Discovering Australian farm life and culture through the eyes of a Taiwanese WWOOFer.
Work in exchange for free accommodation, or work exchange, has become extremely popular in Taiwan in recent years. The largest organization is WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, a worldwide movement founded in England in 1971 linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers who provide accommodation and food in exchange for their labor to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchange. Volunteers, or WWOOFers, are required to work an average of 4 to 6 hours per day by helping out on their host farm. WWOOFing is a way to experience rural life, become closer to nature, learn about the natural environment through farming, and, more importantly, the advantages of organic foods. Discover a green lifestyle from WWOOFing!
What exactly is the connection between food and life? A 20-something-year-old WWOOFer working in the catering and hospitality industry observed the rural culture and lifestyle in Australia and the local market’s perspectives towards food. So, take a seat, fasten your seatbelt, and let us discover the green new food movement of Australians through the eyes of a Taiwanese girl WWOOFing her way around Australia!
Photo /// / Forest Walks Lodge and forest trails surrounded by the Great Western Tiers.
Sunshine, Air, and Water: Mark & Pam—2 Dams Organic Farm
In a small town located 210 km away from Perth, the capital of Western Australia, known for its abundant produce of apples, local residents have the luxury to enjoy sweet tasting crops due to its tropical savanna climate and distinct wet and dry seasons; however, long periods of dryness could result in water shortage. The dry and hot seasons are a challenge WWOOFers around the world have to overcome.
Mark and Pam are a married couple. Mark is in charge of their farm at home while Pam works elsewhere; however, it’s not easy taking care of it all alone. So it’s a good thing that there are WWOOFers from all over the world who are willing to help him with weeding, transplanting, fertilizing, and harvesting. Mark uses organic fertilizers only and no pesticides. After harvesting, most of the crops are sorted to a local distribution center for agricultural products, and the rest are delivered to weekend farmers’markets, where Mark would share experiences with other farmers and chat about things in life.
Photo /// Bred free range cows and pigs
As a WWOOFer working on an organic farm, she began to truly understand the meaning of “farm-totable.” Due to the farm’s no pesticides method, weeds can only be removed from the root by hand and they could happily enjoy juicy, creamy corn while harvesting. “The fresh, sweet taste of raw corn is truly amazing. It satisfied my taste buds and gave me a wonderful feeling of joy I’ve never experienced,” she recalled. “Muy rico!” she exclaimed, using the Spanish word for “tasteful and delicious” to describe how wonderful it felt to savor authentic fresh food. No wonder there are so many words to describe good food in different countries!
You can only truly appreciate sunshine, air, and water after you’ve experienced life on a farm. Pam is especially picky when it comes to water usage. For example, two lakes serve as the water source for drinking and bathing. What’s more, Asian girls are often reminded of the time limit for showering: five minutes! So, WWOOFers would often joke that they are probably cleaner before taking a bath! However, after a while, they realized that it’s the little things in life that makes you truly appreciate and cherish your surrounding resources.
Photo /// (Great Western Tiers) UNESCO listed World Heritage forests and the Great Western Tiers in northern Tasmania
Green Living: Rosemary & Sean— Eco B&B Forest Walks Lodge
Surrounded by UNESCO listed World Heritage forests, Jackeys Marsh is a valley nestled beneath the Great Western Tiers in northern Tasmania. With a temperate oceanic climate, the valley features hot summers and cold and rainy winters and could even bring snow in the mountain areas. The landscapes of Jackeys Marsh are reminiscent of the 19th century, unspoilt by modern technology or extensive agriculture. Jackeys Marsh is a must-visit place to savor the view of Tasmania’s natural environment.
Before becoming owners of the Forest Walks Lodge, Rosemary and Sean were working as civil servants in Canberra. They gave up their highpaying jobs, packed up their bags and moved to Tasmania, a natural state located 240 km to the southeast 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 Cover Story of the Australian mainland, to pursue a simple, primitive lifestyle. In order to achieve their dream of building a green French country style house, the married couple spent their entire fortune and could not afford adequate housing. Fortunately, everything they went through was worth it in the end as they eventually got their dream lodge and could finally welcome visitors, Rosemary is in charge of the marketing and promotion of Forest Walks Lodge while Sean, with a passion for cooking, creates delicious dishes from local ingredients. Forest Walks Lodge gives guests a glimpse of breathtaking mountain scenery of the Great Western Tiers while also offering a range of guided walks along picturesque walking trials. The biodiversity of the forests of the Great Western Tiers is rich and varied. Guides will lead guests into the forests on a journey of discovery, showing them the wonders of nature. Sean’s low-carbon dishes are made from a variety of local ingredients including self-grown vanilla and lettuce, meat and milk from neighbor Tom’s sheep and pigs, and wine from a little château nearby. At the eco lodge, you can enjoy delicious meals cooked in a wood-fired oven. You can’t get any more ecofriendly than that!
Photo /// WWOOFers from Taiwan, Japan, China, Germany, and France gathering together
Forest Walks Lodge is green from the inside out. From installing solar panels to generate electricity and heat water, using sustainable recycled building materials, and more recently installing water turbines to generate electric power by converting the energy of moving stream water, to irrigating their vegetable garden with wastewater, each and every innovative energy saving methods you can imagine can be found in this eco lodge. The Biolytix BioPod sewage treatment system has aerators that pump oxygen into the wastewater to decompose and convert the solid organic matter of the waste into humus, which further oxygenates and cleanses the wastewater as it trickles through. So, the little vegetable garden of the lodge doesn’t need special technology or treatment, all it needs is to slowly absorb wastewater to stay healthy! This is what Rosemary and Sean tell friends and visitors when introducing their eco-friendly measures to reduce carbon footprint.
Photo /// Chives and radishes irrigated with wastewater using the Biolytix sewage treatment system.
Rosemary and Sean not only live a greener lifestyle, but also strive to influence more people by holding the biannual Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival in the picturesque valley, featuring music, arts, entertainment, picnics set against the magnificent backdrop of Mother Nature.
Their island, their story
By WWOOFing, a Taiwanese girl discovered a different green lifestyle in Australia and how naturally local people coexist with nature. Perhaps it’s how they’ve been educated, perhaps it’s the environment they live in, or perhaps it’s their unique Australian lifestyle, local people coexist with nature as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Once an Australian friend proudly told her that almost all native animal species are protected in Australia. This type of lifestyle and attitude of coexisting with nature is something people from Taiwan, which is also a country blessed with natural resources, should look up to.
- For more information on working holiday jobs on farms, please visit WWOOF at www.wwoof.net
- For more information on Forest Walks Lodge, please visit: www.forestwalkslodge.com
- WWOOF：World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
- Bed and breakfast (B&B) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and inclusive breakfast. Typically, bed and breakfasts are private homes offering accommodations to passerby, drivers, or backpackers. This term and practice originated in Britain and has become widespread in other western countries such as the United States.
