Siobhán Costigan

Personal Bio

We are a family of five from Sydney, Australia. I’m Siobhán, a designer, documentary filmmaker and academic; and my partner Dave is a digital designer and filmmaker. We have three children – Luca (12), Remy (9) and Nico (5). Our family spent seven months of 2019 backpacking (mostly overland) through 11 countries in southern and southeast Asia with our children and it was a life-changing experience for all of us.

We love meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and exploring different ways of living. We are passionate about environmental sustainability, so we are very interested in WWOOFing around Australia once the borders re-open and it’s safe to travel.

Dave does have a full-time job, which he is able to do remotely, but my work hours are very flexible, so I would be able to work for a few hours each day. Dave can also volunteer after hours or on weekends, and our children are happy to help out where they can too!

I am a passionate cook, and I am very willing and able to work in whatever other capacity might be needed, including gardening, farming, fruit-picking and general farmhand work. Dave grew up on a smallholding in Hertfordshire, England, so has had a lot of farm experience and can also help with farming, as well as chopping firewood, building and repairs etc, along with cooking and other household duties.

We have completed a few volunteer WWOOFing / HelpX / volunteer stints since the beginning our travels, which have involved a variety of jobs including picking olives and blackberries, planting and gardening, building fences, house painting, chopping firewood, bottling and preserving fruit, feeding animals, cooking, and doing general household chores.

We have a professional film and photography set-up, so are also able to volunteer our skills to make take photos and make promotional videos, build or redesign websites, or help with other design, marketing and communication requirements that might be needed.

*Dave, Luca and I are all fully vaccinated; Remy and Nico have had their first shots and will be fully vaccinated by late March 2022.

Why I joined WWOOF

We joined WWOOF as we are currently travelling around Australia for two years and we are hoping to learn more about organic farming, permaculture, biodynamics and self-sufficiency. We also want to give our children (who have mostly been raised in the city) the experience of life on a farm, a greater connection to nature, an opportunity to build greater resilience, and an appreciation for where their food comes from and the importance of supporting sustainable agricultural practices.

We also love the idea of being able to give back by working in various capacities on different farms and helping to spread the message about the importance of organic, sustainable and regenerative farming, with a view to being part of the change that we’d like to see in the world.