23 July 2007

We've Made Contact!

Yesterday I received my first reply from the three Norwegian farms that I contacted. The farmers' names are Anders and Hilde. I'm a little confused if they are married, or if they are friends that are sharing a membership, or if WWOOFers work at both farms. In any case, there are two farms. Hilde's farm is on the west coast near Florø and her sheep are wild sheep of the Old Norwegian breed. And Anders' farm is located in Førde which is in a fjord (omg!!) and he has a normal (who knows what kind) breed of sheep that are kept within the parameters of the farm (all 19 hectares of it!).

It sounds wonderful to be sure, however I have my questions about it. Like, what do they use the sheep for (meat, cheese, wool, friends?)? And what would the WWOOFer do on their farm? How little and how long can a WWOOFer stay? I've asked them these questions so in a matter of time I'll know. So in the mean time I'll just keep dreaming!

16 July 2007

The First Step: Email the Farm

I have started the first step in my WWOOFing process. Last week (or perhaps it was two weeks ago?) I signed up to be a WWOOFer ( http://www.wwoof.org ). And this week I've started the process of emailing the farms I'm interested in. The farm that I am the most interested in says this:

Vegetable and herb farm, located on an island in a coastal fjord / archipelago area, 50km north of Bergen. The area is part of a cultural heritage landscape, with beautiful heathlands; lots of sheep and open sky in all directions. We grow vegetables and herbs for sale at Farmer's Market and restaurants, we gather wild food and we have a flock of happy, free-walking inbred hens. We also have 100 sheep of ancient "viking" breed, but these are only tended twice a year. We love good food. Most meals are vegetarian, occasionally meat from our farm or fish that we catch ourselves. Evenings are spent reading, making music, painting, handicrafts... No TV, lots of internet:) Except for that, we try to live as ecologically and self-sufficient as possible.

In a coastal fjord -- can it get any better?? I am really hoping I will be able to go over there starting in the months of January - March. I don't have any idea as to how long I will be there and if I will actually be able to go there as early as I am hoping to. We'll see!