WWOOF is 50!!!!!! It’s official. We kicked-off our 50th Anniversary celebrations with a gorgeous festival held on 9-10 October in Lyon, France. It was an excellent opportunity to disseminate the values that underlie the WWOOF movement and to get together after a difficult period. The result was extraordinary: more than 3000 people visited the event area over the weekend.

A market with dozens of WWOOF hosts from all over the country provided different colours and accents throughout the two days, and there was plenty of entertainment in the theatre show and good music in the evening to warm up and dance to.

But the heart of the event was surely the cultural offer. Two days of presentations and discussions in the conference tent about good practices and a vision of new possible ways forward, and a central spot open to everyone for sharing projects.

A well-stocked bookshop, a refreshment stall, a tent where to listen to podcasts and one where to exchange seeds, various photographic exhibitions – lot of enriching content for this festive occasion.

The booth of the Federation of WWOOF orgnisations (FoWO), with delegations from several countries, reminded everyone about the world wide dimension of the movement and the desire for a joint growth, through an active collaboration between the various national organisations.

Thanks to WWOOF France for the organisation of this event, it was a really great success. It is possible to get WWOOF out of the countryside and into the cities, where the messages, values and practices behind the movement can meet a wider audience: perhaps this is the challenge for the next 50 years.