Organic Farm Hosts and Volunteer Helpers in 60 Countries Around the World

Sign Up as a Host or Volunteer Helper with WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms)

 

 

In 60 countries around the world, the international WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and its national affiliates match organic growers with volunteer helpers eager to experience what organic farming and organic living is all about.

 

Hosts

 

 

Hosts may have a farm, smallholding, garden, allotment, vineyard, or woodland and follow sustainability principles--perhaps biodynamics or permaculture.

 

Hosts may make a living off their land, may be homesteaders interested in self-sufficiency.  They may be families, individuals, cooperatives, communities, or eco-villages.

 

Volunteers

 

 

As a volunteer (18 years or older), you usually live with your host and join in with the day's activities.  No money exchanges hands--you work 4- to 6 hours in exchange for food and lodging.  Activities you might help with are:

• Sowing seed
• Making compost
• Weeding
• Cutting wood
• Harvesting
• Packing
• Milking
• Feeding
• Wine making
• Cheese making
• Bread making

 

How long you stay at a farm is negotiated between you and your host.  Most visits last one to two weeks;  however, visits might be as short as two or three days or as long as six months.

 

What Counties?

 

 

Choose from among organic farms in these areas:

 

• Africa (8 countries)
• The Americas (13 countries)*
• Asia-Pacific (13 countries) 
• Europe (26 counties)



________________

*  WWOOF-USA (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA) offers 1,754 host farms.

 

Spread the word!

 

Many young people

 

Long for these opportunities!

 

 

*   *   *



Preserving Land for Organic Farming in Perpetuity

The Yggdrasil Land Foundation

 

 

The Yggdrasil Land Foundation is a non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California, dedicated to preserving biodynamic and organic farmland.  Yggdrasil works with landowners who desire to sell or donate their property to offer long-term farming opportunities to families and community groups.

 

Today, Yggdrasil, incorporated in 2000 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization,  owns over 400 acres, managed by organic and biodynamic farmers in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and California.

 

Preserving Farmland for the Future

 

Yggdrasil works to counteract the trend of prime agricultural land being converted to commercial development.  From the early 1980s to the late 1990s, this conversion rate increased by 51%.  As of 2007, the U.S. was losing 1.2 million acres every year.

 

Details Provided

 

The Yggdrasil website describes in detail the legal and commercial details a seller or donor may encounter.  For example:

 

Yggdrasil aims to preserve farmland through acquisition and donation of land and easement as well as provide educational resources and workshops on preservation methods.

 

Yggdrasil utilizes diverse Preservation Methods to protect sustainable agricultural lands.  If you are interested in having Yggdrasil own and steward your land in perpetuity you can choose to sell outright or donate, and we will locate a long-term farm steward to care for the land. 

 

 If you would like to keep the land in private ownership, but preserve its conservation values you can choose to sell or donate a conservation easement.  Funding for purchasing or conservation easements must be cultivated and raised to provide fair market value compensation.  Landowners can assist this process by making outright or partial donations of land or conservation easements.

 

 

May this model lead the way

 

 

toward land preservation

 

 

for organic farming

 

 

throughout the nation!

 

 

 

*   *   *







Huge Growth Predicted for Organic Products

Swiss Bank UBS and Goldman Sachs Pleased

 

 

UBS, the Swiss bank that manages the world's largest private wealth assets ($2.2 trillion) predicts that natural and organic product sales could increase 10 percent a year during the next decade.

 

Noting that the U.S. market is still in the early stages of adoption to truly natural and organic products, the analysts stated:

 

We are still at the beginning stages of mass-market adoption.



 

 A Boost for U.S. Major Organic Food Retailers

 

 

Analysts from both UBS and U.S.-based Goldman Sachs are pleased to see Sprouts Farmers Markets heading toward as much as a 12 percent growth over the coming 15 years. 

 

Whole Foods and Trader's Joe, like Sprouts, are seen as top performers in the natural foods market.

 

Health Enthusiast Gloats

 

 

Nick Meyer of  Alt Health Works gleefully states:

 

 

Organic Food Market Growing Globally Despite Government  GMO Push

 

While it may be easy to get discouraged at news of Monsanto loopholes, government collusion, new genetically modified organisms (crops), and chemical companies' political influence, these new predictions combined with recent global trends are extremely encouraging.

 

The message is loud and clear:

 

 

Hang in there:

 

because

 

things really are changing.

 

 

      *   *   *

 

Consult:  http://humansarefree.com/2013/10/analysts-predict-huge-growth-for.html

Engage Young People in the U.S. to Get GMO-corrupted Food Labeled!

Max Goldberg Has it Right!

Max Goldberg of LivingMaxWell, Your Guide to Organic Food & Drink (LivingMaxWell) has it right.  He says:

 

If we want GMO-labeling to happen in the U.S.  young people must be engaged

AND empowered.

 

Real Food Challenge

 

Goldberg cites Real Food Challenge (Real Food Challenge) to show what youth can do.  The organization states:

 

The Real Food Challenge  leverages the power of youth and universities

 to create a healthy, fair, and green food system.

 

The organization aims:

 

To shift $1 billion of existing university food budgets away from industrial farms and junk food and towards local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources--what we call "real food"--by 2020.

 

A New Partnership Needed

 

 

Goldberg calls on the leading organic food companies and non-profits to partner with Real Food Challenge and say:

 

Let us tell you what is really going on with GMO-labeling in this country and why young people MUST be an important part of this process.  We don't know how to effectively reach your demographic and we don't understand social media like you do, but we do have financial resources that you don't have. 

 

 

We are going to give you some of our money, so that you can help our country have a future of food that looks promising.  After all, you have the most stake here since you are the future.

 

Tell us what we should be doing

and please lead the way.

 

 

 

And to his organic food industry friends, Goldberg concludes:

 

 

All they need now is for our industry

 

to offer them

 

a seat at the table.

 

 

*   *   *

 

 

Canada's Organic Food Market Now Fourth Largest in the World!

 Worth C$3.5 Billion Annually

 

 

A new study by the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) reports that the market for organics reached C$3.5 billion in 2012, making it the fastest growing agri-food sector in Canada.

 

 

Sales of certified organic food and non-alcoholic beverages totaled C$3 billion--triple the market's value in 2006.

 

 

Where and How Canadian Consumers Buy Organics

 

The study discovered a diverse purchasing base for organics among Canadian consumers:

 

• More than half of Canadians buy organic products weekly

 

• Except for British Columbia, where 66% of Canadian consumers shop weekly for organics.

 

First Comprehensive Market Analysis

 

Canada's Organic Market Growth, Trends and Opportunities,  is the most comprehensive study to date of the country's organic marketplace.  COTA reports that the study contains the first data on Canada's organic market since the federal government began regulating the sector in 2009.

 

Consult: http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/food/news/canada%E2%80%99s-organic-market

 

May the rest of the world

 

Catch up with

 

Or Surpass Canada!

 

 

*   *   *

Create an Organic Beer to Celebrate an Anniversary!

Eco-conscious Patagonia Brews a Malty Beverage

 to Celebrates Its 40 Years

 

 

The well-known, outdoor clothing manufacturer, Patagonia, has joined New Belgium Brewing to mark its 40th year in business with suds described as brewed with organic ingredients.

 

Intriguing Taste

 

California-based Patagonia boasts that its beer brewed in the "California Common" tradition  and named California Route, is a California lager.  Here is the company's artful description:

 

Boasting California lager yeast with subtle  fruity esters and a refreshing light lager finish, California Route organic lager is canned for adventure [In other words, you can take your cans of organic beer with you on  outdoor trips, as you wear your esteemed Patagonia outerwear!].

 

The beer has an aromatic blast of citrusy hops and a heavy dose of noble hallertau. 

 

The addition of organic Munich specialty malt builds complexity with hints of freshly baked bread.  Consistent with Patagonia's long-standing commitment to organics, the beer is brewed with certified organic ingredients.

 

Where Can You Drink Up!

 

Patagonia says that California Route, 5.5% ABV, and sold in 12-ounce cans, will be sold in

 

• Seattle
• Portland
• Chicago
• Boulder
• Denver
• Boston
• New York City
• San Francisco
• Palo Alto
• Cardiff-by-the Sea
• Ventura

Consult: http://huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/patagonia-beer_n_4275804.html

 

 

Cheers to Patagonia!

 

May Organic Beer

 

Have a New, Thriving Day!

 

 

*   *   *

 

 





Organic Food Has Only One Truly GLOBAL Organization!

Demeter International--The Preeminent Organic Certifier

 

 

Demeter International, the organization that certifies the biodynamic agricultural method, oversees  a certification program established in Germany in 1928--the first ecological label for organically produced food!  Today, Demeter has some 4,500 members, 1,400 of them in Germany.

 

Difficult to Earn

 

The Demeter certification, the oldest, traditional organic certification in Europe, regarded as the highest grade of organic farming in the world, is hard to come by and must be renewed annually.

 

Demeter Standards

 

In over 50 countries, Demeter verifies that biodynamic produce meets its standards in production and processing.  These Standards include:

 

• Biodiversity
• Ecosystem preservation
• Soil husbandry
• Livestock integration
• Prohibition of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs)
• Viewing the farm as a living "holistic organism"

 

Economic Rewards to Farmers

 

Because organic food consumers value the high quality of produce bearing the "Demeter" label, biodynamically certified farmers earn an average of 10-30% more for their produce. 

 

 

Brief History

 

Demeter grew out of a cooperative for processing biodynamical agricultural products in Berlin, Germany in 1927.  The Demeter trademark was registered in 1928.  

 

In 1941, however, the Nazi government dissolved the Union for biodynamic agriculture; but, the Union was reestablished in Germany after World War II ended.

 

In 1997, 19 independent Demeter organizations, representing all continents, united to form Demeter International.

 

Consult: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter_Internationalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter_International

and http://www.demeter.net 

 

May Demeter and Biodynamic Agriculture

Continue to Thrive

and Transform the

World of Organic Food!

 

*   *   *

Uniting the Organic Food World

A Service to Connect All

 

 

Organic food lovers are scattered throughout the land, throughout the world.  Here and there, some come together to fight local and global forces that ignorantly or greedily corrupt the earth's soil and the health of all of us. 

 

The anti-organic forces--some would say, diabolical--devastate the earth with their agricultural practices and seemingly sound food products.

 

Coming Together in Practical Ways

 

 

No doubt the fight against anti-organic forces will go on.  But, wouldn't it in the long run be more beneficial if the demand for truly organic food so overwhelms the economic system, that it's power triumphs over the anti-organic elements throughout the world?

 

Can That Happen?



The service that I and my partners propose aims to make that possible, to strengthen the organic food movement by connecting all its players in extremely, down-to-earth, practical ways. 

 

Who then are these players?  There are more of them than you might think:

 

• Organic farmers
• Organic food retailers
• Organic food processors
• Organic food wholesalers
• Organic food consumers
• Organic food restaurants
• Organic food meal preparers (in hospitals, retirement centers, and in company and school cafeterias

Our Organic Food Connection Service

 

 

With real-time communication via smartphones, tablets, and computers, we'll enable all of the players in the organic food world--no matter how local, nor how far away--to connect as never before, but only to those who matter to them, and only on specific organic food topics that at the moment are of interest to them.

 

We'll let participants tell their fellow organic food lovers--whether buyers or sellers--what they prefer:

 

• Organic food locally grown
• Organic food meeting kosher standards
• Organic food meeting halal standards
• Organic food meeting biodynamic standards 

 

We'll Even be More Specific

 

 

Consumers--and those who supply them--may choose their favorite categories of organic food:

 

• Meat, Seafood, Baked Goods, Vegetables, Fruit, Grains and Flours
• Milk, Cheese, Butter, Eggs, Yogurt, Spices, Jams and Jellies
• Nuts, Desserts, Wine, Beer, Oils and Salad Dressings

 

Still More!

 

 

Within a topic such as Baked Goods,  organic food buyers and sellers can specify:

 

• Organic rye
• Organic whole wheat
• Organic raison
• Organic pita, etc.

 

We Aim to Change Your Organic Food World!





 

We aim to transform your world (and mine) of organic food via real-time communication, to satisfy your needs more effectively--whether as a buyer or seller:

 

 

Just reach for your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

 

Make a few selections  and then,

 

Press GO!

 

 

*   *   *