Identity Development Through Volunteer Tourism

Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture

Identity Development through Volunteer Tourism

A qualitative study of WWOOF volunteers’ identity formation

Identitetsutveckling genom volontärturism En kvalitativ studie av WWOOFares identitetsarbete

Linnea Börjars Course 758G47. Spring 2012

Undergraduate Thesis in Tourism. Supervisor Josefina Syssner

Abstract Tourism is a fast growing phenomenon. As every person has a different motivation to travel new and alternative forms of tourism are continuously developing. Depending on form of tourism and the tourist’s motivation to take on a certain trip, the experience has a smaller or bigger impression on the individual.

This study examines what influences volunteer trips can have on identities, focusing on volunteers in the organization WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. To understand the development of identities, theories about identity work have been researched. The material derives from a participant observation and 14 semi-structured interviews that mainly were conducted in Oregon, USA.

The analysis of the results reveals four main themes for how the individuals’ identities have changed and what factors that have caused this change. These themes are perceived change, cultural exchange, significance of place, and differences between WWOOFers and other tourists. The study shows that travels, in this case volunteer trips, affect individuals in many ways. Rèsumé Le tourisme est un phénomène en pleine expansion. Chaque personne a un motivation différent pour voyager, donc des nouvelles formes et des formes alternatives du tourisme se développent continuellement. La forme du tourisme et le motivation du touriste déterminent l’effet du voyage sur l’individu.

Cette étude examine l’influence des voyages bénévoles sur les identités des bénévoles, avec un foyer sur les bénévoles dans l’organisation WWOOF--World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (Occasions Mondial sur les Fermes Biologiques). Pour comprendre le développement des identités, il faut rechercher les théories d'identité. Ces matériaux dérivent de l’observation participante et 14 interviews semi-structurées, la plupart qui était menée en Oregon, aux États-Unis.

L'analyse des résultats révèlent quatre thèmes principaux pour comment les identités des individus ont changé, et quels facteurs ont causé ces changements. Ces thèmes sont les changements perçu, l'échange culturel, l’importance de l’endroit, et les différences entre les bénévoles de WWOOF et des autres touristes. Cette étude montre que les voyages, en ce cas les voyages bénévoles, touchent les individus dans plusieurs façons.

Sammanfattning Turism är ett snabbt växande fenomen. Eftersom varje person har egna motiv till att resa utvecklas ständigt nya och alternativa resformer. Vilket avtryck resan gör på individen beror på vald turismform samt turistens motiv till att åka på en viss resa.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilka influenser en volontärresa kan ha på individen, med fokus på volontärer som reser genom organisationen WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. För att förstå hur identiteter utvecklas har identitetsteorier

tillämpats på materialet. Materialet kommer från en deltagande observation och 14 semistrukturerade intervjuer som övervägande gjorts i Oregon, USA.

Analysen av resultatet visade på fyra teman för hur volontärers identiteter påverkats. Dessa var upplevd förändring, kulturellt utbyte, platsens betydelse och hur volontärturisterna skiljer sig från andra turister. Studien visar därmed på att resor, i detta fall volontärresor, påverkar individen på flera olika sätt.

Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank my WWOOF hosts Andrea Davis and John Madsen for making my participant observation a fantastic and memorable time, and for putting me in contact with other farms and thereby reaching more informants. I also want to thank all the volunteers who have shown interest in my study and been willing to help by sharing their stories and experiences.

Special thanks to my supervisor Josefina Syssner for dedicated feedback all through the process, and to Emelie Bouvin, Sara Svärdsén Sporre, and Ulrika Petersson for their company and support during the writing process and for all good food.

Finally I would like to show my appreciation to Breanna Draxler, Anders Melin, Kristin Knudson and Ludvig Linse for valuable proofreading.

Linnea Börjars

Linköping, May, 23, 2012

Table of contents 1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Aim and issue ...... 2 1.2 Limits of the study ...... 2 2 Literature review ...... 4 2.1 What affects the experience ...... 4 2.2 Women’s identity work ...... 4 2.3 How volunteer tourism differs from other forms of tourism ...... 5 2.4 Motives for volunteers ...... 5 3 Research design and methodology ...... 8 3.1 Participant observation ...... 8 3.2 Interviews ...... 8 4 Theoretical framework ...... 11 4.1 Social constructivism ...... 11 4.2 Identity theory ...... 12 4.2.1 Identities as narratives ...... 12 4.2.2 Identities as procedural ...... 13 4.2.3 Identities as relational ...... 14 4.2.4 Identities as multiple and contextual ...... 15 5 Findings ...... 17 5.1 Motives for WWOOFing ...... 17 5.1.1 A cheap way to travel ...... 18 5.2 Perceived change ...... 19 5.2.1 Personal change ...... 19 5.2.2 Environmental awareness ...... 20 5.2.3 The WWOOFer ...... 21 5.2.4 Concluding remarks ...... 22 5.3 Cultural exchange ...... 22 5.3.1 A diverse exchange ...... 22 5.3.2 Life pace ...... 23 5.3.3 Sharing knowledge ...... 24 5.3.4 Concluding remarks ...... 25 5.4 Significance of place ...... 25

5.4.1 A healthy place ...... 25 5.4.2 Simple life ...... 26 5.4.3 Contradictory identities ...... 27 5.4.4 Concluding remarks ...... 27 5.5 Perceived differences between WWOOFers and other tourists ...... 27 5.5.1 Experiencing culture ...... 27 5.5.2 Social interactions ...... 28 5.5.3 Connection to the place ...... 29 5.5.4 Outside the tourist bubble ...... 29 5.5.5 Alternative tourism ...... 31 5.5.6 Concluding remarks ...... 32 6 Final conclusion ...... 33 6.1 Future research ...... 34 References ...... 35

“You get the knowledge that they give you and they benefit from your muscles and your brain” - Chris, WWOOF volunteer in Oregon

1 Introduction This chapter begins with a historical review of volunteer tourism and the organization WWOOF, which has a special focus in this study, followed by aim and issue as well as limitations of the study.

Tourism is a fast growing phenomenon that creates opportunities for people and cultures to meet. New and alternative forms of tourism are continuously developing as every person has a different motivation to travel, sometimes even various motivations within the same trip (Sin, 2009). As we now live in an experience economy tourists want to be an active part of the experience instead of just watching (Cloke & Perkins, Crouch & Desforges in Sin, 2009), something that Benson (2011, p. 14) calls a participatory travel experience. Many tourists ask for memorable and unique experiences. Within some forms of alternative tourism there is an urge to go to non-tourist places, to spend time with locals at the destination, and to contribute to the local community in some way (Benson, 2011, p. 14). A relatively new phenomenon is to travel as a volunteer and to offer one’s manpower to small scale farms in rural areas and receive free food and housing in return. There are both tour operators and non-profit organizations that offer volunteer vacations (Brown, 2005, p. 479). Already in 1987 McMillon listed 75 such organizations and in 2003 the number had increased to 275. Brown (2005, p. 480) explained that the projects offered can include: agriculture, archaeology, community development, conservation, construction, education and teaching, environmental protection and research, technical assistance, historic preservation, medical and dental assistance, and work camps. One of the organizations creating this kind of opportunities is WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, which is studied in this report.

WWOOF started in 1971 by offering a weekend trip to a rural English farm for urban citizens interested in the organic movement. Soon it became clear that there were many of the city dwellers who were longing for some time on the countryside. Likewise, small scale farmers were happy to get help on the farm. Working weekends on organic farms became popular as it opened an exchange between host and volunteer. Farmers had practical experience of self sufficiency and could provide guidance for a more sustainable way of living for the urban citizens. In 2000 a name change took place as the present name Willing workers on organic farms caused confusion and misunderstandings as the word work was associated with migrant workers. World wide opportunities on organic farms as it has been called since then, is established in over one hundred countries for volunteers wanting to try the life of an organic farmer in different places, all over the world (WWOOF, 2011).

Wherever people go and whoever they meet during travels they are affected somehow. In order to begin to understand what broader meaning WWOOF experiences have in volunteers’ life stories, it is important to examine the impact travel experiences have on identities. Therefore, the theoretical framework used in this study is identity theory. The data were

1 collected through ethnographic methods, specifically participant observation and semi- structured interviews.

Travel motivation can be different among people choosing the same form of tourism. Even the same person can have diverse goals and ambitions with one trip. It can be shifting between being a world saver providing manpower to the local community and partying on the beach with backpackers (Elsrud, 2004, p. 31; Uriely, Yonay and Simchau, 2002, p. 535). Brown (2005, p. 480) suggests two forms of volunteer tourism depending on mindset: the “volunteer- minded” tourist devote most of the time on his or her vacation for volunteer activities while the “vacation-minded” tourist is offered to partake in a shorter project at the destination where they get to meet locals.

Identities are ever changing as they are challenged and recreated in unique situations and while meeting different people. For tourism researchers it is interesting to analyze what tourists think of themselves in different situations. What do they want to achieve with their travels? What happens to their identities throughout the time traveling? What effect do certain events or people encountered have on the way in which tourists see themselves? How are they different when they come home? In this study WWOOF volunteers are asked to reflect on how they think their identities have changed throughout their time as a volunteer and what influences have caused these changes. These findings can be used to inform the larger questions of whether or not traveling to a foreign country with the intention of being a volunteer working for food and board is a form of tourism.

1.1 Aim and issue This study aims to examine identity work through travels focusing on volunteer tourism, specifically in the organization WWOOF.

● What role does the WWOOF experience play in the volunteers’ life stories? ● In what way do volunteers perceive that WWOOF creates opportunities for cultural and social exchange that influence their identities? The study will provide an analysis of the broader meaning of WWOOFing as it relates to volunteers’ identity work. How have the respondents experienced that they have changed and how are they predicting to be different after WWOOFing? What is the significance of place when it comes to who volunteers think they are and who they want to be? WWOOF as a cultural exchange is also examined. The study will analyze how the volunteers see themselves in comparison to other types of tourists and locals, as well as how they label themselves.

1.2 Limits of the study This study focuses on WWOOF in the Corvallis area in Oregon, USA. All small scale farmers have their unique challenges and opportunities which affect the experiences of volunteers. Although the area is not representative of all WWOOF experiences it is an ideal location for this kind of study. Oregon has 85 WWOOF farms and is a popular destination for WWOOFers (WWOOF-USA, 2011). Volunteers in the Corvallis area can in the interviews refer to previous WWOOFing experiences from other places. To add credibility and anchor the data from Oregon farms three interviews are done within a Swedish context. The study

2 will seek to understand what role the WWOOF experience plays in the broader context of volunteers’ lives. The study has a particular emphasis on identity work and how it is affected by place, people encountered and situation.

2 Literature review In this chapter previous research on volunteer tourism with a focus on identity work is presented. I will look into differences and similarities between previous research and this study regarding methods, theories and results. The four areas considered are what affects the experience, women’s identity work, how volunteer tourism differs from other forms of tourism, and motives for volunteers.

There is a huge variety of perspectives that can be applied on the phenomenon WWOOFing. The amount of recent research on volunteer tourism and volunteers mirrors the increasing interest in an expanding niche (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 255). This was confirmed by a Google search, which yielded 77,200 hits on “volunteer tourism” on October 26, 2011 (Google, 2011).

2.1 What affects the experience “Volunteer tourism – experiences that make a difference” by Wearing (2001) is a study examining the experiences of volunteers in the Santa Elena Rainforest Reserve project and what impact it has on their creation of social value. The way it creates a foundation for the volunteer’s self and identity is explored by analyzing their narratives from a grounded theory perspective.

Urry (in Wearing, 2001, p. 79) claims that all tourists have their own idea of what’s being experienced depending on their previous social experience. Social position, preferences, values and beliefs are personal characteristics that Hamilton-Smith points out to have an impact on the experience (in Wearing, 2001, p. 82). It is also stated from a number of researchers that social background, personality and attitude play a role in what way the tourist interpret the experience (Wearing, 2001, p. 81). Also, the structure and operation of the volunteer organization affects the experience. As volunteers travel with the purpose of assisting in the local community they differ from most other tourists and they see themselves as alternative tourists (Wearing, 2001, p. 80).

Wearing’s (2001, p. 123) view is in line with the approach of this study, that since volunteer tourism is socially constructed, the experience gets its meaning from social interactions with others. The volunteer role differs from the role the individual is taking on in everyday life. While an individual’s experience can impact his or her identity, others can also contribute to this identity formation. When the acts of the volunteer are interpreted by others the individual is redefined (Wearing, 2001, p. 123). In interactions between volunteers or between volunteers and people from the local community the physical place gets a social value (Wearing, 2001, p. 125). There is an exchange of influences between the parts that affects the self and identity.

2.2 Women’s identity work According to Wearing (2001) women’s experiences of more adventurous tourist activities are shown to bring emotional, physical and psychological benefits. Women of the post-industrial society are searching for alternative forms of tourism because of its contrast to the role women are expected to fulfill at home (Wearing, 2001, p. 86). People go to natural areas in

4 their search for being recognized as adventurous, Wearing argues (2001, p. 86). Central to tourism motivation is the desire to escape from everyday life at home and search for meaning, according to Iso-Ahola (in Wearing, 2001, p. 93). Wearing argues that an experience affects the formation of an individual’s values and therefore also their sense of identity. In a tourism experiences cultural stereotypes can be challenged and alternative methods of forming identities can be introduced to the individual (Wearing, 2001, p. 87).

Egeland (1999, p. 73) have a similar reasoning when she examines backpacker trips as expressions for, and a part of, identity projects of young women. Their travels are not only taking a geographical dimension in this study but also mental. The author investigates what gender roles women are “escaping from” when deciding to take on a backpacker trip and what they wish to find in themselves when being away from the everyday routines at home. Nowadays individuals have the opportunity to choose their own ways and directions in life to a bigger extent than before, something mentioned as a cultural liberation by Ziehe (in Egeland, 1999, p. 79).

2.3 How volunteer tourism differs from other forms of tourism In their work, McIntosh and Bonnemann (2006) examine how a WWOOF experience is different from a farm stay at a commercial farm. One dimension of WWOOFing that makes it unique is the personal meaningfulness of the visit. In-depth interviews with visitors in New Zealand show that spending time at a WWOOF farm together with hosts and other visitors has encouraged personal growth, to see and understand oneself better and to live one’s ideals (McIntosh & Bonnemann, 2006, p. 94).

The power relationship of mass tourism – where locals are servants of the western visitors – is causing self-destructive identities, claims Wearing and Ponting (2009, p. 263). They point out a Third space where social value and identity can develop in absence of the self-other dichotomy. Not constrained of a dominating hegemonic culture the third space is a place where hosts and tourists can interact and learn from each other with an open mind (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 263). The authors (2009, p. 263) states that culture is seen as something ever changing by influences from anyone taking part of it. Hosts are reflecting, educating and interpreting as visitors are part of the re-presentation but not intruding on the culture.

2.4 Motives for volunteers Lo and Lee (2011) examine the motivation of volunteers from Hong Kong and their perceived value of the experience. Focus group and personal interviews were conducted to explore what kind of trip the person had partake, how it was done and the reason for attending in volunteer tourism. Five motivations were found to participate in volunteer tourism: cultural immersion and interaction with local people, desire to give back, seeking a shared experience and an educational opportunity, religious involvement, and escaping from everyday life. When it comes to perceived value the volunteers mentioned six things: changed view of life, relationship enhancement, personal development and growth, broadening horizons and gaining memorable life experience, and influence on future career, studies, and life direction. Also factors affecting the volunteer’s decision to participate in such tourism in the future were

5 examined. Time, financial ability, safety and health issues, the arrangements and scale of the volunteer tours, and the reputation of the organizers were important factors.

The motivation of tourists who take part in volunteer activities on their leisure vacation and the impacts of that experience are examined by Brown (2005). The material is collected through focus groups and in-depth personal interviews to get an understanding of attitudes instead of quantitatively measuring them. Brown (2005, p. 494) stresses that the volunteer vacationers, that they call them, have motives from both the altruistic volunteer tourist and the mass tourist. The authors see a temporary satisfaction in contributing to the local community and an enduring effect from it in a developed self and strengthened relationships with family members. Shared interests and values with others in the travel group and interacting with locals leads to mutual understanding and friendship. The authors suggest that this hybrid of tourism forms can constitute a new successful market segment.

The article by Sin (2009) is based on 11 interviews and a participant observation in South Africa with students representing “Action Africa” from a university in Singapore. The result in this study reveals, in contrary to other studies on volunteer tourism, that the volunteer experience not for certain has lead to substantial change in value system, social consciousness, or has motivated the individual to volunteer again. Many of the interviewees see their activity as “international service-learning“, a way to learn about needs in the society by participating in solving them, rather than volunteer tourism. This puts personal development in focus instead of the ability to contribute to a positive change in host communities. What a volunteer tourist takes out from his or her experience depend on the original motivation, the context in which the volunteer work took place, the kind of project, contact with the local community, and what other volunteers were involved. To live outside the tourism bubble means meeting locals and see how the identity is affected in a heterogeneous place. To be, do, touch and see, instead of just seeing, is what modern tourists ask for (Cloke and Perkins, Crouch and Desforges in Sin, 2009).

This overview indicates that studies with similar approaches using similar methods can end in various results. For example, when it comes to motives for volunteers, a number of articles challenge the traditional understanding of volunteer motives as only altruistic. Sin (2009), as well as, Loo and Lee (2011), and Brown (2005) show results of motives that tend towards being more centered on the self. For example, the informants mention motives in the form of personal growth and meaningfulness, learning, broadening one’s horizons, and to gain a memorable life experience.

The volunteers in these studies are of western nationalities and their volunteer trips are directed south. This is probably the most common pattern when it comes to volunteer work. The reason to why volunteers in my study reveal self-fulfilling motives can be found in the relationship between the home country and the country visited. When people from the north travel to another country in the north, or within his or her own country, the power relation between the tourist and locals are not as uneven as it can be between people in the north and the south.

In similarity to this study Wearing (2001) examines how volunteer experience constitute the foundation for the volunteer’s self and identity. While this study is limited to experiences from WWOOF farms, McIntosh and Bonnemann (2006) examines the differences in experiences between WWOOF farms and a commercial farm stay.

Two authors shed light on women’s identity specifically. Egeland (1999) and Wearing (2001) both discuss how women take on adventurous trips to get away from the role a woman is expected to fulfill at home and instead find an alternative identity. Egeland states that backpacker trips can be an identity project for young women. This study has no special interest in any of the sexes, but strives to mirror the experiences of a similar amount of men and women.

3 Research design and methodology This chapter covers the methods used in this study and a discussion about validity and potential sources of error.

In order to collect data for this study I used the ethnographic methods including interviews and participant observations. Ekström and Larsson (2010, p. 48) state that participant observations are good complements to interviews since people have a tendency to do things differently than they say they do. In the authors’ view, the combination of the methods sheds light on what people do, the meaning of their actions and how they reason.

In addition to a 17-day participant observation at Kings Valley Gardens in Oregon, USA, interviews were conducted with volunteers working at the farm. By doing a qualitative study volunteers’ experiences of WWOOFing can be mapped and examined. The overall aim is to examine what role the WWOOF experience plays in the volunteers’ life stories by analyzing how they talk about their experience.

3.1 Participant observation To get a better understanding of how a WWOOF farm operates I lived at Kings Valley Gardens and participated in the daily duties for 17 days during the summer of 2011. The specific farm was chosen based on its good reviews on the WWOOF website. According to Ekström and Larsson (2010, p. 30) the researcher can get access to the field and be let in to the private sphere by participating in activities. By participating in the work as a volunteer while doing my participant observation I gained acceptance as a researcher.

When people heard about my thesis work they were eager to facilitate my data gathering by offering their time for an interview or suggesting others to interview. I do not directly describe my own personal observations of the experience in this study, but my participation served as a foundation for my understanding of the WWOOFing context and helped me determine what questions to ask my interviewees.

3.2 Interviews A total of 14 volunteers were interviewed. Seven interviews were conducted face to face at Kings Valley Gardens, six of which I had also encountered and observed at the same farm. Four interviews were done on the phone with Americans and one with a Swede. One Swedish respondent was interviewed face to face in her home in Sweden. Two volunteers I interviewed twice. The interviewees were between 18 and 30 years old, of which 5 were male and 9 were female. Twelve were from the United States and two were from Sweden. Interviewees were chosen from among the fellow volunteers during my stay, through the Kings Valley Gardens farmers’ network and through interviewees’ recommendations of other volunteers.

Most of the interviews were conducted in July, a busy month on farms according to the farmers. With that in mind, interviewees were contacted beforehand and asked to pick a time for the interview. This was done to reduce the time pressure and other disruptive elements as Lantz (2007, p. 73) recommends. In line with Palmer’s (2001, p. 305) recommendations the interviews were kept as brief as possible to not take the respondents away from their duties for too long. All interviews were carried out individually. To make the interview situation as

8 comfortable as possible it was held in a naturalistic environment as Palmer (2001, p. 305) also recommends.

Syssner (2011, p. 72) suggests that qualitative interviews are preferable to surveys to capture peoples’ identities and self-perception since, in an interview with an open structure, the interviewee can talk freely and give more complex and nuanced answers than in a survey with defined answers to chose from. For this study interviews were conducted in what Lantz (2007, pp. 30, 33) calls a semi structural way, to let the interviewee talk freely from themes. Following this structure, a framework for the interview was built and focus was put on the respondent’s subjective experience. The aim was to gain insight into the interviewee’s worldview, values and way of thinking; which are all meaningful characteristics for the study. Follow-up questions were asked to make statements clearer as Lantz (2007, p. 33) recommends.

The respondents were initially informed about the cause and aim of the study and how his or her information was going to be used. This was done to build up openness and trust between researcher and respondent as Lantz (2007, pp. 57, 69) explains. The respondents were never asked if they wished to be anonymous but were for ethical reasons given new names in the report. They were asked to introduce themselves by name, place of residence, what WWOOF farm he or she has stayed at and the farm’s main crop or produce (Lantz, 2007, p. 58). An interview plan with topics that emerged from the review stage was presented and used as an aid to navigate the interview (Lantz, 2007, p. 56; Palmer, 2001, p. 304). Questions were formulated to evoke the respondent’s experiences; how a phenomenon is given meaning and the context around it (Lantz, 2007, pp. 46, 54). Questions were translated and reviewed by an English native speaker as preparations and a critical view of the interview plan are of high importance (Lantz, 2007, pp. 59-60). See appendix 2 for questions asked to volunteers.

Using ethnographical methods means that I as a researcher am the tool used to collect data. The qualitative investigation was therefore dependent on me and it is certain that the data collected would be different if another researcher would have done the same study. According to Ekström and Larsson (2010, p. 49) the presence of a researcher should not affect the processes that shape relationships in a studied context. Lantz (2007, p. 65) though points out that there is always a mutual influence when people interact. It is important to stay scientific in the role as an observer in the middle of a field even though gaining trust and confidence is fundamental to getting reliable data, Ekström and Larsson point out (2010, p. 46). As they suggest, I needed to cut ties and take a step back from my WWOOF experience to conduct the analysis (Ekström & Larsson, 2010, p. 48).

Possible drawbacks on using an ethnographic method are misunderstandings during interviews and observations. As my native language is Swedish and most interviews were done in English, language barriers might cause misunderstandings. As the observation was made in a foreign culture the understanding of the small details, facial expressions, jokes, and silence may be lacking. For the interviews done on the phone I did not get any other information than what was said and the intonation used. To have an outsider’s view can also be beneficial as I can see things more objectively than someone from within the culture. I do

9 to some degree have a pre-understanding and preconceptions about the culture; how things work and how people think and act. Preconceptions can easily affect the analysis; it is easier for me as a participant observer to see what I expect to see which Ekström and Larsson (2010, p. 45) as well as Elsrud (2004, p. 70) made me aware of. The context (personal, social, cultural, economic) that I come from influence my work from the start to the end, a perspective on the qualitative study known as situated knowledge (Elsrud, 2004, p. 70). I strive to not evaluate but to understand from an inside perspective and to be as reflective as possible throughout the whole research process (Elsrud, 2004, p. 70; Lantz, 2007, p. 46). Making notes of what is being observed and not so much of what I have experienced in the situation is important to analyze the data objectively (Ekström & Larsson, 2010, p. 47).

All interviews were recorded on tape and lasted for 14 to 37 minutes. To rely on notes from an interview is problematic as they can be distorted. Recording is essential to prevent simplifications, unconsidered assumptions and unconscious hasty conclusions of the material, founded in pre-understandings and caused by the time pressure created by only taking notes (Lantz, 2007, p. 106). Some respondents can feel uncomfortable being recorded and therefore act in a constrained way but I did not see any such tendencies when collecting my data (Lantz, 2007, p. 74).

4 Theoretical framework Here the theoretical framework identity theory will be presented as well as the social constructivist approach that is used in the study.

Identity work is used as the theoretical framework to analyze the contents of the interviews and observations in this study. When theories are applied to real-world data it can be understood and interpreted in a larger context (Ekström & Larsson, 2010, p. 45, Lantz, 2007, p. 52). By applying identity theory to the material patterns can be seen in how volunteers talk about themselves in relation to their WWOOF experience. Identity is not something that exists in itself and can therefore not be discovered by the individual. However, identity is something ever changing that is developed over time. Various identities are prominent in different situations, when encountering diverse people or when at varied places. I have utilized a social constructionist approach for studying these ever changing identities.

4.1 Social constructivism By approaching identity work through travels from a social constructivist perspective, this study aims to examine the meaning of the context in an individual’s identity. According to this view the reality is socially constructed through interactions between people instead of being fixed. Here follows my understanding of the perspective, inspired of Searle (1995), Wenneberg (2001), and the work of Berger and Luckmann (1991) that was met with great success when it was initiated in 1966.

According to social constructivists reality is socially constructed through human activity. This perspective stresses the importance of culture and context in the way people understand the society that creates their worldview. Meeting people with unique understandings of the world while traveling can challenge the worldview that an individual has held up to that point. According to this perspective, the way humans see the world is culturally and historically characterized, consequently identities and worldviews are ever changing and differ over time.

As people’s worldviews including behavior and needs are created and maintained through social interactions, also common truths are spread that way. Criticism is directed towards the presumption of the existence of one truth, one natural state of everything. Constructionists want to reshape these assumptions and create alternative ways of looking at the world.

Social constructivists claim that identities are created through social processes. When the identity is formed it can be sustained, reshaped or challenged through interactions with others. Traveling individuals can change their views on identity and belonging as a result of meeting people from other social contexts. Social structures affect the formation and maintenance of identities.

In this study, my aim is to identify what role the WWOOF experience play in the volunteer’s greater life stories. As reality is created through interaction between people as well as between people and society, there is no universal truth. All experiences are subjective. Every person has his or her own world of reference which means that things get a distinct value and meaning depending on the person. For an individual who has grown up at a farm the WWOOF experience differs from a city person who has never been out in the countryside.

Because all experiences are different depending on the individual’s previous experience, they cannot be compared or generalized. My ambition is, from an outsider’s view, to try to gain understanding of volunteers’ experiences. I take on an emic perspective, to understand my informants and their life world, what they do and how they think.

4.2 Identity theory After reading literature on identity formation and identity work by Egeland (1999), Elsrud (2004), Hammarén and Johansson (2009), Eriksen (2004), Stier (2003), as well as Syssner (2011), I have compiled what I consider to be the most relevant features of identity theory. Here follows a presentation of the theoretical approach that will be used in the analysis of this study.

Syssner (2011, p. 60) points out that identities can be created and analyzed on three levels: individual, group, and societal. Identity work is the ability people have to affect their own identities, and there are many.

4.2.1 Identities as narratives Narratives is used when an individual creates his or her identity by finding coherence between unrelated events, experiences and feelings from everyday life and fitting them into the greater lifetime continuum (Elsrud, 2004, p. 39). Using a special discourse the individual actively creates a story about who he or she is, or wants to be. An individual’s acting has a meaning in the moment it is performed, and an additional meaning afterwards. Through the way in which the same individual tells a story about what he or she have done, the person provide an explanation of himself or herself. How the narrator explains the act and what he or she chooses to emphasize through the story, allows the individual to contribute to the understanding that other have about who he or she is. In this way, the individual has the power to control his or her own identity and also to create a sense of continuity in the individual’s biography (Elsrud, 2004, p. 39). Other possibilities an individual has to express who he or she is are through clothes, work, music, friends, travels, etc.

Elsrud (2004, p. 41) suggests that individuals create and recreate their identities through narration, by way of telling stories about their lives. The stories have their basis in cultural and social material so there is a clear link between the individual and societal structures. When studying narrative what is told can be analyzed but also the social and cultural context of the narrator.

According to Elsrud (2004, p. 40) telling identity narratives come with social benefits. For example, the individual has the opportunity to position himself or herself how they desire in relation to others and to society. These narratives can involve everyday events, other people or oneself. Through written or spoken language we express ourselves and our values, intentional or unintentional. Sin (2009) states that “Thus the “self” is continually performed both externally to one’s audiences (friends, relatives, and other people one comes across) and internally to strengthen one’s self-identity”. When the self-perception correlates with how other people see the individual the identity is strong and distinct because the two sources of identity confirm each other.

Further, Elsrud (2004, p. 103) describes place narratives as stories about places that are based on travel myths and some facts. Qualities of the place give meaning to the narrator’s identity and are important when the narrator wants to distinguish himself or herself from other travelers. By learning about sustainable living on an organic farm in the country a person can be making a statement about their perceived or desired identity as an environmentally friendly person. The way the WWOOFer talks about the place afterwards or what stories there already are about the countryside has a huge impact on the identity and how other see the narrator. Stories about volunteer work were by the informants in Sin’s study in South Africa “used to perform a ‘self’ suggesting that he or she was a conscious and worldly tourist or individual” (2009).

The interviewees in this study talk about how nice it is to work with your body instead of sitting in school or in an office all day. To do WWOOFing is relatively hard work, especially for a city dweller’s body that might be used to more sedentary work. The WWOOFers have found that long walks and stretching helps the alleviate soreness one gets after picking strawberries and digging out weeds for a while day. The WWOOFers have also found that eating nutritious food has made them feel healthier. These stories are what Elsrud (2004, pp. 104-105) calls body narratives, and they are a part of the formation of the identity, as well as place narratives.

According to Elsrud (2004, p. 96) acts and narratives have their roots in a common shared structure to get meaning and to be understood by others. These grand narratives or manuscripts derive from the historical, social, and cultural context and create an understanding about reality. Travel mythologies are socially created in this context and seem genuine and objective to the tourist as they are reproduced in travel magazines, books and other media. Elsrud (2004, p. 96) holds that when a tourist travels to a foreign place he or she has a pre-conceived notion of the place visited which evolves from these grand narratives and seem real to them. Volunteers who have lived their whole life in a city have their idea of what a farmer’s life in the country is like. When WWOOFing prejudices and expectations can be proved wrong or right. For international volunteers WWOOFing is a way to get insight into rural life in another country.

4.2.2 Identities as procedural Identities are based on experiences, affected by social obligations and created in interaction with others. Although relatively stable, they are usually recreated, challenged, and changed over time (Syssner, 2011, p. 62). Egeland (1999, p. 74) means that identity is not a thing that can be discovered and uncovered. The individual needs to be engaged in his or her identity work; thus identities are not pre-set by tradition, family-ties or place of residence (Elsrud, 2004, p. 39). “Identity is not given or static but rather experienced as a dynamic and time- dependent outcome of an ongoing creative process” says Elsrud (2004, p. 95). Also Egeland (1999, p. 75) is explaining identity as something that is managed and developed in the meeting between people. Thus identity work is never completed.

Syssner (2011, p. 63) describes symbolic interactionism as a theoretical perspective where identities are seen as social constructions that are affected by social structures. The social

13 structures are also affected by the individuals who act in them. Syssner (2011, p. 63) means that in that way, the society is not separated from the humans living in it but created in relation to it. That is an explanation for how identities can be recreated depending on the context, which will be examined in this study.

In addition to society, certain events can have a huge impact on identity. Syssner (2011, p. 71) means that so called key events, that has a transformative nature, is an example of that. Continuous events, that helps create a feeling of continuum in the life story, is another example. A life crisis caused by an accident, a death in the family or simply getting older can dislocate the identity but aid in overall personal development. Recurrent trips, for example, a family’s yearly trip to the Canary Islands on fall break, can also have a formative result on the identity. For some of the interviewees in this study the WWOOF experience can be seen as a key event that has made a huge impact on their identities. It is important to know this in order to understand the informants’ reflections about how they are different after their time at the WWOOF farm.

Besides individual identities, humans go into and step out of roles depending on who and what they encounter. These interactions can also help define one’s identity. Eriksen (2004, p. 48) and Syssner (2011, pp. 63-64) hold that roles have to do with social class, profession, economic situation, age, family composition, etc. Roles limit people’s opportunities to act freely as they are bound by conceptions of how to act and behave. When ascribed to a role the individual becomes “someone”. The individual can either live up to and follow the expected patterns of behavior or refuse to do so. As roles are associated with scripts, interaction becomes easier when one can predict what to expect from a person in a certain role. Being a volunteer comes with certain social obligations, (Eriksen, 2004, p. 51) but also privileges, which will be discussed later on.

4.2.3 Identities as relational Identities emerge in relation to other individuals and their expectations. Individuals can join and associate themselves with groups if they share the same interests, goals, values and experiences (Eriksen, 2004, p. 54). The prerequisite for the existence of us is that there is another group to distance the group from. It is about distinctions and divergence: a communal identity is created and perpetuated by the sense of we in contrast to the others. The demarcation must be maintained to retain the value of belonging. Eriksen (2004, pp. 53, 54, 56) means that the larger the threat from the outside, the stronger the sense of community. Hall and du Gay (1996, p. 5) describe the internal homogeneity as a constructed form of closure. The desire to belong is strong, as well as identification with others in a group. In this study volunteers talk about themselves as members of a group of travelers who differs from more traditional tourists. Their motives to travel as well as the chosen destination are different. Eriksen (2004, p. 10) states that not all can be let in and not all can be left out in these groups. For example, as Eriksen (2004, p. 55) and Syssner (2011, pp. 61, 67, 69, 70) point out categories organized by skin color are almost impossible to escape from.

Identities can be manifested through consumption. What an individual buys, eats, and wears signal what he or she likes, values, and how much money the individual can spend. Bourdieu

(in Eriksen, 2004, p. 78), Hammarén and Johansson (2009, p. 35) say that there is a strong connection between social class and consumption habits which is socially constructed. Group identities can be expressed through lifestyles. People with greater financial assets can develop certain expectations for consumption and thereby a distinct pattern of consumption than others. Taste and style are shallow and short-lived ways for individuals to express themselves and these are changing as the fashion is changing.

“By defining what we do not belong to, we also define our own belonging”, says Syssner (author’s translation, 2011, p. 66). Also, Hall and du Gay (1996, pp. 4-5) says that “identities are constructed through, not outside, difference.” They continue to describe that identity is constructed in relation to the Other and what it lacks. This often creates a hierarchy among groups, where the included individuals are seen as better and superior to the excluded, Syssner continues (2011, p 66). This happens in the heterogeneous group tourists, as well. Some tourists deselect certain destinations because they consider the places to be too touristy. They don’t want to be identified as mass tourists (Syssner, 2011, p 66). By distancing themselves from the masses and going to destinations considered less touristy or by using another form of tourism, for example volunteer tourism, they adopt the identity of an alternative traveler which they find more sophisticated. A desire to belong is crucial for identification with a group, summarizes Syssner (2011, p. 67).

4.2.4 Identities as multiple and contextual Identities are complex as well as multifaceted, and individuals can create and shift between different identities depending on situation and surroundings. Hall and du Gay (1996, p. 4) describes the complexity of identities, “identities are never unified and, in late modern times, increasingly fragmented and fractured; never singular but multiply constructed across diverse, often intersecting and antagonistic, discourses, practices and positions”. They continue to describe the importance of being able to handle different identities and prevent to be associated with only one (Hall & Gay, 1996, p. 24). As the modern business world is more complex and requires a more flexible work force than during the industrial era, traditional identities such as man, and woman, and the features traditionally associated with them are nowdays more difficult to ascribe to individuals. Also, as global migration is becoming more common and widespread, people can ascribe themselves either to their nationality of origin, their new nationality, or both.

Contradictions and fragmentations can emerge within an individual’s identity, especially when they are outside their comfort zone or daily routine (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 257). Syssner (2011, p. 69) sheds light on how even an environmentally friendly person can travel by plane being aware of the environmental consequences caused by the action. Further, in a certain situation a vegetarian can feel comfortable eating meat. Socially and politically concerned people can, by way of staying at an accommodation that is owned by a multi- national company that does not support the local people, contribute to an economic leakage. They can justify this because they are on vacation they do not feel responsible for their actions.

How the life story is told is dependent on the audience. Syssner (2011, pp. 70-71) believes that many aspects of travel affect the identity: the choice of location, how the person prepares for the trip, what activities he or she partakes in on the trip, and what experiences the person chooses to share with others upon his or her return.

5 Findings In this chapter the results of the study are being presented and analyzed in the light of identity theory. First we will look into the motives of the volunteers to take on a trip through WWOOF, followed by four sections about how the volunteers experience that they have changed and the influences that have caused that.

There are just as many reasons to travel as there are travelers. This could be seen in the respondents’ answers to the questions “How did you get the idea to be a WWOOF volunteer?” and “What made you decide to become a WWOOF volunteer?” In this section I will explore the many motives volunteers have to WWOOF which will show that volunteers from north who go to another northern country have more self-centered motives than volunteers going south. In accordance with Brown’s (2005) result of an investigation of the motives of volunteers in developing countries, the volunteers’ motives in this study are not of an altruistic character. Instead many of the motives are of a personal nature; for example, to learn how to farm, to develop the self, to experience new places and to travel cheaply. Their help at the destination is not the difference between life and death for the locals. Instead, the main characteristic of volunteer work in the north is the exchange between volunteers, or between volunteer and locals. The section ends with a discussion on how WWOOF creates opportunities to travel for long and gain knowledge without being a burden on the volunteer’s pocket.

5.1 Motives for WWOOFing My first informant, Charlie, decided to explore the lifestyles, people and weather in a part of his homeland that he is not yet familiar with, the American West Coast, through WWOOF.

I was using WWOOFing kind of to test out Washington and test out Oregon and see what cities I liked and how I liked the weather and the people. ‘Cus I’d been to the east coast and the cities over there that I like but I know that the West Coast is an entirely different world or least part of the US. It’s very different. (Charlie, 2011)

The differences he talks about are the mindset and the environmental friendly ideas that are not as radical on the West Coast as they would be on the East Coast. For example he mentions the compost bins that cities on the west coast pick up.

A class about food systems and how to be accurate involved in growing food gave Catherine a direction for where she wants to be in life. She decided that WWOOFing would be a good thing to spend her energy on and that it would be the absolute best place for her to start, as the organization was being referred to in many conversations with friends who had done it.

The 240 hours Laura is spending working on her WWOOF farm is an internship for her agricultural major. She wants to work eight hours a day and learn a lot about how things work in the whole process. Her experience is that work is harder and more boring if she does not know the reason for the job and if she does not get the bigger picture.

Jordan is another positive voice for WWOOF. He thought it was the greatest idea ever when he heard about WWOOFing as he has always been wanting to farm but did not know how to

17 start up a farm or a garden. “I’ve really been getting into being able to grow all my own food and sort of be able to be self sufficient, live sustainably and everything. I didn’t really know where to begin.” He thought it was a fantastic idea when he found out that he could gain a lot of experience and see how other people did it through WWOOF. In contrast to Jordan, Eliza grew up farming at her family’s farm in Oregon. She was always surrounded by WWOOFers and said that “I’ve always kind of wanted to be one”. In Spain and Ireland she got to experience farming under other conditions than at home.

Peter has had an idea about going to someone’s land and work for them in exchange for food and board. He was lamenting the fact that such a good, simple, honest thing didn’t exist until he found out about WWOOFing. Christine though, knew about WWOOFing through being in the environmental movement, and knew that was something she wanted to do when she started traveling. She had done work exchange before, in Spain and Israel through another organization, called Work Away. Also Patrick has travel ambitions and has only heard good things about WWOOF. He expresses that “traveling and doing work trade seems like a nice move to make for me right now” as he likes being outside, working the land and eating good food.

Also the two Swedish informants were using WWOOF as a means to travel. Both agreed on WWOOFing as the ideal way to travel. “How can I make this a good trip? Well, I’ll WWOOF, then it’ll be a good trip” said Sofia. Lovisa who values the experience of everyday life talked about WWOOFing and travels as:

a way that fits me really well. So, yes, for me it’s probably the ultimate way and also that you can…it’s such a good mix of doing something you’re interested in, that you learn a lot from, and to meet new people, and see new places, and also be able to go to some city somewhere if you like. (Lovisa, 2011, author’s translation)

Lovisa’s reasoning is supported by Egeland (1999, p. 78) who also sheds light on how learning and development are reached by being close to nature and people on the trip.

5.1.1 A cheap way to travel In contrast to other forms of tourism that requires significant travel funds, WWOOF creates opportunities and offers experiences for free. To live in a community with no need for money is a big difference to the home environment or a traditional tourist destination. Instead there is an exchange that is being made. The interviewees talk about how relieving it is to live in a community that is not money driven. Sofia says getting food, housing and half the day off instead of getting paid in cash for her job is a positive experience. “It was an easy life”, she says. “You didn’t need to think about money” she continues and points out that it’s not possible to live a life without money at home. Place matters for how you live and what you need to focus on. Jordan was really excited when he heard about how he could visit farmers and gain experience with no money being exchanged.

You bring yourself there and everything is paid for but you don’t have to buy any, you don’t need to worry about money at all when you’re there, and that’s really a fantastic

idea I thought and just the coolest thing ever when I first heard about it… (Jordan, 2011)

As a WWOOFer Jordan expresses that: “You can travel for months and months and months and it won’t be a burden on your pocket”. Sofia conveys a relieving feeling for not having to think about money. “I would never have been able to travel for this long in New Zealand if I wouldn’t have WWOOFed”, says Sofia.

Sarah sees her WWOOF experience as an opportunity to not spend much money but admits that she spends a little bit of money when visiting the city of Corvallis for the Saturday farmers market. Aside from the changed relationship with money, a number of other, more personal behavioral changes were also noted.

5.2 Perceived change Identities are not static but ever changing throughout the course of a life. Many respondents mention some kind of change in relation to the WWOOF experience which correlates with the theory about identities as procedural. The farm stay can be seen as a key event that changes the way the WWOOFer wants to live their life. Change can spring from an experience with people offering gifts without expecting anything in return, being in a surrounding where environmental awareness is widely spread and implemented in the society, or staying in a place with less disturbing stimuli resulting in discovering new sides of oneself. Even though it is hard to pinpoint how one is different after being on the farm, the WWOOFers can tell that the environment or meeting new people have had an impact on them and have made them want to change how they live their lives. Sometimes it is easier for others to notice and identify the change than it is for the WWOOFer himself or herself. This correlates with the fact that identities are contextual and relational.

5.2.1 Personal change Living a communal life with generous individuals at the farm made a huge impact on Charlie. A whole community “baking cookies for you just because they wanted to” without expecting anything in return is something he has never experienced before. This friendly giving behavior is something he wants to implement in his own life when he returns home. He also wants to “bring that positive outlook and put out the good energy and hope that people see that and maybe want to do the same”. For Charlie this single WWOOF experience plays a big role in the way he sees generosity and helping people out.

For Laura, who WWOOFed her first time after high school graduation, volunteering on organic farms is now a recurring way to spend her summers. WWOOFing has in that way become, what Syssner (2011, p. 71) describes, a continuous event that helps her create a sense of continuum in her life story. Friends and family were surprised when she went to the UK for WWOOFing. They were astonished that she took on a big adventure like that, when she in high school “didn’t do much stuff or just go out”. Afterwards people knowing her told her that she was a different person than before.

I guess my mum was surprised that I decided to just pick up and go by myself to another country. And she thinks that was really good for me and that now I just, I’m more

willing to do anything new without worrying about it or thinking that it’s going to be too scary. (Laura, 2011)

Laura stresses that the transformation from a timid high schooler to an unafraid globetrotter was noticed by her mother rather than by herself. The fact that she is WWOOFing again, even though it is in her own country, must indicate that she likes the way it affects her. Hannah also found a place to flourish through WWOOFing. She says that people carry around potential that never is let out, except in the right surroundings. Identities are contextual and at the farm she is able to discover and express qualities of herself that formerly “got buried by stuff in the city”. This is supported by Wearing (2001, p. 92) who says that spending time in nature can increase self-confidence as inner capabilities and emotions are discovered in the absence of disturbing surroundings.

It was good to be in a place and let that, the stuff I like about myself more come back out. It really let me flourish into being more of the person I like to be. Sometimes I get hidden when I’m at home. (Hannah, 2011)

Obviously these qualities of herself that Hannah finds away from home make her happier with herself. The question is, will she be able to stick with this new part of her identity when she is back home as she is now aware of it or is this identity bound to the context of WWOOFing? In Egeland’s (1999, p. 79) study about individual’s identity projects the author uncovers the same desire to find the “true self” among female backpackers. Many of her informants expresses that they are searching for a place where they get the opportunity to be the person they mean they really are in this period of life.

Eliza’s experience is that she is more independent since she got back from her WWOOF trip to Europe. It was her “first taste of freedom” as it was her “first time away from home” and she had to make all decisions herself. She did not have any clear expectations but wanted to have an adventure and made plans as the time went by. She found it a little scary to travel that way because she never knew where to go next, but it worked out for her and she can tell that she is different as a person now.

Sarah and Lovisa talk about how hard it is to see a personal change in oneself even thought they are certain they have changed. Sarah explains:

I’ve definitely learned a lot. It’s hard to, to tell how much someone’s really changed ‘cus they tend to project my current self upon my past self when evaluating who I am and who I was” (Sarah, 2011)

5.2.2 Environmental awareness Lovisa sees change as gradual and relational to knowledge. Even though her ambition to WWOOF is not to start her own farm she learns a lot that changes the way she sees herself in the world. She thinks more about her environmental impact and what she eats now after WWOOFing, than in high school, when she had not been exposed to those kind of thoughts as much. Sarah is experiencing a bigger awareness of how much she drives her car. She is ready to cut down on one of her biggest interests, to see music, to cut miles in her car. She values the WWOOF experience as a positive one and says that:

it has really helped me realized how much energy I use and how much trash I throw away when I’m not in the, an environment that really is conducive towards reusing, recycling and you know not having to drive a bunch of places. (Sarah, 2011)

In the future she wants to live someplace where she can compost and get around on bicycle.

A strengthened relationship to food is mentioned by a number of volunteers as something the farm experience has led to. As food is essential, eating local meals is a central part of the cultural experience for a person who travels to a foreign place. Sarah, for example, is astonished by how much her relationship to food could change in just three weeks. She talks about the experience at the self sufficient Oregonian farm as something that is:

really gonna change how I eat food (…)I think it’s gonna change how much I appreciate it, and I think I became so much aware of what I’m putting into my body and wanting it to be pure and good and wholesome and feeling better about what I eat and learning to snack on really healthy things. (Sarah, 2011)

The big contrast between fresh vegetables harvested from the garden and all the packaged food in the grocery store at home makes Hannah want to create less waste. Patrick says he’s now more mindful of the whole process when it comes to food. The WWOOF host Emily stays with is “really into good nutrition (…) and fresh vegetables and greens” so even if Emily was aware of sustainable cooking beforehand her “relationship to food is even more positive than it was before”.

In turn, Sofia did not see herself as a farmer before her first WWOOF experience and was afraid to not know enough to feel useful at the farm. Inquisitive as she says she is, she quickly gained knowledge in farming and a strengthened self confidence came with the new experiences. “When you’re in another country, there is, other stuff you farm, things that you have never seen here in Sweden, and another culture”, she says. Growing and eating new and different foods gives her perspective on food and what she eats at home.

5.2.3 The WWOOFer Sofia describes a typical WWOOFer as someone with a “searching soul” who wants to try something new to see if it can bring anything new to his or her life. It can be people who are looking for another kind of life because they are tired of working 9-to-5 jobs. In that way the WWOOF experience allows people to take on another identity than they usually ascribe themselves in an urban setting.

Looking at identities as narratives show that there is a manuscript to follow for the volunteer. This manuscript is created from commonly shared beliefs and it consists of presumptions of how things are and how things work in a certain culture. The manuscript comes with obligations but not all individuals are ready to do what is expected from them, based on this. Indeed, as every WWOOF experience is unique the manuscript is not valid at all farms.

I’ve heard of people, gone and be ‘oh it’s a good place to live, I’ll just work a little and stuff and I can relax most of the time’ and I’m sure there is some places which allow for

that but I don’t think that’s really a good mindset to go into it with, and that’s definitely not how I look at it. (Chris, 2011)

The man that Chris encountered did not share his idea of what the manuscript for a volunteer consists of, which can cause problems between farmer and WWOOFer or among the WWOOFers. Sin (2009) has a similar concern in her study about “the possible outcome that youths are simply making use of volunteer tourism to go on a cheap holiday and have no intentions to help host communities or engage in critical out-of-classroom style learning.” This when five informants in the study express that it is more convenient and cheaper to travel in a volunteer group than alone as a tourist. This shows that following the manuscript can facilitate interactions because people know what to expect. Still, what is expected from the WWOOFers differs from farm to farm but in Laura’s case her farm stay is nothing like being on vacation. “We are working eight hours a day, I’m, it’s not really a really lazy vacation. I feel I’m actually working.”

5.2.4 Concluding remarks In this section we have seen that the farm experience plays a major role in the larger life stories of volunteers. After working on a WWOOF farm, many volunteers change the direction they take in life from that point on which supports the theory that individual are engaged in creating their own identities.

5.3 Cultural exchange Meeting people from all over the world and learning how things are done or how people live in another community is highly valued among the volunteers who therefore emphasize WWOOF as the best way to travel. WWOOFing brings people from diverse backgrounds together and provides opportunities for them to gain new perspectives and influences from all over the world. For many WWOOFers this is a key event in their ever-changing identity. It is a long process from developing the interest in farming or in sustainable lifestyles, to becoming a WWOOFer, to meet and learn from other volunteers and farmers, and to come back home and possibly implement fragments from the WWOOF life in the “old” life. In this part the volunteers reflects on how the cultural exchange affects their identities.

5.3.1 A diverse exchange When it comes to the question about how volunteers see WWOOF as a cultural exchange the respondents get to reflect freely on the subject. This results in many unique interpretations. Something mentioned in several interviews is that WWOOF brings people from different places together (Peter, Hannah, Sarah) and that it is a great way to get in touch with local people (Lovisa, Sofia). Hannah points out that “by going to one place you get to experience a lot of different places” and refers to the diverse group of people at her farm (Oregonian, Minnesotan, Floridian, Swedish). “And we were able to do so much exchange. Our thoughts and ideas from our regions, whether it was related to food and farming, or whether it was related to just life.” Jordan points out the cultural exchange between people from different countries but also between the east coast and the west coast of the United States. For example he is interested in “the new developments” in Florida and refers to environmental ideas and techniques that have existed on the west coast for a long time. He calls the cultural exchange phenomenal. Sarah lifts the benefits in a constantly changing lineup when it comes to

WWOOFers. Thanks to the “exchange between all the WWOOFers and their different ideas and backgrounds” she gets “a lot of really good, interesting influences in my life that I’m getting to learn from”. “It was a really nice way of getting different perspectives” she summarizes. “The more different they are the better, you know?” says Peter. He states that meeting new people brings a new dimension to his life. He points out the benefits in cultural exchange he gets from getting to know new people.

I really like meeting new people. (…) I think it kind of it gives me energy when I meet new people, actually, I get energy from that, definitely. And I get new ways of thinking, broaden my horizons and perspectives and it really make me feel good getting to know new people. (Peter, 2011)

As every community is unique Christine points out that you cannot expect anyone’s WWOOFing experience to be the same as any other one. Laura sees WWOOFing as a very effective cultural exchange if the volunteer is able to live in the house with the host family. In that way it is easier to get immersed in the local life, and the language, and how people express themselves. One volunteer who has experienced WWOOF both as a volunteer and as a family member on a WWOOF farm is Eliza. Half of her time in school she was homeschooled and worked at her family’s farm. “I didn’t get much socialization. When I wasn’t around kids in my own age it was nice having young people come to the farm instead”, she says. Her family enjoyed spending time with volunteers and she made good contact with the approximately 25 WWOOFers who have worked at the farm and she is planning to visit some of them. When Eliza was WWOOFing in Ireland she also got to experience how to connect with a foreign community and explore how life is lived there. She has played the fiddle since she was little and got really into Irish folk music which has a prominent role in the Irish community. This inspired her to keep up the fiddling at home.

5.3.2 Life pace For Lovisa it is a cultural exchange to gain insight into a farmer’s life. Despite a time consuming job, as it is to run a farm, she experiences that the farmers have more free time because they prioritize differently than a person with a full time job or a student in an urban setting. They have time to farm, and for their families. After her trip to Spain with the main focus to WWOOF, Lovisa got inspired by the culture to play life by ear and to have a more laid back attitude towards traveling. She experienced that Spanish people, in comparison to Swedes, were more allowing towards behavior that breaks the expected norms. Even if she learned that life can be lived simpler than expected and that things can be done in another way than usual, it was harder for her to do that in Sweden. That may be the result of her particular experience in Spain and Sweden (since no cultural description can be universally applied to an entire place or people) but it also shows that Spanish grand narratives differs from Swedish ones and that presumptions about how to live and act are deeply rooted in cultural and historical contexts which make them hard to change.

The sustainable way of life Hannah experienced as a WWOOFer on the Oregonian countryside inspired her to take the challenge and implement parts of it in her urban setting.

Then I went to this rural place it had these really cool life styles and I really can implement that in the city, it’s just not as common, but I can. So I think I experience cultural exchange by going there, seeing people live in such a cool way in this rural setting. How can I do that in my urban setting? (Hannah, 2011)

These are all examples of how the WWOOF experience has a bigger impact on the volunteers’ life stories. This key event affects them so much that they are willing to change the way they live from then on.

5.3.3 Sharing knowledge There is also a kind of exchange based on knowledge that affects the way people think. Laura explains this further.

I feel like I don’t know that much about rural areas and just sort of coming out here I’m experiencing things and hearing about them and thinking they’re a lot different than I thought ‘cus I’m used to cities all the time. (Laura, 2011)

Laura hopes that WWOOFing can bridge the gap and create more interaction between the people living in cities and in rural areas. By creating opportunities to meet and learn from each other a higher level of understanding can be reached. This is what Wearing and Ponting want to accomplish with a Third space (2009, p.263). Laura says:

Sometimes I feel like there is a very big divide between city people and rural people and usually it’s political but it can just be anything, like the way we think. We just don’t really talk to each other. (Laura, 2011)

Even if tourists are spending time in a local community it can be difficult to get out of the mental “tourist bubble” and to actually interact with locals. Benson (2011, p. 15) suggests that instead of using the word interaction that doesn’t need to imply any connection between the tourist and the “Other”, engagement is a better word to explain someone’s commitment to a meaningful action. An example of a volunteer who is engaged in the local life is Sofia who has a big interest in how people from different communities think and reason. For her cultural exchange is to get insight in what prejudices a farm can meet in the process of transitioning to organic farming and how that is being questioned by the community. Even simple knowledge as how to make apple chutney at the farm, or learning about the bird life of New Zealand helps in the process of getting to know a community. How the local language is spoken is yet another example of cultural exchange. Laura found slight differences in American and British English when WWOOFing in the UK. “Sometimes you say things that come out, they like sound wrong to the people you’re talking to and you like, learn to fix that and, also get, immersed more in it”. Charlie summarizes the simple core in WWOOFing. “You get the knowledge that they give you and they benefit from your muscles and your brain.”

Cultural exchanges don’t need to be experienced on spatial scales; they can also be experienced over time. Patrick talks about the history of the place and the value in knowing what has been there before:

If the farm is, has been inherited from previous farmers the history of the soil is pretty cool to learn about and, what was there before them and how the environment developed, what it is then, what the environment used to be. It’s pretty interesting. (Patrick, 2011)

5.3.4 Concluding remarks In this section volunteers have talked about how WWOOF is a provider of opportunities for people from diverse social and geographic backgrounds to meet, to share ideas, and to learn from each other. The volunteers find it valuable to get insight in other living conditions and relationships as they in that way get to know themselves better.

5.4 Significance of place A number of informants in this study are in the process of looking for alternative ways of living and environments that provide possibility for change. By experiencing a farmer’s life on the country side, the volunteers get perspective on their own lives and find a peaceful place with less stress than at home. As the distraction provided in bigger cities are absent, the volunteers find new ways to entertain themselves often resulting in a more peaceful and simple life. The context in which a person is living is crucial to the development of identities. Different identities coexist and dominate depending on place and situation. Here follows examples of how identities are contextual.

5.4.1 A healthy place Catherine‘s experience is leading her to take better care of herself after caring for plants and animals as a WWOOFer. When in school her main focus was the degree and she never “took time to relax, read and sit down and think”. At the farm the situation is another.

This is a really good place, I’m doing positive things in my life, and here, it’s a central part of my day, everyday. I love waking up in the mornings and just going outside, being outside. I was never really able to do that when I was in school because I had to stay up late writing papers. (Catherine, 2011)

Her everyday routines have changed and so has she. Catherine has, thanks to WWOOF, found a good direction in life that she is sure she will not lose even if the context changes. Patrick however stresses that he very quickly adjusts back to life in the city. “It only takes a couple of days for me to get like, back into like the flow of the city. I guess the longer you’re staying on a farm the more it stays with you. It seems.” Here Patrick talks about his multiple identities. When at the farm Patrick let one identity flourish, but at home other characteristics take over. In comparison to Catherine he expects that to happen, and accepts it, because it is the context that to some extent controls who we are. Catherine is more determined that she has found who she wants to be, based on a farm identity. Problems can arise if the self doesn’t correspond with how others see the individual. If she is fully self-confident in her identity, even in a different environment than in the rural setting, she can manage to stick with it. Even though identities are contextual this proves that an individual has the opportunity to affect his or her own identity work.

Stress is often associated with the big city life. Even if Hannah loves the city she thinks that “being in the country helps relax and gives perspective”. So she, like many, travels to get away from stressors – but returns to the same place with the same stressors.

I wanted to come to a farm and kind of, recharge and restart and then go back to a place that has those stressful things and be able to approach it with a calmer mind. (…) I feel really calm right now I feel really de-stressed (…) I want to keep that when I go back to the city, I want to keep this calm. (Hannah, 2011)

A strategy to not let the stressors take over when Hannah is back in her city life is to do stretching, that she found has a calming impact on her at the farm.

To find a place where one can get better perspectives and come to peace with the world was really important to Peter. If it wouldn’t have been for his position as a long term volunteer he thinks he had “been in a really bad way (laughter)”. He says he would be “really unhappy” at a “crappy job” and would have “probably killed myself” and he explains:

I’ve come to peace with the world a lot since I’ve been here, definitely. I am a lot more optimistic about everything than I was. This place has been really good for me. (Peter, 2011)

This quote shows how important the context, place and people, is. In the narrative of Peter’s life, his time at the farm has been a transformative event. The combination of nice people and surroundings made the optimal conditions for his more positive mindset to take over. In a new context people get another chance to ascribe themselves other identities. Peter went through a process where he took the chance to change his life and let the positive side of himself take over.

5.4.2 Simple life The informants express that in some ways the expectations are fewer in rural areas. People do not need as many things to be happy and thus, happiness comes more easily. On the farm it is easy to be content with and to appreciate the small things as all temptation from the urban entertainments is gone. Sarah experiences this: “I’m surrounded by good people and by, good food and, good books. And not much more than that that I need!”. Catherine has a similar experience. She turned down a job because she thought she would not be as happy there as she is at the farm. She continues that say that “Everyone is, is just kind of, get stuck here but for good reasons. They feel that they want to be here”. Chris also enjoys WWOOFing. “It’s very, very therapeutic and it’s very mentally relaxing”. Jordan experiences that spending time on the farm makes him more aware of his immediate surroundings: “I’ve been able to pay attention to wildlife that I’ve never had time for in the past, it’s a big thing. Yeah, just being aware of everything that is around you.”. In the absence of other stimuli stealing his attention, a new world has opened to him where he discovers or develops new interests.

The informants are released from liability on the farm, which explains their idyllic view of the simple life on the countryside. The WWOOFers are not responsible for more than their assigned duties everyday, in contrast to the farmers who have all the planning and training of

26 new volunteers on their plate, besides the financial stress. Their experiences of a life on the countryside are therefore distorted, but of course real to them.

5.4.3 Contradictory identities Experiencing the extreme ends of the emotional, cultural, and personal spectrum can help an individual to figure out a fitting middle way for themselves and who they wish to be in the future. At the time of the interview Emily had been back home for two months and could tell the difference between American small town life and life as a WWOOFer in rural Sweden.

‘Cus part of me still wants to be in the woods with a hole instead of a toilet and an outdoor shower. It’s, it’s partly very lonely to be that far from people and that excluded but it’s also really nice. And coming back here, sometimes I feel really suffocated by, you know, there’re people everywhere! I think I’d like something in between those two extremes. (Emily, 2011)

Emily enjoyed the very simple life of a WWOOFer in the Swedish woods but realizes its drawbacks. She says she’ll be enjoying two more years of college and city life because she knows that after getting her degree she can start her own farm and live the environmental friendly life she wants to live, in a place she likes.

Another example of a person switching between multiple identities is Sofia who has identified herself as a vegetarian for several years. It may seem strange that she as a WWOOFer in New Zealand got back to eating meat. The context allowed it, she describes. At the farm she could see how the animals were taken care of, from birth to slaughter, and she could therefore eat the meat without feeling bad. As she back home is back to vegetarianism again this is a good example of how identities are situational. It is also an example of how people have multiple identities and how they sometimes seem contradictive. By creating a narrative out of the event she can make it fit into her life story, after all.

5.4.4 Concluding remarks Place has a huge impact on individual’s identities. Even though there are identities that are easier to legitimate or expect in a certain context individual’s have the opportunity to challenge and recreate their identities. Being in the right place at the right time with the right people can have a lasting effect on how a person develops.

5.5 Perceived differences between WWOOFers and other tourists Identities are relational and get a meaning in the presence of something or someone else, for example there are no locals without tourists. Without a traditional kind of tourists there are no alternative tourists. When formulating what the others are, we are being defined as their counterpart. We are defined in contrast to them. This is often distinct in tourism. But how is the relationship between tourists and locals in volunteer tourism? And what sense of belonging do the volunteers have?

5.5.1 Experiencing culture Emily discusses the differences in the cultural exchange experienced by a WWOOFer versus a tourist at their destinations. She says that the life a WWOOFer gets to see on a farm is not representative of the whole region but it provides a deeper look into the culture than what a

27 tourist is able to get. “I think you get less of a feel of what the whole culture is like, on the surface, but you get a more intense experience with individuals.” The experience is narrower, she continues.

But I also think that’s very valuable because you get to know people on a personal level and understand that… farm people are still people and they’re kind of… everyone is kind of the same on a certain level. (Emily, 2011)

Sarah has so far only WWOOFed in her homeland but says that “it would be a really good way to see a country”. Hannah also wants to WWOOF abroad or other parts in the United States.

I’ve lived in the United States in my whole life and it was really cool to go to another area for three weeks, and to become part of that community. And there are many other parts in the United States that it would be really cool to do that in, and in the world. You know, I’d love to use it to go and, become part of the community in other places. (Hannah, 2011)

5.5.2 Social interactions Meeting people instead of sightseeing is what Sofia, Lovisa, and Emily prefer when traveling. Sofia would like to WWOOF wherever she travels in the world because it is such a good way to travel. She consider WWOOFing the best or at least a really good way of meeting people, as “You get to know people living in that place, you get to go to a home, you get to learn new things, you get experiences that you really can’t get in any other way”.

WWOOFing as a form of tourism has its drawback, says Emily, as you cannot go to museums to learn history and see art. Instead you get to be on a farm and meet people. Peter agrees with her.

And traveling this way I really get to… be with just kind of average people who are actually living on the land and off of the land and being a part of it and really see what their lives are like as opposed to just seeing famous monuments or things like that. (Peter, 2011)

As a WWOOF volunteer the individual lives, works and spends almost all time with his or her hosts and common WWOOFers. In that situation strong ties are created, Jordan says. “In a month when you’re living with somebody, a month and a half to two months it’s like you’re a part of the family for that time.” Instead of being a visitor of the local community the WWOOFer working on a local farm feel like he or she has access to it – as one of the locals. In that way he or she feels like she belongs to us, the locals, instead of the others, the tourists. The relationship to other volunteers and the local community has exceeded Catherine’s expectations:

I didn’t really expect that I would meet… I mean I knew I would be working and I knew I would be around dedicated people who were working towards some of the same goals as I was… but I, some of the other WWOOFers that I met has been absolutely amazing

people and have helped inspire me to keep momentum on my dream and keep working towards that bigger goal and just don’t be bogged down. (Catherine, 2011)

As identities are relational they are affected by the people an individual meets. In the case of Catherine, she was not prepared of being affected so much of influences of others, but were happy with the social interactions that came with WWOOFing.

5.5.3 Connection to the place According to Hannah the fact that she is working on her vacation, and that she is gone for a longer time, creates a deeper connection to the place than a lot of her other travels when just staying in a hotel. As she has never experienced this kind of vacation before a bigger narrative is created that is important in her life story. Because the WWOOF trip has left a huge mental mark in her she does not feel the need to bring a souvenir home.

The piece of twine from the barn is enough souvenir for me because it, it has so much story in it for me. And so I don’t feel like I need as much physical souvenir from this place because I have so much non physicalness about it, if that make sense. (Hannah, 2011)

Often the WWOOF experience includes a homestay with the farmer’s family. Living the life of the countryside means less entertainment available that elicits the creativity in people.

Living with a family in the countryside is not necessarily as isolated as it first may seem. Lovisa discusses that there are many people in circulation that she gets to meet and talk to. The life at the farm did not need to include going to the movies or seeing live music like she used to need. As identities are contextual WWOOFers discover new sides of themselves in the new environment. For example Patrick learned that it is a challenge to not have a city’s entertainment at the farm.

Well I guess it’s kind of you test yourself ‘cus you actually you have to entertain yourself. You have to be pretty clever and… you know, you can go on hikes and stuff. You go to bed, you go to bed a lot earlier and you wake up a lot earlier and you’re less prone to party. (Patrick, 2011)

The lack of disturbing stimuli puts Patrick’s mind at ease, he claims, and makes him not worry about stuff. “It’s just like being out the cities and heavily populated areas it’s… my head gets a lot clearer and I don’t know if it’s like that for other people but, definitely for me.”

5.5.4 Outside the tourist bubble This way of being on vacation for Laura differs from a more traditional way of traveling. As a WWOOFer she belongs to us, referring to the local farmers, instead of us, as the tourists passing through the local community watching them, the locals. In the study this is the most remarkable difference between being a traditional tourist and being a WWOOFer.

I feel like when I normally just go travelling I don’t really experience it except that from an outsider looking in, you might be in a restaurant or a station somewhere and you’re watching other people but, you don’t usually interact with them as much ‘cus you’re

just sort of passing through and you don’t know them, so it’s kind of awkward. (Laura, 2011)

An essential part of the experience is feeling a sense of belonging to a group. Traditional tourist trips are not as memorable, says Jordan. This conforms with Egeland’s (1999, p. 77) informants’ desire to not go to tourist places but small unknown villages far away from the tourist routes to find what they consider authentic. But what is an authentic experience of a culture? How can the volunteer be sure to reach that? This study shows that volunteers have a tendency to picture the life on the countryside in an idyllic way. Experiencing volunteer trips put the travelers in the category “alternative tourists”. Or at least that is how they would like to describe themselves. Indeed, as shown in this study one of the main focuses for the volunteer tourist is to meet people, especially locals, in contrast to leisure driven tourist who focus on their own pleasure. The way that the volunteers differ themselves from other tourists can be questioned. What they experience being unique for their form of tourism can be found in other forms too, for example interacting with locals, and getting a feel of the local community by living in it.

In the literature Wearing and Ponting (2009) is referring to a Third space that is neutral for both tourists and locals. The authors state that through volunteer tourism another understanding of the interaction between tourist and host can be reached. They point out the third space as a place where social value and identity can develop in absence of any hierarchy. In contrast they see the uneven relationship at a more traditional tourist destination where locals work to satisfy the desires of the tourist (Wearing & Ponting, 2009). Hosts and tourists can interact in a more balanced way and learn from each other with an open mind in the third space. Through WWOOF Charlie experiences a third space where hosts and volunteers meet and learned from each other.

People are curious and people love to ask what you do, where you are from and what things are like there and… In addition to living somewhere else and speaking with those people, you also meet people from other countries, other states so it’s a mix, a big mixture of people coming together in one spot and you all get to share your own cultures and your own personal experiences and then you get to do that in a new place together. So I think that brings another element to it. (Charlie, 2011)

Also Catherine sees the value in a place where people from various backgrounds can meet and share ideas and experiences. She explains the value in an exchange between city dwellers and people living on the countryside. Coming to rural areas can be very beneficial to people who “are not so happy because they are disconnected from the earth” or having trouble finding a job in the city and “need to change their scenery”, says Catherine. But also the rural areas benefit from it:

because it brings in new people, new faces, new ideas new experiences and help build networks for kind of a larger, sort of trendier, trendy is not the right word, but a larger community. And rural areas – I love them. But people get so set in their ways and in their mindset and you need that change of ideas. And even a shock factor someone

foreign coming in and not being able to understand anything between two people and being able to work around it and find a common ground… (Catherine, 2011)

She continues to talk about cultural exchange as something “usually beneficial” that “we’re losing that in our lives” and “it’s truly kind of sad”. Being a volunteer exposed to tasks outside of one’s comfort zone in an unfamiliar surrounding creates a strong experience and huge satisfaction from what has been accomplished (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 257). Hannah feels a deep connection to Oregon where she is spending three weeks farming with a family. The sense of contribution makes her feel like a part of the community after three weeks, in comparison to a traditional vacation where she normally only stays for a week and does not feel connected.

With staying for three weeks you get into routines and you get to know things. (…) You really do feel like becoming a part of the community, to go to the farmers market. (…) The routine just makes it so less touristy and so much I don’t know, it just makes it deeper. I feel like other places I’ve visited for a week is, oh I’ve been there but my heart is not there. I feel like a part of my heart is in Oregon, because I spent three weeks giving so much to it. (Hannah, 2011)

5.5.5 Alternative tourism Wearing and Ponting (2009, p. 255) states that volunteers often chose the same form of tourism again, because they like the concept and the personal effects. Motivators mentioned are friendships, developing deeper understandings of others, and strengthening one’s own self-identity while helping others. For Sofia the WWOOF experience meant new friends with shared values that she continued to travel with after she got to know them at the farm. She says that working together is a good way of getting to know each other. Other volunteers also discuss the sense of community at the farm. When Hannah was WWOOFing her farm had three other volunteers: from Oregon, Florida, and Sweden. She did not expect the “community aspect to be so strong” or that everyone at the farm would spend “the whole day together”. “I really liked being a part of that self sufficient community”, she states.

None of the informants would have gone to the area of the farm if it wouldn’t have been for the farm stay, except for Chris that has family on his WWOOF farm. Learning and expanding the self can occur in the intersection between the tourist, host community and natural environment when it comes to volunteer tourism and so the destination gets a new value (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 257).

You’re not just visiting these big tourist attractions, you’re meeting people, you’re meeting the people that live there and you’re really finding out what life is like. It’s not life inside a hotel, it’s life in that community. (Chris, 2011)

Culture is seen as something ever changing by influences from everyone taking part of it. Hosts are reflecting, educating and interpreting as visitors are part of the re-presentation but not intruding on the culture (Wearing & Ponting, 2009, p. 264). Jordan sees WWOOFing as a rewarding experience as he gets to live with a family and really get a feel of what is going on there.

I think anytime you’re traveling being able to actually live someplace and being with a family and just totally being immersed by what’s going on in that area where they live is always, for me always been a more rewarding experience. (…) You’re not just seeing sights, you’re getting to really get a feel for how people live where you go, where you are. (Jordan, 2011)

Jordan, like many WWOOFers, sees the experience as an improved form of tourism. Instead of just a normal tourist trip this kind of travels brings another dimension to the experience. The volunteer gains new knowledge and come across new influences that create big changes in their identities and ways to live their lives.

5.5.6 Concluding remarks This last chapter has revolved around the differences between WWOOFers and other tourists. Similarities found are that tourists want to leave home for a while; some are on leisure vacation while some work hard on a farm. Differences are that the volunteer live and spend a big time of the day together with locals which, in combination with a longer stay than a tourist would on a traditional vacation, creates strong ties to the destination. In addition, the intense contact with other volunteers creates strong friendships. By living with a family the volunteer gets a close look at the countryside culture, often very different than what other tourists will experience.

6 Final conclusion In this chapter the conclusions of the research will be presented. After answering this undergraduate thesis aim topics for future research will be suggested.

Through a qualitative study of 14 WWOOF volunteers from the United States and Sweden, this undergraduate thesis has focused on tourists’ identity work through travels. I have highlighted various observations about what role experiences from a WWOOF farm play in the volunteers’ life stories and have found that identities are affected by travels, in many ways. I have also examined in what way WWOOF creates opportunities for cultural and social exchanges that influence the volunteers’ identities.

Volunteers perceive a personal change caused by influences from the time at the WWOOF farm. As identities are relational hosts and other volunteers encountered have had an impact on them. Influences have made them come to realizations about who they want to be or how they want to live their lives. One informant express that she is less shy, another that he has come to peace with the world, and a third that he wants to become more generous. Other volunteers express that they have gained a higher awareness of the impact they cause on the environment and want to reduce that. Producing less waste, eating healthy food, and doing yoga reduce stress are mentioned as things they want to implement in their lives back home.

In the section on perceived change, it is revealed that the environment has a great impact on the identity which supports the theory about identities as contextual. Volunteers mention the WWOOF farm as a peaceful, therapeutic place where they can get away from stressors in their lives in the city. However, the volunteers are aware of the dependence of the context and that it takes particular effort to stick with a calm mind and a healthy and sustainable lifestyle when back around all temptations of the big city life. Indeed, the individual has the possibility to affect his or her own identity by getting engaged in the identity work. All informants in this paper say that they would like to volunteer again.

What is not taken into account when the volunteers talk about a simple life on the countryside are the farmer’s responsibility for the duties on the farm and the finances. The view of a farm life as idyllic might be true from a volunteer’s perspective but a farmer’s life comes with all the daily duties, the stress for profitability, the weather, and the crops, etc. The volunteers’ experiences cover another kind of life that pictures the farm life as idyllic.

The time at the WWOOF farm has been a transformative event for many of the informants who highlight several cultural and social exchanges, both between volunteers but also between volunteers and locals, that have affected their identities in different ways. Identities are procedural which can be seen in their ever changing character. Volunteers claim that WWOOF creates cross-border exchanges, for example, between city dwellers and people living on the countryside, and between people from diverse countries. Meeting people from all around the world with different backgrounds has been beneficial for the volunteers who have made new good friends and thus gained new perspectives and worldviews. For example, as the third section highlighted, support from other volunteers and farm hosts can be essential to the volunteer who has found a new direction in life that he or she does not want to lose even if the context changes, thus identities are relational and contextual. Exchange with the

33 local community is possible as the volunteers, in contrast to other tourists, have the opportunity to live with a family running a WWOOF farm and thereby experience the local culture. Even though this experience is not representative for the community on a big scale it is an immersion into one family’s life. According to the WWOOFers the volunteer tourist in that way differs from the more traditional tourist who never gets admittance to the local community in the same way. The differentiation from other tourists can be questioned. What the volunteers experience being unique for their form of tourism can be found in other forms too.

When it comes to travel motivation volunteers put emphasis on meeting people hence WWOOFing is assumed to be the ideal way to travel thanks to the combination of doing what you like, see a new environment, experience a new community, learn new things, sometimes learning a new language, and get to know new people. For example one volunteer express that WWOOFing as a form of tourism fits her very well. Now it is an important part of her life story with a reoccurring character. Of course what a person assume to be the best way to travel differ depending on interest, family situation, financial situation and so on. As the volunteer is involved in the daily routines and contribute with something in the local community during his or her travels the experience differs from a more traditional tourist’s trip. The experience of WWOOFing also has a further dimension that is to overbridge preconceptions about city people and people living on the countryside. Tourism is one of the possible ways to create these ties.

In summary, this paper has had an emphasis on the larger effects a volunteer trip to a WWOOF farm have on the volunteers and the study has contributed to the research on volunteers’ identity work.

6.1 Future research It is not the purpose of this study to examine farm hosts’ identity development but it is an area that would be interesting for future studies. Hosts spend a lot of time on engaging volunteers, and teaching them the tasks of the farm. Remarkable energy is used to get to know the volunteers and to house them. How are the hosts affected by that, and what impact do that have that on their identities? How are they dealing with volunteers, that they have gotten attached to, leaving them?

Moreover, I suggest further research on the farmer’s life, to problematize the way the WWOOFers have explained the life on the countryside – as simple and carefree. This view needs to be examined and analyzed.

A follow up on the volunteers’ identities, for example a year after their WWOOF trip, is needed to examine the importance of the physical and social context when it comes to identity work. Did their ambitions for a new healthy lifestyle become real?

Future research could, for example, have a gender perspective to examine if there are any differences in a male or a female experience of WWOOFing and how the individual use that in his or her identity work.

References Litterature

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McIntosh, A., J and Bonnemann, S. M. (2006). Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF): the Alternative Farm Stay Experience? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14, 82- 99. Palmer, C. (2001). Ethnography: a Research Method in Practice. International journal of tourism research, 3, 301-312. Searle, J. R. (1996[1995]). The construction of social reality. London: Penguin. Syssner , J. (2011). Identitet. In J. Syssner (ed.), Perspektiv på turism och resande: begrepp för en kritisk turismanalys (pp. 57-76). Lund: Studentlitteratur. Sin, H. L. (2009). Volunteer tourism – involve me and I will learn. Annals of tourism research, 36(3), 280-501. Wearing, S. (2001). Volunteer tourism [electronic resource] : experiences that make a difference. Wallingford, Oxon: CABI. Wearing S., & Ponting, J. (2009). Breaking down the system: how volunteer tourism contributes to new ways of viewing commodified tourism. In T. Jamal & M. Robinson (eds.), The SAGE handbook of tourism studies (pp. 254-268). Los Angeles: SAGE.

Wenneberg, Søren Barlebo (2001). Socialkonstruktivism: positioner, problem och perspektiv. 1. uppl. Malmö: Liber ekonomi. Electronic references

Google (2011) Available at: http://www.google.se/#sclient=psy- ab&hl=sv&source=hp&q=%22volunteer+tourism%22&pbx=1&oq=%22volunteer+tourism% 22&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=1&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=0l0l4l774l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_g c.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=ee9a014e031e4cad&biw=818&bih=687 Accessed on: 26 October 2011 NE (2011) Available at: http://www.ne.se/lang/turism?i_h_word=turism%C2%A8 Accessed on: 26 October 2011 WWOOF (2011) Available at: http://www.wwoof.org/ Accessed on: 26 October 2011 Interviews

Catherine July, 15th, 2011

Charlie July, 20th, 2011

Chris July, 11th, 2011

Christine July, 28th, 2011

Eliza Oct 2nd, 2011

Emily Aug 7th, 2011

Hannah July 22nd, 2011

Jordan July, 10th, 2011, Aug 19th, 2011

Laura July, 11th, 2011

Lovisa Sept 11th, 2011

Patrick July, 21th, 2011

Peter July, 10th, 2011, July 21st, 2011

Sarah Aug 19th, 2011

Sofia Sept 9th, 2011

Appendix 1: Definitions

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is an organization that helps volunteers to connect with organic farms. Food and housing for the volunteer is provided by the farm host in exchange for farm work and to learn about organic farming and sustainable lifestyles (WWOOF, 2011).

WWOOFing or to WWOOF is to volunteer on an organic farm connected to WWOOF (WWOOF).

Tourism is the term for peoples’ activities when they go places outside of their everyday environment. The length of the stay is shorter than a year and the main purpose is not to do paid work for someone at the destination. Tourism is also a field of study of activities and effects of these travels (NE, 2011).

Volunteer tourism is described as an alternative form of travel where tourists use their vacation to help fill a need or help a cause in the visited society or environment (Gullatt- Whiteman, 2003, p 241).

Appendix 2: Interview questions

Interview guide

 Why WWOOFing?  Why here?  Expectations  Relation to farm host and the local society  Experiences and change  WWOOFing as vacation

Questions

 How did you get the idea to be a WWOOF volunteer? What made you decide to become a WWOOF volunteer? How did you get information about WWOOF?  Have you been WWOOFing before? If yes; when and for how long? For how long will you be volunteering at this farm? What made you chose this farm? Are you going to another farm after this one?  What were your expectations on volunteering on a WWOOF farm? Has your experiences met your expectations?  What did your wwoof host do to make you feel welcome? Do you feel like you have developed lasting and personal relationship with your host? Do you feel useful on the farm?  How is your WWOOFing experience different from what you expected?  What do you think of WWOOFing as a cultural exchange? How is your experience of culture different from if you have been traveling in a more traditional way?  Have you changed? How will you be different when you go home? How have you changed as a person? How will you change the way that you live? Has your relationship to food changed?  Would you like to volunteer again?  In what way do you think rural regions can be affected by WWOOFing? Is WWOOFing a way of being on vacation for you? Would you have gone to this region if it wasn’t because of the farm stay? Is this a part of a longer vacation?  Will you bring any souvenirs home? How are you contributing to the local economy?  What would you have done if you hadn’t been volunteering?  Will you be able to travel more because you’re spending less on food and lodging on the farm?