WWOOF not about dogs either

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
Johnathan i thought of you when i found out about this place. Anyone have experience of this organization.

http://www.wwoof.org/northamerica.asp

Sounds like one could spend a good holiday on one of these places learning some organic farming.

More i hear of the food scares the more i have the desire to grow my own. I would rather kill myself accidently than rely on someone else to do it.:)
 
Rob, a magazine I have written articles for and have an assignment to write a couple more, Rural Heritage, is responsible for making me leave my farm and meet face to face with some notable oxen teamsters. Tillers is in Michigan, never asked Larry if he had heard of it or been there. They host classes covering many many topics. Blacksmithing, ox driving, etc. They do it mostly as they host third world people and try to teach them to be self sufficient or increase their productivity using stuff they have or can get readily. It doesn't help people if we invade with multi million dollar equipment because when it breaks down they don't have the capabilities to repair. So Tillers takes a different approach. Here is their website. Please enjoy.

http://www.tillersinternational.org/

Oh, through Rural Heritage there is a listing of farms for work experience, money, etc.
 
Thanks for the Link Johnathan. :thumb::thumb:

I am hijacking my own thread for a moment to add to what you mentioned while its relevant.

What you said about that organization hosting many third world people and helping them being more self sufficient with what they can access in their situation is music to my ears.

I cannot stress to people how important this is.

When i first came to Canada i met a guy that was active in his church group and they had collected up money to help a village in Malawi. He asked me about what i thought if they sent them a grain miller. They had a nice Briggs and Straton unit in mind and were all excited with the idea with plans for some members to fly over and deliver it and show them how to work it.

My advise was rethink what you want to send such that it can be maintained without the need for gas and without the need for any knowlege on motors. Its almost impossible for people living in the west to comprehend the complete state of disparity that exists in Africa. Even if at best one can access a part for a small machine, the cost is so prohibtive never mind finding someone that can diagnose where the problem is before the whole device is pulled to pieces.

The kind of ingenuity needed in their case is to have devices that are self maintaining and to some degree tamper proof.

But the best is to consult with the local people themselves as to what they would find of benefit. We simply cannot see it from their perspective. Even the best idea i had seen which involved a merry go round acting as a pump and a storage tank turned out to be a dead loss years later for many reasons.

Education, education like you mention is the best. I also learnt a huge lesson once in Malawi during a sailing expedition up there. Illiteracy does not equal lack of intelligence. So consulting rural people on the way they see a solution is critical.

Now imagine receiving as a package of foreign aid which you gonna pay for over 15 years, one of the most sophisticated public telephone exchanges with at the time some of the most complex microprocessor technology around. How long do you think this lasted in one of the capital cities.
Any guesses? Its an incredibly complex and at times overwhelming problem when one realizes the complexities of helping people over there.
 
Exactly Rob. If you didn't see it, here is their thought process to their work.

International Rural Development



Tillers' mission is to preserve, study, and exchange low-capital technologies that increase the productivity of rural communities. We provide international trainings and consultations on the introduction or maximization of animal power, blacksmithing, woodworking, intensive pasturing and fodder, low-capital technologies, and more. Tillers conducts ground based hands-on trainings in international rural villages, larger population centers, at our Cook's Mill Learning Center in Michigan, and at our new learning center in Chimoio, Mozambique.


The Elements of Tillers' Approach

Our principal product is inspiring rural innovation.

Low-capital rural technology is the medium through which we build attitudes of experimentation.

Grassroots people-to-people exchange is at the core of Tillers' approach.

Listening before acting is critical.

The knowledge and skill base for our work has become scarce.

Partner organizations support our innovators overseas.

Quality tools and facilities inspire world-class innovations and re-invention.


Teaching me woodworking with tools I could never afford or have use to after leaving the class makes my education useless. That is one of the things I love about what I teach in the high school. Welding and woodturning have an inherent cost to purchasing the main piece of equipment, but less than $500.00 can get them up and running with critical pieces of equipment and safety equipment. Their work ethics and desires can then improve their equipment. (nothing wrong with starting with nothing!)

Thank you for the WWOOF link. Don't remember seeing it before.
 
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