Let me start by introducing you to WWOOF. If you aren't already aware, WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. The basic purpose of the organization is to provide a win win trade for travelers and farmers. The basic trade is that the traveler gets free room and board, and the farmer gets free labor. Done properly however, Wwoofing is an experience that far exceeds those base requirements. It can provide shared experiences, information, understanding, cultural exchange, friendship and so much more. Each farm, and each traveler are different so the possibilities are endless.
In this blog, I will feature Casa Rosa Farms.
Casa Rosa Farms is a small family farm run by Anthony and Rachel. It is located in Madeira, Ca, about a three hours drive south east of San Francisco, or thirty minutes north of Fresno, Ca. They grow olives for high quality oil, Marcona almonds, and raise grass fed lamb and beef to be sold direct to buyers. They also grow a varied assortment of organic and heirloom vegetables that wwoofers are free to partake in. While I was there, I helped with an impressive spread of food for a dinner party, primarily made of things direct from the farm. Delicious!
The farm was recently features on ABC 30 news. This video sums up the experience at this farm very well, though I stayed in a different room.
Did you hear me mentioned? "And 12 others..."
I was at Casa Rosa from October 7th-17th, 2010. My work on the farm consisted mainly of pruning and tying the young olive trees to stakes so they will be nice and shapely for the harvesting machines. The work was enjoyable, especially with the good company, and even alone, almost meditative. The enjoyment is not to say it was easy! It is hard work and the entire time the mantra in my head was "I'll never complain about the cost of olive oil again. It IS worth the money for each bottle. I'll never complain again. I'll never complain again." That is the biggest lesson I took away from the experience, appreciation of the work that goes into a good product. Realizing you aren't paying for just the bottle and the olives, you are paying for the land, the water, the manual labor, the livelihood of the farmers. Support your local farmers! It's worth every penny!
Outside of the fields I had a considerable amount of down time to read, play music, watch movies and chat with my companions, and wander the fields. Their wonderful dog Rosie kept us entertained and even challenged me to a few races. She beat me every time. I was on my bike.
Rosie! Read the full story after the jump below.
The Lambs
The Farmers: Anthony and Rachel
The Work: Staking up the olive trees
Pruning the olive trees
A pruned olive branch and I
Newly planted Marcona almond tree
The Interviews:
What made you decide to get into farming?
Rachel: For me its mostly that I'm into food, like to cook, and I've always followed the organic movement and have stayed really conscious of it. When I had a big change in my life, Anthony helped me actually do something about it. To become a producer instead of just a consumer. To stop being a consumer and actually create something. So many jobs are service oriented and you aren't creating anything. I felt farming would be something I could be on the creation end for, not just the consumption end.
Anthony: I got sick of metropolitan traffic. I got used to being my own boss before as a contractor, so farming gave me the option of being my own boss again. I grew up doing it. Farming's in your blood. [Anthony's family owned a dairy farm before the dairy industry underwent huge changes. When left with the choice get big or get out, they got out.]
What's something you'd like to express, to people who have little knowledge about our current food system?
Rachel: When you're in the store, recognize that you have choices. Cooking oil is a simple choice. Don't buy corn oil just because it's cheaper. Buy olive oil and grapeseed oil and try to make sure its produced in the US. Depending on where you live, try to buy oil local to your state and that can make a significant difference. There is no reason to export our oil abroad and then import oil for consumers. We need to appreciate what we have locally.
Anthony: Make a point to connect with farmers. Make a point to hang out with farmers, talk to them.
Rachel: Go help out at farmer's markets, maybe they will let you have some produce at the end of the day. Even if you have no money, there are little things you can do.
Anthony: When people use the excuse "there is only so much I can do". No, you eat 2 or 3 times a day. Everybody makes an impact on food. The main point is, make efforts to talk to farmers, meet them, read the mags that sustainable farmers read like Acres, US anything from the Rodale press. The main thing is to understand what farmers go through. It's not romantic and its not profitable, but we still do it.
Tell me about your experience with wwoof.
Anthony: Wwoofing has worked out great. People traveling get to experience from a farmer's point of view, they get to see different view points form different parts of the country. The farmers get to talk to different people because often they live solitary lives. Wwoofing helps with trying to figure out what you can do in the food systems. You get to see people trying to live more simply, trying to grow stuff, even if its just a market garden. By wwoofing you are already part of the solution, whether you are a farm or not.
I also included a fellow wwoofer in on the interview. Meghan and I's stay overlapped and we had a wonderful time learning together. She even let me do a photo shoot with her!
Why did you get into wwoofing?
Meghan: It's probably the best opportunity I've heard of to be able to go and see anywhere you feel like basically. I always find that its surprising how generous and nice people can still be. People put their house up for you, let you in, treat you like they've known you for a lot longer than they do. You get to see a completely different view point from the farmer's point of view. You get to see new towns, new cities. Perspective is important. The more you understand, the more perspectives you have, the less likely you are to generalize things.
The fun: Wandering neighboring fields, taking photos with
the fellow wwoofer: Meghan
Many thanks to Rachel, Anthony and Meghan for allowing me to share your stories!
In this blog, I will feature Casa Rosa Farms.
Casa Rosa Farms is a small family farm run by Anthony and Rachel. It is located in Madeira, Ca, about a three hours drive south east of San Francisco, or thirty minutes north of Fresno, Ca. They grow olives for high quality oil, Marcona almonds, and raise grass fed lamb and beef to be sold direct to buyers. They also grow a varied assortment of organic and heirloom vegetables that wwoofers are free to partake in. While I was there, I helped with an impressive spread of food for a dinner party, primarily made of things direct from the farm. Delicious!
The farm was recently features on ABC 30 news. This video sums up the experience at this farm very well, though I stayed in a different room.
Did you hear me mentioned? "And 12 others..."
I was at Casa Rosa from October 7th-17th, 2010. My work on the farm consisted mainly of pruning and tying the young olive trees to stakes so they will be nice and shapely for the harvesting machines. The work was enjoyable, especially with the good company, and even alone, almost meditative. The enjoyment is not to say it was easy! It is hard work and the entire time the mantra in my head was "I'll never complain about the cost of olive oil again. It IS worth the money for each bottle. I'll never complain again. I'll never complain again." That is the biggest lesson I took away from the experience, appreciation of the work that goes into a good product. Realizing you aren't paying for just the bottle and the olives, you are paying for the land, the water, the manual labor, the livelihood of the farmers. Support your local farmers! It's worth every penny!
Outside of the fields I had a considerable amount of down time to read, play music, watch movies and chat with my companions, and wander the fields. Their wonderful dog Rosie kept us entertained and even challenged me to a few races. She beat me every time. I was on my bike.
Rosie! Read the full story after the jump below.
The Olive Orchard
The Lambs
The Farmers: Anthony and Rachel
The Work: Staking up the olive trees
Pruning the olive trees
A pruned olive branch and I
Newly planted Marcona almond tree
The Interviews:
What made you decide to get into farming?
Rachel: For me its mostly that I'm into food, like to cook, and I've always followed the organic movement and have stayed really conscious of it. When I had a big change in my life, Anthony helped me actually do something about it. To become a producer instead of just a consumer. To stop being a consumer and actually create something. So many jobs are service oriented and you aren't creating anything. I felt farming would be something I could be on the creation end for, not just the consumption end.
Anthony: I got sick of metropolitan traffic. I got used to being my own boss before as a contractor, so farming gave me the option of being my own boss again. I grew up doing it. Farming's in your blood. [Anthony's family owned a dairy farm before the dairy industry underwent huge changes. When left with the choice get big or get out, they got out.]
What's something you'd like to express, to people who have little knowledge about our current food system?
Rachel: When you're in the store, recognize that you have choices. Cooking oil is a simple choice. Don't buy corn oil just because it's cheaper. Buy olive oil and grapeseed oil and try to make sure its produced in the US. Depending on where you live, try to buy oil local to your state and that can make a significant difference. There is no reason to export our oil abroad and then import oil for consumers. We need to appreciate what we have locally.
Anthony: Make a point to connect with farmers. Make a point to hang out with farmers, talk to them.
Rachel: Go help out at farmer's markets, maybe they will let you have some produce at the end of the day. Even if you have no money, there are little things you can do.
Anthony: When people use the excuse "there is only so much I can do". No, you eat 2 or 3 times a day. Everybody makes an impact on food. The main point is, make efforts to talk to farmers, meet them, read the mags that sustainable farmers read like Acres, US anything from the Rodale press. The main thing is to understand what farmers go through. It's not romantic and its not profitable, but we still do it.
Tell me about your experience with wwoof.
Anthony: Wwoofing has worked out great. People traveling get to experience from a farmer's point of view, they get to see different view points form different parts of the country. The farmers get to talk to different people because often they live solitary lives. Wwoofing helps with trying to figure out what you can do in the food systems. You get to see people trying to live more simply, trying to grow stuff, even if its just a market garden. By wwoofing you are already part of the solution, whether you are a farm or not.
I also included a fellow wwoofer in on the interview. Meghan and I's stay overlapped and we had a wonderful time learning together. She even let me do a photo shoot with her!
Why did you get into wwoofing?
Meghan: It's probably the best opportunity I've heard of to be able to go and see anywhere you feel like basically. I always find that its surprising how generous and nice people can still be. People put their house up for you, let you in, treat you like they've known you for a lot longer than they do. You get to see a completely different view point from the farmer's point of view. You get to see new towns, new cities. Perspective is important. The more you understand, the more perspectives you have, the less likely you are to generalize things.
The fun: Wandering neighboring fields, taking photos with
the fellow wwoofer: Meghan
Many thanks to Rachel, Anthony and Meghan for allowing me to share your stories!
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