Hi Frances,
We are starting to get young people with plenty of energy looking for land to start growing. Please drop me an email with details of your site and Ill keep in touch.
cheers,
Trav
peacefarmveggies@gmail.com
Nice work on the model Lachy, Lots to think about there. Sooo many optionsā¦
Hi Everyone! Iām from the US and have worked on a number of farms in the US. My husband is Australian - we actually moved to the States to intern on farms before coming back here. Iām sorry, my post got epic. Itās been a long time since Iāve had some farmnerds to talk to!
I agree that the above examples of organisations sort of haveā¦ no āthereā there, you know? I feel like Iām having a terrible time trying to get a toehold into the community here, though Iām also probably spoilt by my experience in the US. Greenhorns aside, I found most of my intern/apprenticeships through ATTRA and regional/state organisations like NOFA; also BeginningFarmers It would be great if we had something like that, and Iām certainly happy to help. I think expanding on the Deep Agrarian conference would be good, since itās composed of actual farmers doing things on the ground.
I also wish there were a land-link portal, like NewEngland Farm Finder - I canāt even figure out where to start looking for land other than āasking aroundā. (Actually, Iām thrilled beyond belief to have stumbled across the Deep Agrarian thing and this forum!) Happy to help with this project too.
I used to do proofreading, copyediting, research, and content development for (the now defunct) FarmPlate.com =) An incubator program would be good too (Iāve seen the garlic one in VIC).
As payment and internships go: I admittedly sort of have a chip on my shoulder about this. Iāve been supporting myself since 17, so Iāve only ever been able to take paid internships - usually room, board, stipend, veg. Legally, in the US, an unpaid intern cannot do any work that provides value to the company. I think all jobs have some sort of learning curve, so if theyāre working they need paid. If theyāre WOOFing, theyāre a volunteer. You can charge fees if theyāre a student and 100% focus is on their education (like, I paid for college and I paid for my Permaculture Certificate). I noted and avoided totally unpaid internships and apprenticeships that justified doing so because the intern was ālearning somethingāā¦ heck, Iāve learned all sorts of things from ALL my jobs in every field, and theyāve all paid. Also, when something requires a significant time commitment and is unpaid youāre automatically excluding people (like me) who just canāt afford that sort of thing, and it sort of rarefies/gentrifies the community over time.
Lastly, happy to chat/answer questions of course.
Other than WWOOF, Iāve worked at: Hawthorne Valley, Wollam Gardens, Sandhill Organics (now Sandhill Family Farms at Prairie Crossing), Pleasant Valley Farm, Hamlet Organic Garden, and Foggy River Farm.
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Good food for thought there - i like the idea of a portal of point 1
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Just posting this as another program going on - i know nothing about it - found it via gundaroo tiller site, C
http://growingthegrowers.com/
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Dear Trav,
Our site that is available for farming/growing is a small part of a forest
down Stoll Road just before Jindivick.
There are three areas. The first is the old mill site which is a flat area
of approx. 2 hectares.There is a sawmill shed which has a roof but no
walls. Next to it are two āwetā sheds which are large plastic
poly-tunnels which
could be used to grow seedlings etc. These have sprinklers suspended from
the roof which are connected to a large water supply - about 160,000 litres
I think. There are four concrete ākiln padsā - flat concrete pads which
were to be used for timber kilns, which could be used for whatever. There
is no power on site at the moment, but there is infrastructure in place for
water gas and power - ie underground wiring, gas pipes and water pipes
Then there is an adjacent area of about 12 hectares which was logged by the
previous owner a few years ago. The logs were left on the ground and we
have been clearing them out to be used for firewood. Others have been
pushed into windrows and will be burned prior to summer, then remnants
mulched and prepped ready for planting.
Further on is what is known as the 'Potato Field". Apparently at one time
it was used to grow potatoes and for whatever reason has not reverted to
forest . It is approx.10 hectares. Part of it is flat with numerous wombat
holes and there is also a very steeply sloping bit. It is adjacent to a
dairy farm.The potato field has had ragwort and blackberries in it. We have
mulched this site and pushed debris into windrows for burning which will
occur prior to this summer. It is likely that the blackberry and ragwort
will return swiftly and we will need to actively manage this going forward.
We were thinking that growing something on the land would help prevent
weeds returning and also provide local food and farming opportunities.
Given the area and type of facility, an intensive approach would be
appropriate. We are not averse to animals on site but there are wild dogs
in the vicinity that we are actively managing and there is no fencing.
We acquired the forest a few years ago and it needs a bit of management.
If you are interested or know anyone who would like to follow up please
email or ring me on 0401 407 944.
Regards
Fran
Just saw this from Young Agrarians in Canada and thought it might be of interest for some here : http://youngagrarians.org/ecological-farm-internships-report/
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Awesome resource Amida! Thanks heaps for sharing
Hi everyone,
A very very long time coming. But the iteration of the idea that first germinated on this thread is now live at https://agtalent.training/
Itās a searchable global database of the worlds best sustainable ag training programs. Weāve got 150 listings and growing daily.
Would love to see everyone posting their internships, courses, workshops and training on here. Takes 5 minutes to create a listing.
We are also building training pathways and other features really soon. Tis a work in progress,
cheers