la ancla: good wwoofer magic!

La Ancla ••• Ventura, California

Sunday, May 23, 2010

good wwoofer magic!

some daily affirmations to make the wwoofing process better for all of us...

• good wwoofers are friendly and nice

• good wwoofers read the farm listings carefully and only respond to farms they actually are interested in working on

• good wwoofers don't send out generic form emails to farms. most farms are super busy and take care to answer each prospective wwoofer and it's a bit disheartening to get emails from people who either haven't read your posting or asking questions obviously answered in your listing.

• good wwoofers realize that there is more to wwoofing than sweating with plants and dirt. most farms are rooted in family or community and good wwoofers do their best to contribute to every aspect of the farm: like being friendly and inviting to new wwoofers, neighbors and residents alike.

• good wwoofers help keep the living areas, working and cooking areas clean and functional. all wwoof hosts resent cleaning up after their visitors

• good wwoofers aren't sleezy men who harass their female counterparts.

• good wwoofers don't let god or jah come between them and respectful relationships with the greater wwoofing community.

• good wwoofers realize that the continued success of wwoofing is reliant upon wwoofers not stealing or sleezing or slacking so that farms no longer want to mess with them...

• good wwoofers are the best thing ever! (and we've had nothing but the best!!!)

xoxo

don't let wwoofing turn into thunderdome (though we do love tina turner a whole lot)

2 comments:

UnknownMay 26, 2010 at 1:12 AM
Clara Fedoroff
Le Rivage
34390 Olargues
FRANCE
cielterre@yahoo.fr

Dear Community,

My root is Russian but I was bornt in France.
I 'd begun my studies in France and I'd finished in Quebec.
I'd like to pass 6 months (if I can have a visa) in several communities in California, with the intention of find a place for my life. I prefer to find a community.
I liking to discovery countries and people but I can't build a real relationship and it's miss me.
I 'd worked in 9 countries but usually in Asia and I know ecology. I travel alone.
I don't know well English, so in same time if you 're person like to teach, I'll very happy.
I 'm arriving the September 1st 2010, so I'd like to know if you have place at this time?
If I 'll can use your computer some time for to see my @?
and how many hours/day, volunteer work?
The accommodation and meals, is it free?
Thank you for your answer.
And I hope see you meet soon.
Best Regards
Clara
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AnonymousNovember 9, 2011 at 7:22 PM
Dear community,
I am a 17 year old who is very enthusiastic about Organic Farming and I have experience with working with Animals and Organic agriculture, I am currently seeking a live in situation that is work trade friendly, Please let me know if you have room for me!
-Laura Krouse
lauraakrouse@gmail.com
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WWOOFing at La Ancla

La Ancla has a post up on the Wwoof USA website, but given the limitations of that website's space, we thought we'd make this blog to help keep y'all informed of what's going on so you can decide if it is worth your time to come be here on your holiday...

First of all, we are not a farm in the traditional sense of the livestock and big acreage word. Instead, we are located on a tiny multi-family residence with three structures on it. We are right in the middle of La Avenida, a working class urban neighborhood in Ventura, CA. (25 miles South of Santa Barbara, 45 miles North of Los Angeles).

Please note: This is in the city. As in, you can walk a block to the liquor store and taco shop or score heroin down the street or skateboard to where you need to go kinda city.

Although Ventura is small (like 100,000 people), cute and extremely walkable, it's still a city. You won't see deer or elk, but you will see plenty of cholillos and Hell's Angels. You won't see stands of ancient trees, but you will see a strong, friendly community that is lodged right between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. And more importantly, you will see a crew of extremely friendly, extremely positive people trying to create something new from the ashes we inherited.

But what we lack in size, we make up for in spunk. We are in the process of planting food in almost all of our available space and are slowly integrating the means to have our small crew of residents (six at this point) and visitors live as much off the place's bounty as possible.

We have mature loquat and avocado trees and a recent series of tangerine, lemon, fig, mandarine, banana, guava and pomegranate trees and beans/greens and garlic comin' out of our ears.

Your WWOOF experience here will be very different than on many of the farms you've probably visited. Because we are so small, we have only so much work going on during the week when the residents all have to work. You will likely be left (alone or with the 1-2 other WWOOFers we can host at a time) with a few small tasks of 3-5 hours a day to perform. On weekends and project days, it will be more. Some days it will be less. You will always be expected to help keep the house and gardens clean.

We will provide basic grains and legumes, eggs, garden veggies and an occasional bottle of bottom shelf bourbon to our wwoof friends. If you want fancy shit, this ain't your place.

We've all traveled quite extensively and love having guests, particularly guests who like to put a bit of elbow grease in. Pending availability, we can host 1-4 of you from a night to a couple weeks and can often provide ride to and from LAX or BUR or other airports. La Ancla is 1/3 mile from the Ventura Amtrak station where trains and buses stop and Hwy 101. DUE TO SPACE CONSIDERATIONS YOUR STAY WILL BE LIMITED TO 2 WEEKS.

We don't expect slave labor out of our WWOOFers and would be more than happy to dig around in the gardens and talk story with you than have you weed our entire compound. But please do not expect full scale training or a hyperactive work environment or a lot of oversight. If you are looking for a more intensive WWOOF scene, you may want to stop by for a weekend or find a different farm altogether.

If, after reading this, you're interested in stopping by, feel free to drop us a line at laancla@gmail.com.

We also have an immigration attorney on site who can help with your visa problems at a far lower cost than anywhere else in the US.

Be well and travel safe!

La Ancla ••• Ventura, California

Sunday, May 23, 2010

good wwoofer magic!

2 comments:

WWOOFing at La Ancla

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