PeteNotPeat
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Hello and - To WWOOF or not to WWOOF: that is the question!Greetings one and all.
This is my first ever post, on this forum, or on any other as far as I can recall! I'm very happy to be here and am enjoying the wonderful conversations and topics on the site!
I wanted to firstly say hello, but also to ask people's opinion on something. This may not be the best place to post this - if this is the case please let me know where might be more appropriate.
I am 25, overweight, unfit and leading a typical western consumer-capitalist life style. I'm studying a Computing degree part time and have a part time job.
I want out. I have no faith in the current "system", I don't believe it will support me securely in the future, and I long for an outdoor lifestyle, a simpler life, a life which will enrich me every day physically and mentally in a way my current lifestyle simply doesn't, no matter how much money I spend or telly I watch!
My current plan? To give up the job, give up the degree, and go WWOOFing for a year, maybe two, maybe more, learning all the skills I can to equip me for a post industrial life, and gaining back my health and vitality along the way.
The question I'm asking is - is this sensible? What's your opinion?
Some of my friends fully support me. Others, and my family, think I should keep on earning money, at least part time, to pay for the green fingered "hobby".
One day, provided I prove to be a useful, skilled member of society after my years of working on various farming and building projects, I would hope to become part of a post-industrial community on some scale, but I wouldn't have much money to buy into such a lifestyle. Do you think that will be a problem?
Sorry for the long post, thank you for reading it, and any thoughts or opinions would be gratefully received.
Regards,
Pete.
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marigold
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It sounds at least a sensible as carrying on as you are to me  . I suspect that useful skills will be worth more than money in a post-industrial society. As long as you can earn enough money one way or another to support yourself and make some provision for old age and sickness I reckon it's better to do something you enjoy than something you don't.
I don't know whether WWOOFing will give you all the skills you need, but maybe the time out will help you identify where your true path lies. Might be worth acquiring a few practical skills before you "drop out" though.
Welcome to DS...
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Chez
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Welcome! 
Can you put the degree on hold and take a 'year out' to do the woofing and get a taste of things? IT is actually quite a good thing to have as a string to your bow if you are pursuing a downsizing lifestyle - easy to do from home, can do it part-time etc. etc..
There are quite a few people on here who have taken woofers, I think - perhaps you could edit your title to include it and catch their attention?
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Ixy
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yeah sounds totally sensible to me. I've dropped out of three degrees and a well paid city job  there's no point trying to go along wit what everybody else says you should do, you have to do what you want, it's your life and it's not a rehearsal. I don't want the to be any 'if only I'd X's on my deathbed 
You can always go back to the 9to5 if you have to anyway.
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Chez
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| Ixy wrote: | | 'if only I'd X's on my deathbed |
Quite - there's not much I've done that I've regretted, although some of it was very badly thought out - but there's a bit of stuff I *haven't* done that I wish I had.
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PeteNotPeat
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Thanks guys, great advice.
I can put my degree on hold, Chez, yes - I'm studying through the open university and have 8 years to get my degree I think!
I might try adding a poll thingy to help see what people might think. Any opinions I can get can all be added to the pot to help me make a decision!
Thanks for the welcome.
Pete.
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Sally
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It would be worth asking your work place if they would consider giving you a year's unpaid leave. My son (and many of his work mates) were offered this recently. So far he's just taken a few weeks to travel, but he was considering Woofing at one point too.
If it's what you want to do go for it before you have dependents and other commitments tying you down.
There's really only one person that can decide for you though!
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Treacodactyl
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Re: Hello and - To WWOOF or not to WWOOF: that is the questi | PeteNotPeat wrote: | One day, provided I prove to be a useful, skilled member of society after my years of working on various farming and building projects, I would hope to become part of a post-industrial community on some scale, but I wouldn't have much money to buy into such a lifestyle. Do you think that will be a problem?
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Probably depends on when and where you'd like to settle. If it's going to be the UK I think it's going to be quite a few years until a 'post-industrial' age and you'll need money to settle, even as part of a community group. I think it's a matter of balance, by all means learn plenty of new skills but I don't necessarily see that as instead of your current work.
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jema
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I'm in the one thing at a time camp, get the degree and then explore other avenues.
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Slim
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Who says it's just going out and wwoofing or staying where you are in the life you're in? Maybe you can look for shades of grey between the black & white.
I finally finished my degree, 6 years after high school! There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your time and getting out there to see other things
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jocorless
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I would suggest you try it out first to see if you like it first - Go WOOFing for a couple of holidays and then go for it -- if thats really what you want to do
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Frewen Feltmaker
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I would finish the degree first but look to maximise my opportunities for skills aquisition in the meantime.
Then once I had completed my studies I would have hopefully built up some contacts, have some idea about where the next place place to start would be and go for it
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Ginkotree
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Hi there Pete, I am a woof host and at the moment I am getting requests from up to five people a week to come here, there has been so much promotion of woof that as hosts we are spoilt for choice and sadly have to turn folk away. My last woofers had booked me back in the winter and left trying to get other places once they were here and ended up staying here becuase there was no where to move on to (AND because they like it here...they could have gone trekking) I have a woof who has been coming and going for a year..he has left his life abroad to come and woof but has found that he needs to earn money somehow.....not all woof hosts give three full square meals a day and I have heard many horror stories from many of my woofers so it is not always what it is cracked up to be...I need to update my discription of here ,,things change so fast that the details are not always what is written....So going Woofing with a Safety net is advisable.....I am not saying that I have not also heard amazing oppertunities that folk have had and shared, and if I were in a different life situation I would do it, but to put all your eggs into the woof basket would be trusting an awful lot.
If you DO choose to woof then it is like any chat line, how do you tell if the person you are meeting is right for your home, it can be risky for hosts too...so I like to set up a long term communication with people once I have agreed to be thier host so that when we do meet it is like meeting a pen pal..I have stayed in touch with most of my woofers and even have one who uses our home as his anchor now..free to travel but always somewhere to come back to..
Some places ask more of you than others...I think trying it as a break first, meet other woofers and see just how much travelling btween farms would cost etc would be a good idea....to be multi talented in both worlds is going to be important in the future...
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cassy
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Welcome!
I voted to Go For It, as life is too short. But if you wanted to carry on working and studying, there is so much you can do to make your life more self-sufficient, healthier and more satisfying now.
You probably do a lot of these things already and there are a lot of ideas on here but how about -
making your own clothes
brewing your own booze
curing your own meat
foraging
too much more to mention!
If you're are just starting out , choose something that interests you, give it a go and ask on here if you've any questions. I've done a lot of things I would not have tried very easily, due to the help and advice on here.
Good luck and enjoy the journey!
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PeteNotPeat
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Thanks everybody for the wide range of advice, opinions and guidance. It's really given me some food for thought.
I am off wwoofing for a week next week to try it out, after which I'll decide what to do. Whatever happens I think I need to think long and hard about the best way to achieve a balance between earning an income in the short and long term, and gaining the skills I'll need for the potentially tough times ahead.
Thanks again,
Pete.
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resistance is fertile
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Do people always wwoof purely on the land?
Anyone who wants to mix it up a bit and can use autocad and 3-d rendered modelling software can work for their keep weeding, planting and CADjockeying here, anytime
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PeteNotPeat
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| resistance is fertile wrote: | Do people always wwoof purely on the land?
Anyone who wants to mix it up a bit and can use autocad and 3-d rendered modelling software can work for their keep weeding, planting and CADjockeying here, anytime |
That's a brilliant idea! If only I had some CAD knowledge! Is it possible to teach yourself the basics?
Generally wwoofing seems to involve working with plants, woodlands, animals, and eco-building, I've never seen anything technology-related on offer, but I don't see why that shouldn't be the case.
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resistance is fertile
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Where abouts are you headed first?
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Ginkotree
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One of my woofers has more than earnt thier keep with helping me understand the computor a lot better, its a skill worth sharing,or offering as it seems that so much of keeping in touch with the world involves this majic box that beffuddles a lot of people.
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