Farm stays in Africa

How to find agriturism opportunities—the chance to stay on a working farm—in Africa

Farm stays in...
Ghana
Morocco
Senegal
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zimbabwe

GeneralHere are resources to find agritourism (farm stay) opportunities in Africa.

Farm stays in Ghana

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find a handful of listings for Ghana.

Farm stays in Morocco

Accueil Paysan (www.accueil-paysan.com) - It's a bit hidden on this French site for a guidebook devoted to countryside accommodations, but there is a page (I deep-linked to it above) showcasing half a dozen Moroccan farm stays.

Farm stays in Senegal

Senegal Tourism Office (www.senegal-tourism.com) - The national tourism authority will set you up in a small hut in a rural Senegalese village for about $40 per day for room and full board (it's under "Accommodations: Special Activities").

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find a handful of listings for Senegal.

Farm stays in South Africa

Farmstay.co.za (www.farmstay.co.za) - Lists an impressive 316 lodges across South Africa—in some areas, these properties lean more toward game lodges than farm stays, but all are at least rural experiences.

Farm stays in Swaziland

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find a handful of listings for Swaziland.

Farm stays in Tanzania

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find a handful of listings for Tanzania.

Farm stays in Zimbabwe

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find a handful of listings for Zimbabwe.

GENERAL farm stay catalogs

Agrisport (www.agrisport.com) - It's very much a homemade site, and far from the best organized around, but it's loaded with links once you drill down. These are not only to specific guest farms and dude ranches, but to other outdoors and agritourism links as well, all grouped by country or state. One annoying factor: you have to open a site in a new window to see what its actual url is (otherwise every page is masked as "agrisort.com").

Earthfoot (www.earthfoot.org) - Under "Homestays" you'll find some listings each for Ghana, South Africa, and Swaziland, along with Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Organic Places to Stay (www.organicholidays.co.uk) - OK, nearly two-thirds of the listings here are lodgings that happen to offer organic food. The other third, however, are B&Bs, rental cottages, or homestays on working organic farms. There are tons of listings ranging all over the world, with some in South Africa (3), Morocco (1), and Egypt (1).

Agritourism World (www.agritourismworld.com) - Ladies and gentlemen, behold: a list of thousands of farm stays around the world... in alphabetical order by name. Not even sure why I bother including this sits, since the results are nearly random—a farm B&B in rural Pennsylvania wedged between one in Italy and another in Belize. How useful is that? Still, if you just want to roll the virtual dice when it comes to location, you'll find plenty of agriturismi here.

WWOOF: The World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (www.wwoof.org) - If you really want to get your hands dirty, sign up with this collection of volunteer organizations in 50 countries around the world, from Australia to Korea, Ghana to the US, Italy to Nepal (plus "independent" members—countries with only a handful of opportunities). Each is devoted to supporting and helping teach about organic and environmentally sound farming techniques. You join the WOOF chapter in the country where you'd like to work (for roughly $10 to $40), it sends you a list of farms that would appreciate a helping hand in exchange for room and board. You must be willing to put in six hours of work six days a week to see how the farming half lives in a variety of nations.