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Old 11-05-2008, 10:42 PM
 
Location: Minnesota..California Dreamin'
195 posts, read 1,079,413 times
Reputation: 75

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I've thought of doing this myself sometimes..and hope it goes well for you. I enjoyed reading your thread, and will follow it. I've always heard Hawaii is so expensive, and I've never been there. But I occasionally fantasize about moving there. I'm 22 too and know what it is like to dream about places like HI.But you are living it!
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Old 11-05-2008, 11:20 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,920 times
Reputation: 11
sbradley 86 - just read your post and wanted to respond to your curiosity on the WWOOF program - just moved to Maui from SC to WWOOF. didn't work out quite like we thought it would. Call it lack of planning on our part - but we didn't do enough research on the exact location of the farm we were at and came over with the idea that we'd be working on the farm 4 hrs a day, then we'd be able to get restaurant/bar jobs at night to save $$, except we didn't realize until we got there that we were in the middle of no where and the closest town was a 40 min+ walk down busy roads with no lights. While rent was free it only included 1 meal a day. and groceries here are not cheap. there was no way we were going to make it here longer than a few weeks living like that, nor would we have been able to even go to the beach regularly or have been able to afford to see the rest of Maui. luckily i have a friend that lives here already and had an open room which we're renting now in Kihei - much busier town with lots of restaurants within actual walking/biking distance. still not sure how I feel about it though. and we're still searching for jobs...
overall, i think the WWOOF program is a good idea - but only if you are guaranteed actual meals - being offered food from the farm is nice, but usually not enough to prepare an entire meal from daily, OR if you come with a good bit of money saved up or if you receive some sort of income it will probably work out for you. Good Luck!!
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Old 11-06-2008, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
20 posts, read 43,493 times
Reputation: 34
Quote:
just read your post and wanted to respond to your curiosity on the WWOOF program - just moved to Maui from SC to WWOOF. didn't work out quite like we thought it would. Call it lack of planning on our part - but we didn't do enough research on the exact location of the farm we were at and came over with the idea that we'd be working on the farm 4 hrs a day, then we'd be able to get restaurant/bar jobs at night to save $$, except we didn't realize until we got there that we were in the middle of no where and the closest town was a 40 min+ walk down busy roads with no lights.
Thanks for your interest in helping me. What part of maui was the farm? Could you tell me which farm it was(i.e. Maui 12). I doubt you'd be able to answer this next one but I'll throw it out there - do you know of any WWOOF farms that are closer to some potential work?

Thanks again
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Old 11-06-2008, 01:53 PM
 
Location: Philly, PA
156 posts, read 806,225 times
Reputation: 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbradley86 View Post
Thanks for your interest in helping me. What part of maui was the farm? Could you tell me which farm it was(i.e. Maui 12). I doubt you'd be able to answer this next one but I'll throw it out there - do you know of any WWOOF farms that are closer to some potential work?

Thanks again
According to www.wwoofhawaii.org site:
"...The WWOOF Hosts that are listed first here, are in the Hana area, near the end of an amazing curvy highway, with 54 bridges along its 60 mile route through lush rainforests, quite the ride !!"
I don't think you can find ANY work in Hana, and it's 3+ hours (if you get stuck behind some slow tourist - can be much more) drive to ANYTHING.

"... other WWOOF hosts are to be found in the Haiku area and nearby..."

Haiku closer, but also at least 30 minutes drive to Kahului and over hour to Kihei. There is very few businesses in Haiku, so not much chance to find job too.
There is no public transportation in both places.


Most of jobs located in Kahului, Kihei, Lahaina. Google maps is you friend Google Maps
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Old 11-06-2008, 03:01 PM
 
Location: Moku Nui, Hawaii
11,053 posts, read 24,062,484 times
Reputation: 10911
Hmm, I wonder if I can get WOOFers to do yard work? Build a small cabin and clear off a quarter acre. Maybe a bit of fencing and gardening in exchange for living in the cabin they build? All in the backyard, of course, not exactly an organic farm. Sigh! I guess not, then. Chickens and geese in the backyard don't make an organic farm even though there's some coffee trees too. Oh wellos!
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Old 11-06-2008, 06:45 PM
 
Location: Philly, PA
156 posts, read 806,225 times
Reputation: 87
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz View Post
... Build a small cabin and clear off a quarter acre.
If you look their website, at least half of them not even provide cabin! Only tent! Some of them saying accommodation "using your own tent"! ...or, listen this - "Natural swimming pool" I believe this is translate to "pond"!
Damn! This is frigging slavery!
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Old 11-07-2008, 05:36 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
20 posts, read 43,493 times
Reputation: 34
Quote:
If you look their website, at least half of them not even provide cabin! Only tent! Some of them saying accommodation "using your own tent"! ...or, listen this - "Natural swimming pool" I believe this is translate to "pond"!
Damn! This is frigging slavery!
Just depends on how you look at it. It's worth it for people trying to get a foothold somewhere so far away. The possibilities could be endless depending on a lot of factors.

I suspect that with proper and smart correspondence with the farm, someone could make a lot out of something as simple as a little hard work.
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Old 11-08-2008, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Pahoa Hawaii
2,081 posts, read 5,603,125 times
Reputation: 2820
Default Not always a good thing...

In '04 a young lady my niece knew came to work at a farm in Kapoho. It was a collection of open sheds, no running water, no lights, not even a toilet or paper: Do your business in a box, wipe with leaves, bury it later. All the organic fruit you can eat, mostly wormy guava. For that they expected a days work. At the end of her stint, she came to stay with us overnight on her way to Maui and noticed she was getting water blisters on her fingers. Within a few hours her hands were covered in running sores, spreading evrywhere she touched herself. Took her to the clinic in Pahoa, staff never seen such a thing, no Dr. present. Took her to Hilo E.R. They didn't know either, gave her topical cream. Next day she was worse, couldn't even feed herself. This time back to Pahoa clinic, This time Dr. was there. She had contact dermatitis, from an unknown source, one of the many poisonous plants here. She had probably picked it up from wearing the filthy "community" gloves they used. We contacted the farm, they basically said "tough". She ended up staying with us 3 weeks to recover. She didn't know anybody else on the island. I don't know what she would have done otherwise, sick and alone in the middle of the Pacific.
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Old 11-08-2008, 07:09 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
20 posts, read 43,493 times
Reputation: 34
Yikes that's an awful story. i hope nothing like that happens to me because I'll have no one to help me out. It's also a risk I feel necessary to take. I appreciate all the advice/criticism I've gotten on this thread. I have taken every bit to heart.

I am happy to say that I will be going to Hawaii. I feel I am at least a bit more prepared than I would have been without these awesome replies. I understand it will not be easy, and unfortunately it seems that success just seems to be luck of the draw and on a case to case basis. Hopefully I've got luck on my side and I will make it. Time tells all.
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Old 11-09-2008, 08:57 AM
 
Location: Kailua, Oahu, HI and San Diego, CA
1,178 posts, read 5,945,933 times
Reputation: 803
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbradley86 View Post
I am happy to say that I will be going to Hawaii. I feel I am at least a bit more prepared than I would have been without these awesome replies. I understand it will not be easy, and unfortunately it seems that success just seems to be luck of the draw and on a case to case basis. Hopefully I've got luck on my side and I will make it. Time tells all.
I wish you all the luck in the world, Bradley. I hope you will keep us posted as to how it goes.

Hank
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