As of Saturday morning, the next leg of my trip has been established. I'll be spending 3ish weeks on the border of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, working on a farm and in a restaurant. I can't be more excited.
Let me back up a bit. When I first hatched this plan, a main draw for me was going to a different country to learn about food and cooking culture. I did some research and found that one of the best ways to do this was WWOOF. WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and was first conceptualized in the seventies in England. The early premise was that farms would host urban visitors who would support the organic movement by working weekends.
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| Photo courtesy beersandbeans.com (a great WWOOF blog!) |
The current set up is simple: you pay a modest membership fee to the organization, which then gives you access to the farm directory. You then contact farms directly to inquire about availability, and set up an agreement on length of stay, hours worked, etc.
Early on, I decided Italy would be a prime location for me to have my first WWOOFing experience. It's close to France (my first stop), it's the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement, the regional cuisines are ahmazing, and I've never been My mother once spent 3 months there visiting an Italian boyfriend, though it turns out Vincenzo had a penchant for American women, and secretly housed multiple girlfriends in separate apartments throughout Calabria. Needless to say, the relationship ended, and Mom went back to the U.S.- though she ended up marrying (and divorcing) a Sicilian instead.
In April I became a member of WWOOF Italia (35 euro, about $40), which not only connects you with farms, but also provides insurance coverage for its WWOOFers. I neglected to search for farms until about two weeks ago. However, once I started, it was easy to type in search terms like "cooking" and "restaurant" to find farms that had a culinary component. I then became aware of agriturismo, farms that double as B&Bs or restaurants for visiting tourists. It seemed I would get the best experience volunteering at one of those, as it combines farming, cooking, and constantly meeting new people.
I sent out about half a dozen emails to farms, mostly in the Piedmont and Tuscan regions. I had a two rejections, one that couldn't host me the entire time I was available, and a couple of no-answers. I was getting a little worried that I hadn't started my search soon enough, but two farms wrote back with availability, one in the Piedmont and one in Emilia-Romagna. I spent a couple of days agonizing between the two, but finally settled on Agriturismo Santa Reparata, a farm outside of Modigliana.
Santa Reparata is owned by a young Italian couple, Martina and Roberto, and has been in operation for almost two years. This is the first summer they're accepting WWOOFers. Martina and Roberto operate the farm with the help of friends, and also run a restaurant. You can see (and translate) the menu on their website. Yummm. Martina emailed me to say that they need help in the garden, harvesting their berries (they have 1000 blackberry, gooseberry, currant, and raspberry plants), taking care of the animals, and working in the restaurant.
"About the restaurant, we ask wwoofers to help us (according to their abilities and the needs of the moment), in the kitchen to prepare pasta, bread, vegetables, ecc..., or to clean and organize the dining room, wash some dishes."
Um, yes please. Teach me everything you know.
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| A wedding at Santa Reparata |
However, that's a few months away! I'm glad I've nailed down the next leg of my journey before flying out next week. This week, I'm home with the fam, and will focus on packing, buying last minute supplies, eating all the food, and tying up all my financial loose ends before I head out. Looking forward to spending some time in Kansas before we head back to Minneapolis to move alllll my stuff into storage. Crazy.
Until next time!
Sophie
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