Northwest Returnee Conference 2011

Spreading the good word: Me at my WWOOF-USA table at the Northwest Returnee Conference



On Saturday I had an opportunity to meet and swap stories with many other international travelers and hear from a number of people about their international careers and graduate studies at the third annual Northwest Returnee Conference, where I was a volunteer. The conference, organized by a committee composed of staff members at AHA international and IE3 Global Internships, is held every year to help students returned from internships and study abroad integrate their experiences back in Oregon and connect with others in similar situations.

This year I had the privilege of running an information table to spread the word about organic farm volunteering on behalf of the nonprofit, WWOOF-USA. I did so with the aid of a poster made using a web application I put together last year with that organization in order to display all the farms on a Google Map. Presently we hope to integrate it in the WWOOF-USA website with the help of a Premier API grant.


A screen capture of a prototype I produced for WWOOF-USA



Imagine my delight when I discovered, on the very same day, the Oregonian published an article telling the story of some others who recently seized the opportunity to volunteer on some organic farms. Another highlight of the event came when I met another WWOOFer who, like me, was also an IE3 alum. She is organizing a IE3 alumni group and has even planned an event next month for us to get together and socialize. I was relieved to discover that it will take place before my Peace Corps departure date.