings offer a variety of different tasks and experiences: from heavy, manual labor to light gardening. The hosts have either an application process or online interview questionnaire, specifying their farm needs and what they are looking for in a volunteer.
Duff, who has been farming on the slopes of Mauna Loa in South Kona for more than 15 years, has recently joined the WWOOF network.
“I had heard about it for years, and I had the occasional WWOOFer here or there but I put out the word and got flooded in January,” Duff said. Most Hawai‘i WWOOF hosts said they also experience an increased number of inquires during the winter months, as well as receiving more than half the applications from women. “I have four women here right now and it’s working out really well.”
It’s true that volunteers are literally helping small farmers survive. Duff commented that the volunteers have been extremely helpful, as she holds three jobs and has found it challenging in recent years to keep up with her three-acre, organic farm. She explained that she has taken on a more managerial role, instructing the incoming volunteers in daily farm tasks, such as weeding, planting, pruning, harvesting and preparing for market.
“Our main crop here is coffee, but we sell a variety of banana products and vegetables at the farmers markets,” she said. “I’ve been able to get a lot more things done with their help and have expanded our market produce.”
On Hoku Farm, Duff requests a six-week commitment, allowing the worker to get “in the groove.” In return for roughly 20 hours of work per week she provides a small cottage with a shared shower and kitchen, camping space and basic food.
“We’ve had a wonderful experience on Diana’s farm,” Stedman said after the girls completed their two-month stay. “Because of Diana’s networking skills, we got the opportunity to work on other farms, which enables us to see how others operate, learn new practices (like how to make goat cheese) and learn how to network.”
“This is a great opportunity for kids that can’t afford to go to school,” explained Ronnquist. “Learning in a different environment, trading labor for learning skills. You get a good idea of whether it’s a good match for you. This has changed my view of eating food.”
Farther down the highway, heading north into Kona, rests Keala’ola Farm. The lush, green lettuce farm co-owned and operated by Barry Levine and Ken Kotner has been utilizing an apprentice program since the first seed was planted five years ago. Mondays and Thursdays are harvest days, sending the farm into a flurry of activity, harvesting heads of romaine, baby romaine and mixed greens, bagging, labeling and packaging lettuce to be delivered to area restaurants, distributors and grocery stores.
The six apprentices working in the packing room during an early March harvest hail from around the United States with different farming experience, but are all connected through the common thread of genuinely wanting to engage and live a sustainable lifestyle.
Before settling down, a married couple from North Dakota wanted to learn how to farm on the Big Island.
“We had a friend that had WWOOFed in Kaua‘i and we thought let’s just go and do this before kids and a permanent job,” said Kristin Smith, a teacher. “What better time to take a couple months, go to Hawai‘i, experience a new culture, learn about sustainability and bring it back to the classroom?”
The 20-something couple chose the farm at Keala‘ola from the networking catalog because it offered a good community living experience: a large, shared community kitchen; outdoor shower facilities; a hilltop row of tents with tarp coverings overlooking the lettuce patch; and suitable hour/work exchange, 20-to-30 hours a week with weekends off.
Though never having farmed before, they quickly adapted to the Keala‘ola lifestyle and found themselves easily catching on to the daily tasks of planting, harvesting and general farm maintenance.
Fellow apprentice Jessica Powers, 25, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, had heard about the lettuce farm from a friend after WWOOFing on various farms from New England to the West Coast.
“I wanted a smaller farm with more hands-on experience and responsibility. I wanted to learn more about farming in different climates,” said Powers, who resumes a leadership role when one of the owners is away, like filling out order forms and figuring out what needs to be done. “This is a great place, great people. I have taken in a whole new experience and learned a lot about building relationships and the importance of communication on a farm.”
For Kotner, who started volunteering on farms in Portland, Oregon, in the early ‘90s with the first wave of organic helpers, the process has come full circle.
“This adds an educational element to farming,” Kotner said. “It’s like going to college for agriculture for a semester, and this farm would not be able to exist without them.”
Up and down the west side of the Big Island, farm workers are gaining insurmountable farming experience while learning about themselves and their personal goals in the process.
On the northern side of the island, in North Kohala, lie a number of organic operations. Kokolulu Farm, owned by Lew Whitney and Karin Whitney Cooke, is a biodynamic farm, Qigong center and cancer recovery retreat center that started its farming intern program six years ago.
“When we started the farm it was suggested to me by a friend,” said Lew Whitney about using the WWOOF program on his permaculture farm. “We needed help and wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. We wanted to offer a more healing, spiritual side (Kokolulu does not allow smoking or drinking) and wanted to help guide people in a direction to find purpose and meaning in their life.”
Having been on the island for 11 years, Whitney grew up working on dairy farms in Southern California and vineyards in the Central Valley, behind the tutelage of his master gardener mother.
On Kokolulu, he incorporates his farming with 17 years of Qigiong experience as a Qigong monk (Qigong is a meditative, healing and spiritual science). Since Qigong is a central focus of the learning experience on the coffee, fruit and vegetables farm, interns partake in a morning Qigong session, learning the Qi field—creating harmony, understanding, peace and healing on the land.
Kokolulu seeks enthusiastic, hard-working people with a good sense of humor who are interested in learning about permaculture design, organic farming and Qigong, according to the online intern application.
Whitney says he receives 200 to 300 inquires a month and roughly 30 to 50 applications a month. He accepts three to four interns at one time for the three-month, 25-hour-a-week work commitment. The workers are instructed on farm work as well as household duties and they enjoy family meals together.
“We are very pleased with the program,” he said. “It’s only as good as the application process; take a good look at people to make sure it’s a good fit. It’s been very beneficial but it takes a lot of work when you bring people into your life. We keep in touch with many of our past interns; many tell us this experience changed their life, they are more confident and more aware of life and healing.” ❖
For more information:
WWOOF program in Hawai‘i visit www.wwoofhawaii.org
Keala‘ola Farm: www.kealaolafarm.com
Kokolulu Farm: www.kokolulu.com, www.cancer-retreats.org
Email Hadley Catalano at hadleycatalano@hotmail.com.
