The Mission & The Acronym
Before I start
telling my specific story, I need to clarify the term WWOOF. Although most of
us have a vague understanding of what it means (hippies? farms? cheese
making??), the exact meaning of the acronym WWOOF is shrouded in confusion. I,
myself, confidently thought that it stood for World Wide Organization of Organic Farms until a
few minutes ago when I began doing research for this very blog post!
According to the
main WWOOF website, WWOOF stands for World
Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. A
few other interesting interpretations include: Working Weekends On
Organic Farms, Willing Workers On Organic Farms, and We’re Welcome On Organic Farms.
Regardless of the
precise interpretation you subscribe to, the mission behind each WWOOF meaning
is the same: to create a more sustainable, connected world through cultural
exchange and voluntary labor on organic farms.
A Quick Grammar Lesson
WWOOF is an
acronym at its heart, but in colloquial speech it is treated like a verb and
all verb-related grammar rules apply.
INFINITIVE: To
WWOOF
PRESENT TENSE: I
currently WWOOF on Susy Q’s quail farm.
PAST TENSE:
Dracula WWOOFed for two weeks in Transylvania.
GERUND FORM: I am
WWOOFing my ass off digging potatoes in Idaho!
WWOOF, similar to
other verbs, can be turned into a noun when speaking about the person who does
the action. A person who WWOOFs is called a WWOOFer. This should not to be
confused with the similar sounding—and equally cool—acronym WFR (pronounced “woofer”).
Such confusion could lead to disaster in some situations!
For example, if
you received the voicemail: “Help! Help! I’ve been attacked by an angry grizzly
bear and I’m bleeding to death. I need a WFR now!!”, the appropriate response would not be to send a wonderful organic farm volunteer. As awesome as
WWOOFers are, sending a WFR (Wilderness First Responder) to help would be a much
better choice. J
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