It's been less than two weeks since I've arrived in France. The first farm that I've been staying at has been Cagnolle, just outside of Belvès, a historic medieval town in the south of the country. The land and a few of the buildings were purchased in 2008 by Benoît & Francesca, owners and operators of Cagnolle. Now the once downtrodden site is in the process of renovation, but already looks ages away from what the property looked like when it was purchased four years ago. Described as an experimental agricultural ecosystem, the farm is constantly growing as the couple tends to their goats, sheep, and chickens, several vegetable and herb gardens, and the 400 walnut trees planted within the past couple of years.
As I described in my last post, WWOOF is an invisible organization as it relies on the participants for it to function. Within each partnership between worker and host, it has the ability to run full circle. I've only been here for a limited time so far, but my understanding of the program's dynamic is fairly good just by dipping my toe in the water. The most important thing is not to have expectations, I guess apart from a sense of optimism and anticipation of the adventures to come. This is especially true in that there really are no rules in regards to how the farmers treat you and what they provide apart from our inherent human rights, therefore, there isn't such thing as a consistent experience in WWOOF and it becomes less of a job and more of a glimpse into a new and unique culture. If you're planning on WWOOF across a larger area, staying at several farms consecutively, obviously each place is going to treat and provide in a different sort of manner. You must be able to adapt, and go with the flow in order to suffice and truly immerse yourself. An organic farm isn't just a hotel, so you will not be provided with breakfast in bed and warm towels each morning when you rise as soon as the sun goes down. There's a kind of a thrill from facing every sort of trepidation head on, and you can think of it in terms of how you are going to grow or you can just breathe and live in the moment and watch your majesty unfold as the Universe offers you the ultimate experience.
At Cagnolle, we eat breakfast at 8am (bread and jam, with tea) and then work until noon. Lunch is around 1pm, followed by a short break, and then working until around 6:30pm or later depending on the day, finally finishing with a late dinner at 8 or 9pm. The vegetarian means consist of mainly plants and ingredients from the farm, as well as a few other things as Cagnolle is not yet completely self-sustainable (that's the aspiration). There is, however, a lot of creativity that goes into maintaining variety and complete, healthful meals from basic ingredients and produce, so there really isn't ever a dull moment at the dining table (much wine is also a big help). We also do not throw away food, and will finish leftovers before making a new meal. Meals are a nice accommodation to the work that we do five days a week, ranging from general maintenance to the farm, new projects, or preparation for particular events, like visits from people renting rooms or organic fairs. It's incredible to put myself completely into tasks without the incentive of pay, but rather becoming part of the system of the farm, and even getting the satisfaction of the much bigger project that it is, really a community we are all a part of. Everybody can get involved in their own way, as it will all connect here on Earth.
Cagnolle's Website
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