Food systems and tourism are inherently interconnected, nearly a quarter of all tourism spending is on food. The challenges presented by today’s industrialised food systems call for new approaches.WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farming) is one such model. Working on organic farms provides travellers with meaningful experiences and fosters new relationships between humans and nature. This model challenges contemporary views of work, leisure, and expertise while promoting responsible tourism development.
Intertwined patterns of food systems and tourism amid global challenges
Food systems consist of the elements and patterns involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Decisions made by hospitality businesses in the tourism industry significantly impact food systems. Currently, these businesses often favour the lowest-cost options, which drive further industrialisation. While industrialisation has increased productivity, it has had detrimental consequences for farmers’ livelihoods, the environment, and health.
A posthumanist perspective offers a way forward by recognising food systems as networks of interdependent relationships between humans, animals, plants, and other nonhuman entities. This lens provides a basis for exploring food systems beyond human-centred goals, emphasising ethical and environmental responsibilities within tourism.
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farming (WWOOF) exemplifies alternative approaches to food systems in tourism. Founded in 1971, WWOOF connects organic farmers with travellers who exchange work for accommodation and food. This global movement includes around 100,000 travellers and 12,000 farms across 130 countries, operating on principles of cultural exchange and mutual learning rather than financial gain.
Through hands-on participation, travellers directly engage with various beings involved in food production, from livestock to soil microorganisms, making visible the complex web of relations that sustain organic farming.
For my master’s thesis, I studied how this movement exemplifies the intersection of tourism and food production through a posthumanist lens. WWOOF provides a compelling context for examining multispecies relations that are often hidden in conventional food systems. Through hands-on participation, travellers directly engage with various beings involved in food production, from livestock to soil microorganisms, making visible the complex web of relations that sustain organic farming.
In my study, I explored narratives of the WWOOF community. I collected quotes from hosts, WWOOFers and organisation representatives from different national WWOOF websites and analysed them using theory-guided content analysis, focusing on the diverse economic choices, encounters and interactions with nonhumans, and discussions related to travel and mobility. In the following chapter I briefly outline the main points that emerged from the narratives I analysed.
Growth of different sort with openness and flexibility
WWOOF members value diverse social and learning experiences. WWOOFers seek ”live-like-a-local” experiences, while hosts often value the social aspects of these exchanges. WWOOF hosts serve as experts, disrupting conventional roles where rural people are seen as requiring urban expertise. Both parties learn from each other, creating reciprocal relationships where engagement in encounters is essential, as situations and needs are not always negotiable in advance, and hold unexpected elements.
Picture: Greta Hoffman/Pexels
In WWOOF, work is redefined as the boundaries between leisure and work blur. Working in the WWOOF context often doesn’t feel like working, as tasks like harvesting or caring for animals become opportunities for meaningful experiences. Various elements of tourist experiences such as recreation, novelty, learning, and sense of freedom can be found in WWOOF work, though individuals approach labor from different perspectives. The blurring of work and leisure also poses challenges to negotiations with oneself, others on the site and nonhuman nature. The latter plays a crucial role in shaping the nature of work and leisure in the context of agriculture.
Many narratives analysed highlight the restorative and empowering nature of WWOOF exchanges, providing opportunities for meaningful participation and moral support. WWOOF participants are committed to providing inclusive and safe spaces. Of course, this does not always happen in practice: experiences of injustice are notable on the pages of some WWOOF farms. Participants are therefore encouraged to share their experiences in reviews, improving transparency of practices. In the narratives, WWOOF sites are represented as places that strive to provide safe spaces for nonhuman species in both urban and rural environments, aiming to care for entire local ecosystems. Many WWOOFers describe their experiences with these biodiverse environments as healing, highlighting the power of nonhuman nature in shaping mental wellbeing and the reciprocal nature of care.
Through spending considerable time in proximity with nonhumans, WWOOFers can develop caring, emotional bonds with farm animals, landscapes, and nonhuman nature.
The narratives revealed that biodiversity can create relaxing, recreational, and fascinating atmospheres. However, these atmospheres can also challenge the sense of security and comfort of WWOOFers. These feelings of discomfort facilitate learning experiences where preconceptions and emotional reactions are open to scrutiny.
Some WWOOFers found their fear of certain species decreased through these experiences, which is noteworthy as fears of certain species and a general aversion to nature have increased. Through spending considerable time in proximity with nonhumans, WWOOFers can develop caring, emotional bonds with farm animals, landscapes, and nonhuman nature.
Picture: Mira Yli-Saari
While WWOOF was originally founded on rural experiences, many now view it as cultural exchange and an alternative to mass tourism. The flexibility of the WWOOF system accommodates different lengths of stay and travel patterns, providing opportunities for slow-paced tourism. International travel was prominent in the data as well as in the structure of the WWOOF platform, influencing the way the WWOOF experience is perceived. However, to reduce overall travel emissions, it is crucial to approach nearby places with the same amount of wonder and respect. Local WWOOF sites provide an alternative to long-distance travel. As WWOOFing inherently includes different experiential elements, WWOOFers can have touristic experiences on nearby farms. Short-distance mobility can also build customer confidence in food production conditions.
Beyond physical travel, WWOOF involves the mobility of knowledge, skills, values, and perspectives. Skills associated with food systems are particularly prominent, reducing dependence on industrial food systems. In addition, communication skills are essential, as hosts and guests often speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds requiring them to navigate these differences collaboratively. WWOOF experiences can also increase knowledge of ecosystems and interdependence.
Towards response-able food futures in tourism
In typical tourism-related food systems, production processes remain hidden, distancing consumers from ethical and environmental realities. Sustainable food systems require commitment to everyday practices of local food production. Tourism must increasingly envision and create activities where tourism stakeholders work collaboratively to shape local food production, not just as consumers and intermediaries, but as active participants.
The WWOOF community encourages tourism to engage in activities where diverse human and nonhuman actors in the production chain encounter different complexities and ethical negotiations. Rather than focusing on financial gain, such frameworks make social and environmental costs more visible than in conventional global markets. This kind of approach enables individuals to become more response-able, that is, able to respond to challenges and ethical considerations posed by their relationships with others, human and nonhuman.
— tourism can evolve from a passive consumption to one that promotes active engagement with the urgencies of our food systems.
This approach could be scaled up across the tourism sector, integrating experiential opportunities that connect tourists and intermediaries with local food systems. In this way, tourism can evolve from a passive consumption to one that promotes active engagement with the urgencies of our food systems.
The affective dimension of WWOOFing enables travellers to develop care and responsibility for nonhuman nature through recreational atmospheres that foster emotional connections and embodied experiences. Tourism-related food systems could include more affective spaces that awaken curiosity and foster restoration, where individuals can step out of their comfort zones, challenge their preconceived notions and learn to respond to discomfort. A practical example of this concept is the handling of organic waste. While it may be uncomfortable at first, but hands-on experience of its transformation into compost that nourishes organic vegetables can foster a sense of care.
Picture: Mira Yli-Saari
Narratives about restorative atmospheres on WWOOF sites encourage considering local food production sites and community gardens as places of experiencing, recreation, and learning. Tourism and regional developers could collaborate more closely with these stakeholders. The WWOOF model demonstrates that food systems in tourism can benefit from both local and global mobility of knowledge and skills.
The WWOOF model shows that food systems in tourism can be built on more than financial gain, embracing social, experiential, and empowering aspects while promoting a caring, curious, and sensitive orientation towards both human and nonhuman beings. While providing meaningful experiences, tourism can simultaneously strengthen local food systems, promote knowledge mobility, and create spaces where people develop more caring relationships with food systems.
Deville, A. (2011). Alice in WWOOFerland: Exploring symbiotic worlds beyond tourism. (Doctoral dissertation, School of leisure, sport and tourism. University of Technology, Sydney.)
Rantala, O., Höckert, E., Anttila, S., Ranta, S., & Valtonen, A. (2024). Proximity and tourism in the Anthropocene. Annals of tourism research, 105, 103733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103733
Sage, C. Kropp, C., & Antoni-Komar, I. (2021) Grassroots initiatives in food system transformation: The role of food movements in the second ’Great Transformation’. In C. Kropp, I. Antoni-Komar, & C. Sage (Eds.), Food system transformations: Social movements, local economies, collaborative networks (pp. 1–19). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003131304
SUVI RANTA
Suvi Ranta holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences, specialising in Tourism Research, from the University of Lapland. Her interests range from alternative economic practices to transformative experiences and regenerative practices that promote well-being among human and non-human participants.
Food systems and tourism are inherently interconnected, nearly a quarter of all tourism spending is on food. The challenges presented by today’s industrialised food systems call for new approaches. WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farming) is one such model. Working on organic farms provides travellers with meaningful experiences and fosters new relationships between humans and nature. This model challenges contemporary views of work, leisure, and expertise while promoting responsible tourism development.
Intertwined patterns of food systems and tourism amid global challenges
Food systems consist of the elements and patterns involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Decisions made by hospitality businesses in the tourism industry significantly impact food systems. Currently, these businesses often favour the lowest-cost options, which drive further industrialisation. While industrialisation has increased productivity, it has had detrimental consequences for farmers’ livelihoods, the environment, and health.
A posthumanist perspective offers a way forward by recognising food systems as networks of interdependent relationships between humans, animals, plants, and other nonhuman entities. This lens provides a basis for exploring food systems beyond human-centred goals, emphasising ethical and environmental responsibilities within tourism.
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farming (WWOOF) exemplifies alternative approaches to food systems in tourism. Founded in 1971, WWOOF connects organic farmers with travellers who exchange work for accommodation and food. This global movement includes around 100,000 travellers and 12,000 farms across 130 countries, operating on principles of cultural exchange and mutual learning rather than financial gain.
For my master’s thesis, I studied how this movement exemplifies the intersection of tourism and food production through a posthumanist lens. WWOOF provides a compelling context for examining multispecies relations that are often hidden in conventional food systems. Through hands-on participation, travellers directly engage with various beings involved in food production, from livestock to soil microorganisms, making visible the complex web of relations that sustain organic farming.
In my study, I explored narratives of the WWOOF community. I collected quotes from hosts, WWOOFers and organisation representatives from different national WWOOF websites and analysed them using theory-guided content analysis, focusing on the diverse economic choices, encounters and interactions with nonhumans, and discussions related to travel and mobility. In the following chapter I briefly outline the main points that emerged from the narratives I analysed.
Growth of different sort with openness and flexibility
WWOOF members value diverse social and learning experiences. WWOOFers seek ”live-like-a-local” experiences, while hosts often value the social aspects of these exchanges. WWOOF hosts serve as experts, disrupting conventional roles where rural people are seen as requiring urban expertise. Both parties learn from each other, creating reciprocal relationships where engagement in encounters is essential, as situations and needs are not always negotiable in advance, and hold unexpected elements.
In WWOOF, work is redefined as the boundaries between leisure and work blur. Working in the WWOOF context often doesn’t feel like working, as tasks like harvesting or caring for animals become opportunities for meaningful experiences. Various elements of tourist experiences such as recreation, novelty, learning, and sense of freedom can be found in WWOOF work, though individuals approach labor from different perspectives. The blurring of work and leisure also poses challenges to negotiations with oneself, others on the site and nonhuman nature. The latter plays a crucial role in shaping the nature of work and leisure in the context of agriculture.
Many narratives analysed highlight the restorative and empowering nature of WWOOF exchanges, providing opportunities for meaningful participation and moral support. WWOOF participants are committed to providing inclusive and safe spaces. Of course, this does not always happen in practice: experiences of injustice are notable on the pages of some WWOOF farms. Participants are therefore encouraged to share their experiences in reviews, improving transparency of practices. In the narratives, WWOOF sites are represented as places that strive to provide safe spaces for nonhuman species in both urban and rural environments, aiming to care for entire local ecosystems. Many WWOOFers describe their experiences with these biodiverse environments as healing, highlighting the power of nonhuman nature in shaping mental wellbeing and the reciprocal nature of care.
The narratives revealed that biodiversity can create relaxing, recreational, and fascinating atmospheres. However, these atmospheres can also challenge the sense of security and comfort of WWOOFers. These feelings of discomfort facilitate learning experiences where preconceptions and emotional reactions are open to scrutiny.
Some WWOOFers found their fear of certain species decreased through these experiences, which is noteworthy as fears of certain species and a general aversion to nature have increased. Through spending considerable time in proximity with nonhumans, WWOOFers can develop caring, emotional bonds with farm animals, landscapes, and nonhuman nature.
While WWOOF was originally founded on rural experiences, many now view it as cultural exchange and an alternative to mass tourism. The flexibility of the WWOOF system accommodates different lengths of stay and travel patterns, providing opportunities for slow-paced tourism. International travel was prominent in the data as well as in the structure of the WWOOF platform, influencing the way the WWOOF experience is perceived. However, to reduce overall travel emissions, it is crucial to approach nearby places with the same amount of wonder and respect. Local WWOOF sites provide an alternative to long-distance travel. As WWOOFing inherently includes different experiential elements, WWOOFers can have touristic experiences on nearby farms. Short-distance mobility can also build customer confidence in food production conditions.
Beyond physical travel, WWOOF involves the mobility of knowledge, skills, values, and perspectives. Skills associated with food systems are particularly prominent, reducing dependence on industrial food systems. In addition, communication skills are essential, as hosts and guests often speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds requiring them to navigate these differences collaboratively. WWOOF experiences can also increase knowledge of ecosystems and interdependence.
Towards response-able food futures in tourism
In typical tourism-related food systems, production processes remain hidden, distancing consumers from ethical and environmental realities. Sustainable food systems require commitment to everyday practices of local food production. Tourism must increasingly envision and create activities where tourism stakeholders work collaboratively to shape local food production, not just as consumers and intermediaries, but as active participants.
The WWOOF community encourages tourism to engage in activities where diverse human and nonhuman actors in the production chain encounter different complexities and ethical negotiations. Rather than focusing on financial gain, such frameworks make social and environmental costs more visible than in conventional global markets. This kind of approach enables individuals to become more response-able, that is, able to respond to challenges and ethical considerations posed by their relationships with others, human and nonhuman.
This approach could be scaled up across the tourism sector, integrating experiential opportunities that connect tourists and intermediaries with local food systems. In this way, tourism can evolve from a passive consumption to one that promotes active engagement with the urgencies of our food systems.
The affective dimension of WWOOFing enables travellers to develop care and responsibility for nonhuman nature through recreational atmospheres that foster emotional connections and embodied experiences. Tourism-related food systems could include more affective spaces that awaken curiosity and foster restoration, where individuals can step out of their comfort zones, challenge their preconceived notions and learn to respond to discomfort. A practical example of this concept is the handling of organic waste. While it may be uncomfortable at first, but hands-on experience of its transformation into compost that nourishes organic vegetables can foster a sense of care.
Narratives about restorative atmospheres on WWOOF sites encourage considering local food production sites and community gardens as places of experiencing, recreation, and learning. Tourism and regional developers could collaborate more closely with these stakeholders. The WWOOF model demonstrates that food systems in tourism can benefit from both local and global mobility of knowledge and skills.
The WWOOF model shows that food systems in tourism can be built on more than financial gain, embracing social, experiential, and empowering aspects while promoting a caring, curious, and sensitive orientation towards both human and nonhuman beings. While providing meaningful experiences, tourism can simultaneously strengthen local food systems, promote knowledge mobility, and create spaces where people develop more caring relationships with food systems.
SUVI RANTA
Header photo: Mira Yli-Saari
Literature:
Deville, A. (2011). Alice in WWOOFerland: Exploring symbiotic worlds beyond tourism. (Doctoral dissertation, School of leisure, sport and tourism. University of Technology, Sydney.)
Rantala, O., Höckert, E., Anttila, S., Ranta, S., & Valtonen, A. (2024). Proximity and tourism in the Anthropocene. Annals of tourism research, 105, 103733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103733
Sage, C. Kropp, C., & Antoni-Komar, I. (2021) Grassroots initiatives in food system transformation: The role of food movements in the second ’Great Transformation’. In C. Kropp, I. Antoni-Komar, & C. Sage (Eds.), Food system transformations: Social movements, local economies, collaborative networks (pp. 1–19). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003131304
SUVI RANTA
Suvi Ranta holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences, specialising in Tourism Research, from the University of Lapland. Her interests range from alternative economic practices to transformative experiences and regenerative practices that promote well-being among human and non-human participants.