8/23/2009

life on a farm - WWOFing in the Drome Provencal

How to spend a week in the hot Provence summer
or
WWOOFing on a goats farm


The second week of August - a very hot time of year in the Var - we set off to the Drome Provencal, somewhere one hour's drive from the nearest exit of the autoroute (Loriol), in search for cooler temperatures and an interesting experience of helping out at a farm. Through WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) we had come across a small biological farm which produces its own vegetables and goats cheese! La Ferme du Pescher is nestled in the middle of a long valley, a 5 km drive on a forest road.

We were welcomed by Florence, who along with her husband Olivier (Olaf), are the founders of this assocation, which includes Florence as the cheese maker, Olaf the goat farmer, Olivier and Dany, the vegetable farmers and Nicolas, the future chicken farmer.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.stalknecht/FermeDuPescher?authkey=Gv1sRgCNqGzuSN76fBdA&feat=directlink

So we spent a week helping the different agriculteurs with their daily chores: gathering tomatoes, courgettes, green peppers, cantaloupes (yummy!), carrots and whatever was in season, to be sold at markets or at a small co-op store near Montelimar.



Jim helped out at the fromagerie and after 3 days was given the full responsibility, to make the cheeses in the morning and turn in the evening, so that they would be ready the following day.








Claudia worked every morning with one of the two vegetable farmers in gathering food for the various outlets, like farmer's market or shop.

The way it works is that we got free lodging in a big caravan, away from the other guests who pay to stay in yurtes, tipis or chalets; we also got free food which meant that we would go off with our little basket and search the fields for ingredients for delicious meals, fresh from the garden! What a delight, to be able to make ratatouille the way it was intended to be. A green salad with tomatoes, garlic and onions, straight from Mother Earth. To eat goats cheese fresh from the fromagerie.


It was a wonderful experience, to be able to help on such a small farm, to be included in the daily life and find out about people's motivation to live such a life style: away from the stress of most people's everyday lifes, to live by the moon calendar as much as possible and treat the world kindly, to learn from the experiences of others and to meet people who are willing to share them with you.


Back in the Provence we look back onto this week with a smile on our face!

Claudia & Jim

2 comments:

  1. How many hours a day did you work on the farm? did you have time to view local sites during your stay?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Marie.
    We are happy to read that you are interested in helping on a WWOOF farm.
    Normally they ask for 4-5 hours of work per day but that is flexible. However, as this is volunteer work you should a, never be forced to do anything and b, never be asked to spend your entire time working for free.
    As with our hosts we got a weekly plan which had been arranged with the 3 farmers; they were each then responsible for our lunches. The afternoons were always off which we could use to do anything we liked. We chose to read and hang out with other guests but this time around (we are returning to the same farm end of May) we are thinking of going on a couple of walks in the area.
    The most important thing to remember is that you are free to choose, and that is the spirit of WWOOF-ing and most young farmers.
    Enjoy your WWOOF experience, it's amazing!
    Claudia & Jim

    ReplyDelete

Thank you visiting this blog and leaving a message or comment. C + J