Cambodia.

wwoofing – Battambang

This morning we left the organic farm of Olivier and Darin. And it was difficult. For the past 8 days we shared their dream of an organic farm with them. For all who don’t know what wwoofing stands for…

WWOOFing is learning and sharing sustainable living practices through volunteering on organic farms.

WWOOFing.com links volunteers with farms.

In return for volunteer help, WWOOFing farms offer food and accommodation in addition to learning opportunities.

Our day started pretty normal. We got up as usual around 6 am, started packing our backbags, had breakfast, washed the bed linen and finally joined the team meeting for the very last time.

It was nearly overwhelming to hear how much people had appreciated/liked/loved us being there. There were comments regarding our daughters and their energy and their confidence. There were comments about all the stuff we had been involved in, the ideas we had brought  – it was just really really nice. People who had just met us were just as kind as people who had spend the last 8 days with us. It does give you a feeling about the atmosphere that is created in a place like Oliviers.

When our taxi finally arrived, there were final hugs, some tears and the hope to see each other again – one day. We would love to see more people – especially families doing a wwoofing experience. It can only help our planet if the next generation has a different relationship to food, to our soil, to organic products, to farming and connected to that to pricing of those products. Olivier and his family is doing a fantastic job and if any of you ever wants to have a great time on an organic farm – either working or on holiday, go to visit them, go and experience nature, fresh products, delicious cooking and a friendly atmosphere towards everybody. But Olivier needs our help to finish his dream. He wants to reach out to his community and build a football field. And Darin wants to give the local youth the opportunity to come to their farm, spend time there and learn for example how to build a mud house. Olivier want to be completely self sustainable and needs to build a water purification system for that. Darin wants to produce organic teas and dried fruit from their garden and needs to build a solar run dryer/dehydrating machine. And. And. Both of them have so many dreams. And I believe they are not just changing their lives but all lives they are touching: those of the volunteers who come and help, those of the tourists who will come in the future and especially those of their own community. If you feel that this years Xmas present could be of a different kind, get in touch either with Olivier directly via facebook or with me and I get you connected. Every Dollar would help. Just to give you an idea: Olivier and his family can realize most of their projects if they can raise 5000 Dollar. 

We will keep in touch. Crazy ideas are in the air. Their son coming to stay with us for a while and in exchange Lara going to their place for a while. Wouldn’t that be great?

Funny story on the side: We were officially the oldest people on the farm. Stéphane and I were even older than Olivier and Darin. Oh well, watch out – the oldies are coming 🙂

Yesterday we had decided to take a private taxi from the farm to Battambang. Private means, that we didn’t have to share with 5 other people one car like on the way from Siem Reap to Sisophon. But this is normal here. So today was luxury and after two hours we already arrived at Battambang at the hotel I had booked. A quick look at the rooms and we decided to stay.

After a short break we left the hotel and went exploring the city. From the little I have seen it is a nice place. There seem to be a lot of expats here – especially French. We found ourselves a nice cafe for lunch and a shop selling facial scrubs made of sugar, coconut oil and essential oils. Yummi. We talked a bit to the French shop owner, got an idea for tomorrow, booked our tuk tuk driver directly and are now all sitting in front of the hotel enjoying WiFi for the first time in 8 days.

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