Wwoofers just come.
It is like a miracle.
they just show up in our E-mail
would you like some help,or can we help you
It is like magic
That said,this year was rather slow,but new enquiries start coming in for next year
We have the impression that the vast majority does not bother with the forum
As well most of them have travelplans and they look for places that fit their interest ,timeframe and are situated in areas of interest to them
Wwoofers always contact us.They are surprises!
And we love our surprises
Well,most of them anyway,Willem

"...most of them have travel plans and they look for places that fit their interest ,timeframe and are situated in areas of interest to them..." - Willem

I will conceed that SOME of them have travel plans, BUT, what if one is undecided exactly on which ROUTE to take, to get to where they are going? If someone is travelling across Canada they HAVE to come within 4 hours of us. But most opt for the more popular southern route, around the scenic shores of Lake Superior.

Being in the "boonies" of rural Northern Ontario, with no exceptional land marks nearby (such as Niagara Falls or the Rockies), or waterfront feature, local bus service, local shops or Tim Hortons around the corner, we can't expect to attract a great deal of attention. Therefore I "go fishing". I browse ALL the provincial posts made by WWOOFers looking for potential fence sitters. If I see one that looks promising, I contact them. If they say "No, thank you", we're no further ahead or behind. BUT if my contact prompts them to re-think their route or their schedule to include us on their itinerary, BONUS. e.g. - One of our WWOOFers was undecided whether to go east or west from Quebec, my contact made the decision for him. There are only 2 WWOOF hosts in the Timmins area of Northern Ontaro. We are an hour apart - just an indication of how secluded the area is :D

Then there are those WWOOFers that do not know we hosts can not see a list of volunteers. They put up their profile and hope someone sees it and contacts them. Have you ever done a number by number search through the profiles? I have.

You may ask where I find the time to do all this "mucking about" - right now I have nothing but TIME. The greenhouse got delayed until next season, the garden has been done for at least 3 weeks, and all I have to do now is bring wood in, split it if necessary, keep the fire going during the day, keep the house clean and keep my husband's tummy full LOL. We don't have T.V. and I can only read so much before I drop off in the armchair - which means the fire goes out LOL. I've even started baking our own whole wheat bread.

It would still be nice to be able to see a list of volunteers. Maybe if I didn't have to waste time looking, I'd have time to do more baking?

Noreen

I'm sure if you where to promise to send the admins some of your new baking they would have the lists updated on the hour with the knowledge that you have so much spare time you could devote to baking.LOL

Mitch

Re: How about letting us hosts pull up a list of volunteers ?

Well, that would change the whole concept of wwoofing. WWOOF has traditionally
held the idea that WWOOFers choose WHOM to contact and WHERE they want to go.

Hosts can extend invitations by posting under their appropriate PROVINCE.

And how often is that used? Not often - because it seems that WWOOFers easily find hosts and hosts easily receive offers of help from WWOOFers (Exceptions: way far out places and un-inviting host descriptions)

To change the website to enable hosts to pull up a list of WWOOFers and contact them, would involve a MAJOR re-configuaration of the WWOOF website (I've talked to my webmistress about that idea)

Also having a list of WWOOFers available might lend itself to mis-use of that list.

And it's NOT reasonable to think that if a host contacted a WWOOFer who is in Vancouver and invited him/her to their place in Thunder Bay, Ontario, that person is NOT likely to hop on a Greyhound Bus and travel for 3-4 days, when there are 600 hosts available between Vancouver and that host who extended the invitation.

So, not practical, not reasonable, not in our plans.

We're ALWAYS open for constructive suggestions

John (Admin)

Thank you John
Besides that if one especially comes down,just for you, after an unsollicited request, that act will change the whole relationship.,
the balance of power, or level of expectations, might become lopsided.
When you ask(convince)someone to come to help you(without an open invitatation to be asked)(does this make sense?),YOu really owe that person.
Much greater chance for trouble
Rather unclear this time,Willem

Yes, Willem, you have definitely come onto a key point - if a host invited a WWOOFer, then there is an obligation to make it work. And, what if it just does not work out from the outset, then what? send him/her on their way ? . . . after they received a 'warm' invitation from that host ?? and after, they might have travlled quite a distance, at their own expense ??

Now, if the host says, I'll pay your $100 Greyhound Bus fare to come and help us . .(LOL) . . .then one is really under pressure to make it work - even if that WWOOFer is . . . . .

And on the flip side, what if the host is a real problem . . . ? ?

So, Noreen, are you prepared for the potential consequences ??

No need to worry, an accessible WWOOFer list won't happen . . . . .

Who came up with that 'lousy' idea' anyway . . .(LOL) (after all the recent good ones)

John (Admin)

Hi,
I live outside Thunder Bay....40 min from town. I pick my woofers up there or I get them to get off the bus on the highway 15 mins from my house.

I have a constant stream of woofers from the end of April to July, and I had 3 from Sept to Oct this year.

I think you need to word your add in a way that will attract the people you want. My neighbors (they are listed also) seem to get Europeans who are on vacation and we get people who will work from sun up to sun down and love it...why I am not sure but it must be the wording in our adds. (We have had a few vacationers through also but not so many)

If you are off the trans Canada very far then put in your add that you will meet the bus. People who come here are on their way west...we never get ones heading east. Make it easy for them to see where you are and how easy it will be to get to your house without going out of their way to the mountains.

That is my recommendation to you to get the wwoofers you are seeking.

From Kakabeka Falls area.
Renata