For the first time ever, I went winter WWOOFing and no surprise, I planned the trip about a week before it happened.
And before you judge my planning skills, might I add that it was a very spontaneous trip (honestly maybe a little too spontaneous). One could even say a very poorly thought out trip, but I was committed. I needed a break from Southern California and yes, maybe I had been watching too much Virgin River and wanted to live out my small town, Northern California winter moment.
Anyways, there I was, driving up to Northern California and fulfilling my half-baked plan, not fully realizing what I was getting myself into. I also crashed my car into a pole on the way, so I’ve banned myself from night-driving on the freeway when it’s pouring.
As I mentioned previously, this was the first time that I tried out winter WWOOFing and the contrast between volunteering in the summer versus the winter was like night and day, so I wanted to compare the two seasons and list out what you should consider beforehand in order to be more prepared than I was (because looking back on it, the way that I packed was just…so bad).
Things to think about before you go winter WWOOFing:
Weather
It sounds so obvious, but I kid you not I really didn’t think about how cold it would be. One of the most important (and overarching) factors you have to think about is where you’re going and how long you’re going to be staying in said location in regards to the weather. Farming in Southern California or Arizona is going to be a much different experience than farming in Wisconsin in the middle of a snow storm.
Not like you would be outside during a snowstorm, but you get my point.
If you go somewhere that is historically cold in the winter time, expect that you might be miserable if you aren’t used to being outside in that weather. I also have red hair and my consensus is that redheads have really poor cold tolerance, but there were also non-redheads there who were struggling with the cold, so I don’t think that it was just a me problem. It ended up raining for 50% of my trip and so my fingers were raw by the time that I finished my tasks for the day because the majority of them were outside (when I wasn’t outside though there was a 99% chance that you could find me melting the skin off my back from sitting directly in front of a space heater).
Work
Where you are working – outside or inside – is going to have a massive impact on how you tolerate winter WWOOFing. A lot of farms are actually closed during the winter because there typically can be little physical farming to do, however, the ones that are open usually vary widely between what tasks you can expect.
If the weather is going to be a problem for you, finding a farm where you can work indoors is imperative. On the WWOOF website, you can filter activities to search for a farm that specializes in things like canning/preserving fruits and veggies, baking, arts and crafts, and cheese/yogurt/juice making to name a few. Baking pies all day would literally be a dream come true, but alas I have yet to find that farm.
I would highly highly HIGHLY recommend asking your hosts about the volunteering activities that you’ll be doing during your stay. If there’s an option to milk goats in the barn or become the master of the kitchen and have full reign over all of the baking projects or [insert fun indoor activity that you see listed and would love to do] so that you can enjoy your trip while learning something new, you’re going to be much happier, just trust me on this. If your hosts don’t give you a very clear answer, there is a good chance that organization has not been on this farm’s radar or they don’t really know what WWOOFing is to begin with, and yeah at this point it might be in your best interest to choose a new farm.
If you don’t mind working outside in the cold, come prepared with the right clothes (that you don’t mind getting dirty). I would often layer the sweat pants on top of leggings and wear 3 long sleeves with a coat on top so I wouldn’t die of frostbite.
Room Accommodations
I ended up staying in this really cute cabin with a full size bed and a space heater, so I would say that I lucked out with the room accommodations at this farm.
Winter volunteering is really not the time that you want to be hosted in a tent, camper, or RV (unless you’re really into the idea of feeling like you’re camping?) because you will be cold (most likely guaranteed) and there is little protection from the elements in a tent. I mean, I don’t really want to be in a tent when it starts to rain…
Bathroom/Showers
I should’ve asked about the bathroom conditions and I didn’t so that was on me. The bathroom facilities at this farm were in a mobile trailer, kind of like what you would see at a graduation or large event or something. They came equipped with a toilet, sink, and shower, and actually were quite decent except that since they weren’t in a house or cabin with heating, they were pretty cold. I dreaded taking showers because I knew that there would be 10 minutes where I would feel icicles forming on my skin (okay, I’m being dramatic).
I’ve seen farms where the hosts have constructed an outdoor shower/outdoor bathrooms or where the volunteers use portable bathrooms. I honestly have found little issues with these in the summer, but during the wintertime, the drop in temperatures could make that situation very uncomfortable.
Food
The food at this farm was so stellar that I wanted to sleep in that pantry, just surrounded by potatoes.
While it’s customary for the hosts to feed you in some capacity (typically I would say three meals a day or the food to make three meals a day) this can widely vary from host to host as there are no specific requirements and really no one to hold them accountable even if there were.
Keep in mind that if you’re responsible for getting your own food (hopefully with reimbursement), that could entail traveling to a grocery store, which would be kind of difficult to do without your own transportation (the case for many volunteers who are traveling longer distances).
Also, if you’re expected to cook for yourself, you might want to check where the kitchen is located. Some hosts will have outdoor kitchens for the volunteers so that they can cook for themselves, which is what I experienced at Moon Valley. I really liked the outdoor kitchen – if anything it elevated the glamping while still feeling connected to nature – but cooking in the wintertime in an outdoor kitchen would be a no from me.
Things to Do for Fun
There can be a lot of cool things to do in the area during winter, but also hosts typically don’t make different profiles to switch out between the cold versus the warm months, so you need to think realistically about the activity options while you’re at the farm. Even though water tubing and going to the beach are listed as things to do in your down time, is that actually possible when it’s 20 degrees outside? Do you really want to go on a hike when there’s snow on the ground and it gets dark at 4 pm? Something to think about.
Chances are, you’re going to be spending more time indoors than you normally would on these kinds of trips in the summer. It’s a good idea to choose a place that has fun outdoor activities or hosts that have great indoor activities (have I already mentioned taking over the kitchen and starting your own bakery?). Your hosts aren’t responsible for entertaining you, but you need to entertain yourself somehow.
Travel Buddies
If there’s a time to bring a travel buddy on one of these trips, winter is the time to do it. There are just more hurdles that you have to get over and less opportunities for meeting new potential friends, so it’s good if you come prepared by bringing one already instead of showing up alone and potentially spending a lot of time alone.
Like, who’s going to console you when you crash your car into a pole during a storm on the way to said farm? Who’s going to call an ambulance and help you apply pressure to a bloody wound when your fingers fall off from frostbite because it’s freezing outside and you didn’t bring gloves? Who’s going to drag your limp body back to camp when you run into a bear who you accidentally awoke from hibernation? These are all viable questions you have to ask yourself.
Luckily there were these two German women who kind of felt like my two home-away-from-home moms and they really made the trip so much more entertaining. Ironically, this was the only WWOOFing trip I’ve been on where there were other volunteers with me for the majority of my stay.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve never been WWOOFing before, winter probably isn’t the time to start.
However, if you think that this sounds fun, don’t be afraid to get specific and ask loads of questions to your potential new hosts. The longer your intended stay is, the more important this step is going to be. Also, reaching out to past volunteers through the website can also help prepare you more specifically for the farm you will be visiting and really isn’t a bad idea.
Anyways, happy WWOOFing.
