As I browse through the online profiles of wwoofers, it seems that in
the vast majority of cases it’s the persons’ first trip to New Zealand
and also their first experience wwoofing.  My situation is somewhat
different, as I made my first visit to NZ 25 years ago, and have been
coming back about once a year ever since.  I first joined wwoof in 1991,
and have been involved with the program on and off since that time.
Some things have changed a lot since then, and some hardly at all.  The
New Zealand countryside seems to have a timeless quality about it.  The
grass and trees and sheep look about the same. However, the issues which
concern the environmental movement have changed over the years.  In the
early days, the primary concern seemed to be the effects of synthetic
herbicides and pesticides on people and the environment.  Now, in                                       addition to those issues; genetic modification, global warming, peak
oil, and sustainability issues have joined the mix.  The Transition
Towns movement is a good example of the latter.

Within wwoof, the major change has been in communications technology.
In 1991, the internet and e-mail were academic curiosities, and
overseas phone calls cost a fortune.  Wwoof revolved around the
printed book. You ordered the book, and then sent letters by snail
mail to line up an initial host.  Once in-country, the telephone was
the only way to make contact.  Printed listings in the book could                                           become out of date quickly.  Now, with the wwoof website and e-mail,
everything has changed.   Not only can hosts provide  more                                                 information about themselves, including photos, but prospective
wwoofers get to post their profiles as well. The wwoof website
continues to evolve, with new features being added all the time. With
much more current information available, as well as faster and
cheaper communication, easier and (hopefully) more compatible
placements can be achieved.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that wwoof continues to be just as
much about people as about agriculture. My interest has always been
more in the social aspects of wwoofing, and the majority of my
wwoofing experience has been at various intentional communities and
group living situations which utilize the wwoof program.  At one
community north of Auckland, my job was to operate the wwoofer program
for several 3 month periods, so I’ve had the opportunity to
participate in the program from both perspectives, host as well as
wwoofer.  This was a large community, and we had an average of 4 or 5
wwoofers there at a time, with an all-time high of 10 over one
Christmas period!

The wwoof website is sort of like an on-line dating service, where
prospective wwoofers and hosts try to determine how well they will get
along, living and working together.  No matter how much information is
on the website or how much communication takes place, that first face
to face meeting will always be something of an adventure!  Sometimes
the chemistry is right, and sometimes it isn’t.  I’ve always felt that
the experience of meeting and getting to know new people and their
viewpoints is as valuable an aspect of the program as is learning
organic farming techniques.
Have fun wwoofing!
Chuck Hart