We are learning as we go, says Mark, happy with the way the self-taught business has gone so far. Self-employment is nice too. We d rather scrape by working for ourselves, than scrape by working for someone else. If teaching yourself the business of farming seems like too much risk, there are various ways of gaining a formal education. Hands-on agricultural training is available at Olds College in Alberta, through a comprehensive, applied agricultural, horticultural, land and environmental management program.
Woofers are free to travel, live and work between farms on a voluntary basis.
The program is popular. Many use Woofing as a first step toward careers in gardening, herbcraft or permaculture, which is the development of sustainable agricultural ecosystems. I do know that the experience of Woofing for a season has had a significant impact on many people, says Vanden Heuval. In a competitive market, organically grown products must catch the consumer s eye and wallet for their producers to survive and thrive. And ideally, consumers should understand how their dollars are making a difference.