By Vida Chapman
Quite a coincidence that Mike, the editor of the Lammas edition of the newsletter, should ask me to write an article while I was hosting my 200th WWOOFer! I wrote an article for my 100th WWOOFer in 2017.
The Old Smiddy is a 4 acre organic non-commercial smallholding with a large garden, heritage variety apple, plum and pear orchard, trees managed for wood for the log burner, a wildlife pond, ducks and hens. Pippa, the black Labrador, (who regards WWOOFers as wonderful frisbee and ball throwers) Jezabel (Jez) and Boadicea (Bo) my 2 black cats are all very welcoming. The traditional Scottish cottage is located in lovely open countryside 10 miles north of Perth.
For the last 48 years I have tried to live organically and sustainably and be as self sufficient as possible. WWOOFers initially came to experience the ‘good life’ and learn how to grow organically. Now I am trying to encourage WWOOFers to live more sustainably and make changes in their lifestyles and take into consideration environmental problems, climate change and the cost of living crisis…. It is quite possible to live on 2 showers-a-week taken in sunny spells when the solar panels are generating electricity, to wear work clothes for more than one day to minimise use of the washing machine and use bars of soap and shampoo bars instead of endless plastic bottles. They also come for fun and enjoyment and to discover the surrounding area on days off and trips out.
The last 12 years have been amazing and I feel very humbled and privileged to have hosted such wonderful people of all ages from all over the world. It is a joy to have such lovely people sitting round my kitchen table chatting and sharing their lives, their experiences, their travels, their hopes and their dreams. Many have kept in touch and are now married with children and interesting careers.
Some WWOOFers come during gap years, some are on long term WWOOF travelling trips, others come to recuperate after illness, or to heal their lives after personal problems. Some come on holiday and are genuinely interested in learning more about WWOOFing. Today others come to re-evaluate their lifestyles and experience living more sustainably.
Increasingly I feel that others are on holiday looking for free accommodation between their AirBnB bookings. Most are really looking for more free time to go hiking or to read or do their own thing. However most do work well and I guess if their visit helps them to learn more about WWOOF values then their visit has been worthwhile. However visits of less than 2 weeks are not very efficient and I can easily lose a workday morning or afternoon transporting WWOOFers 20 miles to and from bus and train stations. I try to encourage WWOOFers to arrive and leave on the same days and to arrive in Perth after 5.30.
WWOOFers are a great help with tasks on the property. Most are very willing and will always try to do jobs to the best of their ability. I try and keep the tasks as varied as possible. However social interaction is equally important both to me, Neil my long term lodger and my friends who meet the WWOOFers at open house coffee on Sundays. Time for conversation is very important especially for WWOOFers wishing to improve their language skills and experience conversations with friends with varied Scottish and English accents and dialects.
As both WWOOFers arrived independently on the same day – Zoe from France and Elliott from North Carolina, USA (both in their early 20’s) – I decided they could be joint 200th WWOOFers!!
Elliott arrived nurturing his little jar of sourdough starter which he had acquired from a former WWOOF host. He was enthusiastic about feeding it and using it very successfully to make bread, pancakes and a very delicious sourdough banana bread. Elliott was new to WWOOFing and was keen to learn and then go home and develop a veg patch and a more sustainable lifestyle. He was new to longer term travelling and keen to learn independent travel tips and how to travel worldwide on hand luggage and not with an enormous rucksack!
Zoe had just completed a degree in biology and she was very interested in landscape, habitats and wildlife. She thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Loch of the Lowes near Dunkeld and her walks by the River Tay. She is an excellent, and quick, weeder and the veg patch and patio looked much improved. She had WWOOFed before in France and was keen to take advantage of WWOOFing opportunities for travelling worldwide as well as trying to live more sustainably.
They were both amazing WWOOFers – hard working, willing, kind, caring and respectful. Their jobs were varied as you can see in the photographs.
I try to pass on my wisdom and I’m sometimes accused of being too prescriptive about how to do some tasks. My Yorkshire accent can sound a bit forceful! However, this is intended as advice which is based usually on my trial and error experiences of doing certain tasks over the years. It’s intended to prevent WWOOFers from experiencing the problems and the pitfalls which I experienced! I also do try to listen to their ideas and I also learn a lot from their visits.
WWOOFIng can be a life changing experience. I try to make the point that life is like a garden. In the garden all the flowers never come out all together and stay that way. Likewise in life, you never get there and live happily ever after.… We are led to believe that once you have got your degree, your good job with prospects, promotion and a pension, your husband or wife, your posh house and car, your children, expensive holidays…. then you will be happy. However, life is not like that, we all experience ups and downs. What WWOOfers need to realise is that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination. And like everyday in a garden you can experience something beautiful – a little flower, birdsong, a butterfly, a wonderful scent – in life everyday you can be mindful and find and appreciate something beautiful or wonderful. I hope my WWOOFers leave with the message not to strive endlessly hoping to achieve everything, but to make sure they are mindful and don’t miss out on all the wonderful things on the way!
We’d like to give a big thank to Vida for this article and for giving us the opportunity to celebrate this truly momentous occasion of the 200th WWOOFer at The Old Smiddy with the WWOOF UK community.
Find out more about The Old Smiddy and the WWOOFing opportunities here.
Photos by Vida Chapman
Disclaimer: It should be noted that hosts receive guests solely as part of an immersive learning experience, in line with WWOOF UK’s educational charitable aims. Visitors participate in the host’s lifestyle, in order to learn. There is no formalised or contractual agreement and the residential visitors (WWOOFers) are free to come and go at will, so are not considered workers. WWOOFers are absolutely not a substitute for paid labour. Any mention of the words ‘work’ or ‘exchange’ in reviews, articles and other content created by our membership is language chosen by the author and not sanctioned by WWOOF.
