51page

51 group called Kids Farming Travel, which is similar to the WWOOF Youth Camp for kids from ages 9 to 15 that started in Canada and Australia last year. There are also programs for those who want to sup- port the organic farming community without actually getting their hands dirty. The WWOOF CSA program has organized a weekly delivery of organic foods. The WWOOF Korea Guesthouse, where the main WWOOF Korea office is located, offers lodging in a beautiful hanok (traditional Korean house) and supports organic farmers by providing locally made organic foods. Shake a tail feather Kim Byung-soo, our host farmer, had three tasks for our group of roughly 20 volunteers: shoveling gravel, washing eggs and building new chicken coops. Hansol farm specializes in strawberries and chickens, among other crops, and I wanted to try helping with the eggs. The first batch of eggs had already been picked in the morning but we were told that picking up the second batch would be our last job of the day. In between, it was our job to wash and package the eggs. Kim’s wife gave us aprons and gloves and showed us how to carefully scrub away the dirt and feathers be- fore packing the eggs into cartons. Soon, it was time for lunch — fresh eggs, rice and vegetables prepared by Kim’s wife using produce grown on the farm. Gathered around the table were volunteers from many countries, including Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and the Czech Re- public — and most had participated in the program in other countries. We all communicated in English, which seems to be the lingua franca of the WWOOF community in Korea. “Even the most rural of farmers either speak broken English or are in possession of an English-Korean dic- tionary,” says Jason Parker, an avid WWOOFer from the United States “It really has no bearing on how pos- itive or negative a WWOOFing experience will be.” Parker, who has participated in the program in five countries over the past decade, says that for him, one of the benefits of doing a long-term homestay through the program is the ability “to immerse yourself in the local culture and experience the ‘real’ Korea, rather than doing the cursory one-week tour of all the top tourist spots in the country and then flying back home.” Getting to know the local culture is a definite ben- efit, but there is another one as well. “On the limited budget that I am on, if I were not provided with meals and homestay accommodation, I would not be able to travel in Korea for three months,” he said. “In fact, I would most likely be bankrupt within a few weeks if I were forced to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants every day.” After finishing the meal, it was back to work. This time I helped build hen houses. First, netting had to be put up around the fences so the chickens wouldn’t fly out. Then, Kim brought wooden materials to build nesting boxes for hens to lay eggs in. Working as a team, we were able to build a few before egg-picking time had come around. Next, I was given a stack of cartons and told to shoo the chickens out of the nest before carefully collecting the freshly laid eggs. Parker told me that the eggs on Hansol Farm are special in Korea because they are fertilized. Some people even believe them to be an aphrodisiac because they are “full of life.” I was shocked and intrigued, and had a fun new fact to share. When everything was finished, Kim invited us to sit and enjoy some freshly cooked pajeon, a Korean-style crepe that in this case was filled with vegetables from the farm. As we ate, we talked about what led each of us to participate. For some, joining was a way to get involved in farming; for others it was a way to experi- ence a new culture or rediscover their own. For me, it was a way to reconnect with and learn about the land. The day had been long and eventful, but as we said our goodbyes I hoped to return again soon. I climbed into the van with my new group of friends, and as we drove along, the lingering smell of the chicken coops followed us down that bumpy country road. MoRE INFo Find WWOOF Korea at wwoofkorea.org (Korean), koreawwoof.com (English) or on Facebook. ‘All these elements are real, down- to-earth cultural experiences, and the concept of “exchange” makes it happen. ... It’s about learning about life through working and living with people with different backgrounds.’ Kota Fukuyama, WWOOF Korea manager