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Step 2
Find a farm and organise a stay
Contact the farm/s that interest you directly at their contact addresses given on the list and organise your stay.
Each farm has something different to offer so please take the time to choose the farms that interest you most. Don't send a blanket e-mail to all the farms on the list, when this happens most farms don't bother replying, all the hosts are individuals and should be treated as such
When you contact a farm tell them something about yourself, why you are interested in offering your help voluntarily on their farm, your plans and what you are looking for during your stay.
Always respect the dates you arrange with your host, if you have to change them for any reason you must give your host ample warning so that they can make other arrangements. Please don't just not turn up, this can cause major problems for your host (who has probably turned down other people as they were expecting you to come).
Please be responsible and thoughtful and take your obligations seriously.
You should read the Associations charter and internal rules before signing the membership form. There is a copy on-site, and all hosts have a copy.
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Visas
Although WWOOF Italia is a registered voluntary association the Italian visa authority does not have an appropriate visa category and will not issue work visas to wwoofers.
It is essential therefore that you only request a tourism-cultural visa.
Italian immigration law requires every person entering the country for whatever reason to apply for a "permesso di soggiorno" within 8 days of arrival.
To do this you have to present yourself at the local police station with your pasport and request permission to stay in the country. This procedure is a formality and most people (holiday makers and business men on short trips) don't bother and no one seems to mind. Unfortunately with WWOOF and the situation of voluntary "work", not having the permesso di soggiorno could create problems so please for your own peace of mind make the effort to get one.
We cannot help with visa applications, but here is a list of the documentation requested by Italian authorities when issuing visas to American citizens.
For an EXTENDED STAY IN ITALY, the following are required:
1) Personal appearance;
2) Passport valid three months over the applicant's planned stay in Italy;
3) U.S. Alien Registration Card, if not a US citizen or valid US INS visa (any visa except B1-B2);
4) Application form duly completed and signed;
5) One passport size photograph;
6) The airline ticket;
7) A letter from the applicant where he/she specifies the reasons for his/her stay in Italy, length of stay and where he/she plans to reside, name of the persons accompanying the applicant such as the spouse, children, etc. in which we need proof of the relationship, such as a copy of the marriage certificate and birth certificate. The signature must be notarized;
8) Proof of financial means, such as letters from the applicant's bank indicating the financial status of their accounts, including amount of money in each account, copy of last pension received, etc. If the applicant owns a house or apartment, please provide a copy of the deed, or if he/she receives rent for the house or apartment please present a copy of the lease;
9) An original letter guaranteeing medical coverage while in Italy, stating the insurance policy number *.
* We have contacted the insurance company and hope to be able to provide this letter on-line in the near future.
**This visa does not allow the applicant to work in Italy.
For a TOURIST VISA, the following are required:
1) Personal appearance, one passport size photograph and one application form duly completed and signed at the Consulate;
2) Passport valid three months over the applicants planned stay in Italy;
3) Proof of residence such as: Alien Registration Card or a valid US INS visa (any visa except B1-B2);
4) Ticket for airplane, train, or car rental vouchers showing the applicant's name, the exact dates of entry and exit, with the farthest destination;
5) Letter of reference from the employer. The signature must be notarized;
6) Latest bank statement;
7) Hotel reservation in Italy or letter of invitation if visiting friends: the signature must be notarized, "Dichiarazione di garanzia" issued by the Questura (Police Headquarters) is requested at times according to the applicant's financial situation.
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Avoiding problems
We have found that the best way to avoid problems is to communicate very clearly with the farms you intend to visit.
Always telephone or write before visiting a farm (if you expect a reply by post always enclose an I.R.C or stamp). Please never just turn up unexpectedly on a host's doorstep expecting to be made welcome.
Try to plan your movements well in advance and keep hosts informed of changes in your plans.
Make sure that you have a clear agreement with your host as to the basis of your stay (e.g. hours, food, accommodation, facilities, arrangements if you take children with you etc.) before you arrive. Tell them about yourself and what you expect. The farm owner should give you plenty of information about what is happening on the farm at the time you intend to visit, how long the hours will be, what needs doing, what the accommodation is like, what there is to do in your free time, places to visit etc.
Make sure you have a valid address for the farm you intend to visit.
Always take suitable clothes i.e. gloves and good shoes or boots. It may be necessary to take a sleeping bag.
It would be a good idea to make sure you and your host have a language in common!
Always have a copy of your WWOOF Italia membership card with you as hosts will wish to see it.
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Avoiding e-mail problems
Most people haven't a clue about how to use their email system to avoid collecting spam and viruses. Here are a few pointers from WWOOF technical support.
1) Make sure that the subject of your email is something recognisable to your recipient. Sending messages titled "hello" or "hi" are just asking to get lost. Many offices bin all messages that are not clearly recognisable as not being spam. WWOOF gets around 600 spam emails a day, most of which get filtered out without being read.
*******************************************************
All messages to WWOOF should have
the word WWOOF in the subject to avoid getting blocked.
*******************************************************
2) Don't send emails to long lists of people. When you do this, you are exposing all your friends' emails to viruses and spam. If you have to send a message to more than one person, use the BCC (blind carbon copy) facility which keeps the email addresses hidden from view.
3) Try to move away as soon as possible from using free email systems such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Such emails are more and more often blacklisted and fail due to filling up with spam. Get yourself a reliable, professionally-managed, spam- and virus-filtered email address. Keep your free email system going in parallel until your friends get the message.
For more information, go to www.barkmail.com
This is the e-mail service WWOOF has set up for its members, giving you a professional email service for a small yearly fee.
4) Don't send attachments in any format that can act as a virus carrier. One of the most common is Microsoft WORD documents (DOC). Such documents can contain macros which can be viruses. WORD documents are a proprietary format that your recipient may not be able to read. You are also encouraging the stranglehold of Microsoft's dominance. If you have to send WORD documents, first save the document as (Save As) an RTF file, but really if you want to sent text to someone just send it as an e-mail
5) Never open attachments unless you know who is sending you them and what they contain.
6) Never under any circumstances open a WORD or EXE attachment directly. Always use a viewer that disables any programs that may be hidden within. WORD documents can be opened with WordPad, which is a simple viewer.
7) Don't send attachments at all until you have cleared with the recipients that they are ready to receive them. Send a short message first and then detail exactly what you are sending. Many offices never open attachments.
8) If you have a website, don't put your email address on it. Spiders roam the internet and pick these up, using them to generate spam. There are ways around having your address exposed on your website - get advice from a website designer.
9) Never respond to spam by asking to be removed from their mailing list. All this does is confirm to the spam sender that your email address is valid and your spam problem will get worse.
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