Farm Work Abroad

Paying and Volunteer Farm Jobs

Farm work at the Permaculture and Ecovillage Institute of the Pampas in Bage, Brazil. Photo courtesy of Organic Volunteers.

Earth to City Ecuador Volunteers do hands-on farming, fishing or wildlife activities typical of rural Ecuadorean communities. In the mountains, work side-by-side with community members to milk cows, make cheese, plant organic fruits and vegetables, harvest, fleece sheep, gather wild mushrooms, cook, teach English to locals, and more. In the jungle, make jewelry out of seeds, take notes on wildlife during jungle patrols, tour petroleum extracting facilities, take part in jungle activities under guidance of members of the Cofan indigenous community. On the coast, fish, chop plantains, pull up yuca, trap crabs, harvest coconuts, make raw chocolate out of cacao, and more...
	Dates: Every Monday through Friday, ongoing, year round. Minimum 5 days stay with option to extend as longer-term volunteer. Cost: $320 - $380 for first 5 days, including food, lodging, bilingual English-Spanish guide, optional Spanish lessons, all transportation and hands-on activities; After that, about $6/day paid to family to cover electricity and water costs. Fees as longer-term volunteer may be waived if you have significant agricultural/wildlife experience. Contact: Tien-Shun Lee, Founder & Community Coordinator, Earth to City; Mailing address: Earth to City, c/o EarthMatters, 177 Ludlow St., New York, NY 10002. Tel. 1-914-648-1689. Email: tien.shun@gmail.com Website: www.earthtocity.org
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Agriventure (International Agricultural Exchange Association), #105, 7710-5th St. SE, Calgary, Alta T2H 2L9, Canada; 403-255-7799; usa@agriventure.com; www.agriventure.com. Farm placements of agricultural trainees for 4-12 months in Scandinavia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, plus Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

AMS Ltd., Tel. 011-0870-7270050 or 011-07740-086555; info@fruitfuljobs.com, www.fruitfuljobs.com. Consortium of British fruit growers who pool information about job vacancies in the U.K. on this website. Most work offers include accommodation. Work permit required.

Agroimpuls, c/o Farmers’ Union, Laurstrasse 10, 5201 Brugg, Switzerland; 011-41-56-462-51-44; www.agroimpuls.ch. Swiss Farmers’ Union runs a program for trainees in agriculture horticulture and rural home economics. Must be professionally trained or have two to three years’ experience. No German or French necessary.

Communicating for Agriculture Exchange Program (CAEP), 112 East Lincoln Ave., Fergus Falls, MN 56538-0677; 218-739-3241, www.caep.org. Work abroad program in a range of countries for people aged 18-30 (some programs vary) with at least two years of practical experience in agriculture, horticulture, or equine husbandry. For winemaking, exchange participants must be aged 21-35 and have experience of at least one grape harvest.

English Gardens Ltd, Ebulula Cad, Caglayan Sitesi A Blok 1-3, Akatlar, Istanbul, Turkey; 011-90-212-351-1042; cat@englishgardens.com.tr. Working holidays, agri-tourism and work experience on organic farms in Turkey and related projects building a bridge, clearing forest, etc. Anyone with practical skills (e.g. agricultural, horticultural, landscape, gardening, technical) welcome.

HELP Exchange, www.helpx.net. Free info exchange for people seeking farm work and other seasonal jobs for free accommodation and meals in Australia and New Zealand. About 200 addresses in Australia and 250 in New Zealand.

Jobaroo, www.jobaroo.com, provides information about seasonal farm work and fruit picking opportunities in Australia. Jobaroo also has visa information and other useful resources for travelers and other professionals interested in living and working in Australia.

National Harvest Labour Information Service, jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail/default.aspx. Centralized source of information on vacancies in fruit and vegetable harvests and other farm work throughout Australia, especially in the busy harvest season (Jan-March) in Victoria, around Mooroopna.

Ninukot ltd: Farmwork in Iceland. Each farm is different as is each family. The most common farmwork includes milking cows, caring for cattle and sheep, tractor work,gathering the sheep in the fall, help with the lambing in the spring and the hay-making in the summer. Monthly pay E1430. Food & board deducted at E20 per day. Contact: ninukot@ninukot.is, www.ninukot.is.

Organic Volunteers, www.GrowFood.org, offers paid work, internships, and volunteer opportunities in organic farming, natural building, renewable energy, ecovillages, and ecological projects in all 50 States and 21 Latin American Countries. Contact: ethan@organicvolunteers.com—and please include the word "organic" in the subject line.

PickingJobs.com—www.pickingjobs.com, is the place to find interesting seasonal jobs abroad. As the name suggests, fruit picking features strongly but you can now also find work in the fields of organic farming, nature conservation, the environment and green and sustainable energy.

Planorganic.com, www.planorganic.com, based in West Cork, posts a few vacancies on Irish organic and ordinary farms. There is no WWOOF branch in Ireland but the international WWOOF organization lists countries worldwide with independent hosts offering a work-for-keep arrangement.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), www.seasonal-agricultural-workers-scheme.info. A scheme managed by the British government that allows up to 16,250 full-time students from outside the European Union to do harvesting and other manual work for participating farmers. Applicants must contact one or more of the nine participating agencies directly (e.g. the not-for-profit organization Concordia, www.concordia.org.uk/farms); details of others provided on website.

Seasonal Work NZ, P.O. Box 2075, Rotorua, New Zealand; janine@seasonalwork.co.nz; www.seasonalwork.co.nz. Publicizes short-term jobs for travelers with a valid working holiday visa, mainly in the fields of farm work such as fruit harvesting and processing, but also in restaurants, construction, etc.

Stablemate, PO Box 1206, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia; 011-61-2-4587 9770; info@stablemate.net.au. Supplies staff with relevant experience to the horse industry. Operates equine exchange program with the U.S.

Torrens Valley Orchards, Forreston Rd. Gumeracha, S.A., Australia; 011-61-8-3891405; tvo@hotkey.net.au; www.tvo.com.au. Orchard farm work Dec-Sept, especially cherry picking and packing (Dec-Jan).

Visitoz Scheme, Springbrook Farm, MS188, Goomeri, Queensland 4601, Australia; 011-61-7-4168-6106; www.visitoz.org. Station (i.e. ranch) which runs 5-day courses in outback working techniques and then directs participants with working holiday visas to one of nearly 1000 employers offering paid farm jobs on the land and in the hospitality industry. Course fee includes visa service for US citizens aged 18-30.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Global website has links to the national offices in the countries that have a WWOOF coordinator. National WWOOF coordinators compile a list of their member farmers willing to provide free room and board to volunteers who want to help and are interested in furthering the aims of the organic movement through work on local farms. Currently there are WWOOF branches in the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Ghana, Uganda, Nepal, China, Japan, Korea, and U.S. An online list of organic farms in all other countries (known as WWOOF Independents) can be obtained from the website.