Agritourism, a style of vacation that typically takes place on a farm, ranch or vineyard, is a chance for guests to get local, communal experience. Fresh, seasonal food is usually the main draw at a tourist farm, where guests are looking for an authentic country life experience without the traditional tourist trappings. But some take it even a step further and actually work — planting crops, harvesting food, feeding animals, cooking — in exchange for lodging and food.
An article in The New York Times a while back on agritourism in Slovenia got us thinking about this again. We revisited a site we've had bookmarked for awhile: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF publishes a printed and online directory of more than 1,000 farms that host volunteers in exchange for meals and accommodations. It presents an opportunity to learn practical farming skills, connect with where food comes from and be a part of the real food movement — all while having a fun, inexpensive eco-vacation!
Have any of you ever done a vacation like this? What was your experience?
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Comments (12)
My husband and I had planned to do some of this on our honeymoon via WWOOF but our European trip was placed on hold as the dollar fell against the euro.
My wife and I stayed at an agriturismo in the Basque country a couple of years ago.
We didn't specifically seek one out but after learning that they can be less expensive than a hotel, are usually located in the beautiful countryside and are run by families, we couldn't pass it up.
This particular agriturismo leased the farming to other people who raised the very special free-range basque chickens. There were also some donkeys in a corral.
I believe there were 3 rooms in the restored farmhouse--two on the ground floor and one on the second floor. There was a "living room" with dining table, tv and a window through which you could just stare out of for a whole day if you wanted to.
Our greatest memory of staying at the agriturismo was after a day of strolling through the little town and buying local charcuterie, wine and bread, we were able to bring it back and have nice farmhouse dinner while staring through aforementioned window.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157602207226403/
art, that sounds so amazing! I love your photos, too. Thanks for sharing.
There are plenty of opportunities to stay and vacation on a farm in North America. It's a great experience for folks of all ages. Check out the website www.ruralbounty.com to find farms in the U.S. and Canada.
The Peach Lady
My brother's farm does this! (I had never heard about it until they were telling us they were expecting a new Wwoofer... Wwoofer?) They love it and are registered with the Wwoof site...
http://mizrahimanor.com/
(If you want to check out their farm directly...) And here I thought that just FAMILY had the privilege of getting to stay there for two weeks every summer :) Lol... We do have a good time though... I recommend late summer... Mmmm... Fresh veggie season, but I am a squash, tomato and blueberry lover...
Does anyone else have other websites or ways of finding short term (1-2 weeks) "vacations" on working farms/ ranches? This has recently become something I've been thinking about and had no idea there was even an industry for this.
I recently spent a few weeks on a farm in Delaware with an awesome family. My friend and I were taken into the fold of farm life quickly and ended up enjoying it very much. It is so interesting to have the opportunity to experience how others live, learn first hand about local and organic foods and to be more connected to the network of small farmers that exist right in our own backyards.
I found the farm where we stayed on growfood.org
After falling in love with agriturismo while studying in Italy, I decided to help grow farm stays in the U.S. I write a blog devoted to farm stays at www.farmstays.blogspot.com, where I feature farm stay profiles, agritourism news, and guest posts.
Also check out www.sleepinthehay.com, and www.farmstayus.com, two great new directories of farm stays in the U.S.
I did WWOOFing for a year and a half around Australia and Southeast Asia. You can read my article about it in the LA Times Travel section. It was the best experience of my life and would recommend it to everyone.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/20/travel/la-tr-wwoof20-2009dec20
I see you posted links for the farms, but do you have anything for the wineries that you mentioned before the jump? That sounds really interesting to me.
Another resource to locate wonderful farm vacations across North American is www.ruralbounty.com
I am from Nepal and I really like the concept of agritourism. In Nepal, the productivity is decreasing every year as the young people are moving to the cities. Terraces are being abandoned. We started agritourism in our hometown 'Fulkharka'. This is supplying agricultural volunteers and supplementary income to the farmers. There are short trek to Ganesh Himal (7,440m) and festivals for the tourists to enjoy. So it is getting popular every year. People come to learn traditional terrace farming. Here is the link : www.itournepal.com/villagetour/fulkharka.php