This past summer I decided I wanted to get out of town for a little and try something different. I had spent my previous summer working at a 'Mom and Pop' outdoor store in my hometown and figured I'd be doing the same thing this summer.
So, I decided to try something I'd been wanting to do for awhile. I went wwoofing.
Wwoofing, which stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, allows people without farming experience to go to any part of the country, or world, and learn something new. In exchange for work, wwoofers are provided with room and board. I had done short stints of day-wwoofing in Ashland and outside of Portland, but I'd always done it with friends and never actually lived on the farm I worked at.
I wanted to go off an adventure. An adventure where I'd learn new skills and learn things about myself. Part of this whole journey was the fact that I would mostly be spending time with myself; something I hadn't really had time to do during the school year.
So I headed off to Whidbey Island to work at the Lavender Wind Farm, not knowing what to expect.
The farm itself was incredible. Sarah, the owner, had two little shops. One was at the actual farm and one was only a few miles away in a town called Coupville. Since the island was so touristy, many people stopped to see the lavender fields. Luckily for me, I came right as the fields turned deep purple right before harvest.
The group of people working at LWF invited me into their crew immediately and were helpful at every turn. From talking about life in the greenhouse to laughing over snails having sex in the fields, I was constantly enjoying my time with people I barely knew.
There's something about physical labor that feels extra rewarding. This was definitely the case working on the lavender farm. From taking cuttings to weeding to baking cookies in the shop, I never ran out of things to learn at LWF.
Not only did I learn a lot about lavender, working with the land, and how delicious lavender chocolate chip cookies are, I learned a lot about myself. The time I spent alone wwoofing at LWF I was able to slow down and focus on myself; something we often forget to do.
Wwoofing, for me, was not just the experience of working with the land and learning about plants I had never really grown, it was about making connections with other people and making a connection with myself.
To learn more about wwoofing or to check out some rad places to wwoof at, check out https://wwoofusa.org/.
