The social construction of the New Zealand WWOOFing experience: A study of the world wide opportunities on organic farms programme
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis investigates an increasingly popular but little researched tourism- related phenomenon: the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) programme (Deville, Wearing, & McDonald, 2016a). The programme has been framed as an alternative form of tourism (McIntosh, 2009; McIntosh & Campbell, 2001; McIntosh & Bonnemann, 2006) that networks people interested in participating in sustainable lifestyles on organic farms. Farm hosts offer food, shelter, and an opportunity to engage in and learn about the work of farming, while volunteers receive free food and accommodation. WWOOFing emerged in the UK in the 1970s and, since then, has become entwined with practices of international travelling worldwide. New Zealand hosts the second oldest and the second largest WWOOF network globally. According to the WWOOF founder Sue Coppard, the primary aim of WWOOFing is to create a cultural exchange and to develop knowledge and learning while working together on the farm for four- six hours per day (Pier, 2011). Arguably, its underlying distinctive values and philosophies shape the experience and host-guest relationship between WWOOF farm hosts and their volunteers, known as WWOOFers. The aim of this thesis is to examine the social construction of the New Zealand WWOOFing experience between farmers and WWOOFers in the WWOOF volunteer exchange programme. The methodological approach adopted in this study is underpinned by social constructionist epistemology. Thus, the nature of this thesis is qualitative and inductive and draws on creative data approaches. To explore the socially constructed experience between farmers and WWOOFers, a blend of qualitative methods for data collection and analysis was chosen. The data were collected in the form of qualitative unstructured interviews with 23 farmers and WWOOFers, three creative LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) workshops with 12 participants, combined with participant observation and my reflexive research journal. Based on the construct…
abstract: This thesis investigates an increasingly popular but little researched tourism- related phenomenon: the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) programme (Deville, Wearing, & McDonald, 2016a). The programme has been framed as an alternative form of tourism (McIntosh, 2009; McIntosh & Campbell, 2001; McIntosh & Bonnemann, 2006) that networks people interested in participating in sustainable lifestyles on organic farms. Farm hosts offer food, shelter, and an opportunity to engage in and learn about the work of farming, while volunteers receive free food and accommodation. WWOOFing emerged in the UK in the 1970s and, since then, has become entwined with practices of international travelling worldwide. New Zealand hosts the second oldest and the second largest WWOOF network globally. According to the WWOOF founder Sue Coppard, the primary aim of WWOOFing is to create a cultural exchange and to develop knowledge and learning while working together on the farm for four- six hours per day (Pier, 2011). Arguably, its underlying distinctive values and philosophies shape the experience and host-guest relationship between WWOOF farm hosts and their volunteers, known as WWOOFers. The aim of this thesis is to examine the social construction of the New Zealand WWOOFing experience between farmers and WWOOFers in the WWOOF volunteer exchange programme. The methodological approach adopted in this study is underpinned by social constructionist epistemology. Thus, the nature of this thesis is qualitative and inductive and draws on creative data approaches. To explore the socially constructed experience between farmers and WWOOFers, a blend of qualitative methods for data collection and analysis was chosen. The data were collected in the form of qualitative unstructured interviews with 23 farmers and WWOOFers, three creative LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) workshops with 12 participants, combined with participant observation and my reflexive research journal. Based on the construct…
author: Wengel, Yana
keywords: WWOOFing, volunteer tourism, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, host- guest experiences, KETSO
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/66f48217-eab9-4f4f-86e8-a053e6f3fefc/download
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:27Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Waikato