Foals followed me, a bag of feed over my shoulder, through the dewy pasture. A hunk of thick, black soil in a potato field yielded to my spade as I turned it. My headlamp lit the way down the long row of celery so that I could harvest it for the weekly community boxes. Three different farms, on three different corners of Ireland, gifted me with hundreds of memories like these from my six weeks spent WWOOFing across Ireland recently.
I had recently WWOOFed 10,000 miles/16,100 kilometers across the USA via bike, buses and trains. That took me five months, and I turned 60 years old during it. Since Ireland is the size of just one US state, I realized I could cover a lot of ground, literally, in a much shorter length of time, thereby experiencing a diverse variety of farms in Ireland. The three farms where I recently WWOOFed — Maura and Robert’s thoroughbred horse and cattle farm down south in Enniscorthy, Geoff and Jo’s mixed farm up north in Greencastle, and Ronan’s Shy by Nature farm out west in Inver — proved to be perfect homes-away-from-home.
Travel between these destinations turned out to be easy, inexpensive and pleasurable via buses and trains, with three stays at a truly fantastic hostel in Dublin along the way. On the farms, I lived in a gorgeous carriage house, a vintage caravan and a comfortable bedroom in a traditional Irish house. I had views of endless fields of green in the sunny southeast, a breathtaking inlet separating the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland, and the Bluestack Mountains overlooking Donegal Bay. And, yes, it’s true — there is, indeed, a rainbow after every rain.
I’m still sorting out everything I learned in Ireland as I work on a book about my journey (the sequel to the USA one). Some lessons that stand out include learning about government schemes that help farmers continue to preserve their land in agriculture while benefiting both the environment and community. My animal husbandry skills with horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep and pigs improved, and I enjoyed being able to share and grow my gardening abilities.
What’s more, I experienced a wide variety of energy models, including oil, wood, coal, wind, solar and turf, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the economics of farming, specifically the cost/benefit analysis when converting to organic and the business model when growing for the community.
Finally, I grew my knowledge of Irish history and the Irish language, with a big thanks to the lived experiences shared by my hosts and the bilingual signs everywhere in the Republic of Ireland, both of which reinforced my pride in my Irish heritage.
With ample time after volunteering to explore the most gorgeous and interesting places, I walked and rode borrowed bikes down country lanes and through villages and towns; met locals at coffee shops, markets and community centers; picked so many blackberries; and sang to cows along the way.
My hosts took me to lectures, waterfalls, beaches, cliffs and even a car boot sale! My favorite memories from this journey, however, may be the meals. At all three farms (two of which included fellow WWOOFers), we gathered together for several meals each day, plus at least one daily tea-time, to break bread, share stories, and ask questions about farming. Whether it was enjoying my hosts’ and fellow WWOOFers’ culinary expertise or whipping up my own meals to share, food connected us, turning strangers into friends.
As a result of all 11 of my WWOOF stays in the USA and Ireland, I’m more informed about climate impacts everywhere. I find that I wash more things by hand and use both washing machines and dryers far less. I’ve added different crops to my garden to remind myself of where I’ve volunteered. I’ve become more involved again in my local community and food pantry gardens. And I keep committing to staying fit, not just by riding my bike as my primary transportation but with specific exercises to target my upper body (which is the first part to lose muscle tone in aging women), so I can hop fences, push wheelbarrows and haul bags of animal feed for years to come.
Go raibh maith agat, WWOOF Ireland, my beloved hosts and fellow WWOOFers. I am already plotting my return!
Trust the journey — Pattie
