The Farm
Old Shaw Farm is a certified organic, family run, vegetable farm in Peacham, Vermont. We currently have five acres, two heated greenhouses, and two unheated hoophouses under production and market our vegetables and culinary herbs at two farmer's markets, at a farmstand on our property, through our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership, and through a couple of wholesale accounts.
The Apprenticeship
We are looking for 2 apprentices for the 2008 growing season. This apprenticeship is structured for someone who is seriously considering organic vegetable farming as a career. While we have a lot of fun here, we expect anyone working here to work hard, and in return, we work hard to make the educational component of the apprenticeship meaningful and helpful. We need a minimum 12 week commitment, and the ideal person would be able to commit for the whole season (roughly April 15 to October 15).
The Work
Apprentices will be exposed to every aspect of the vegetable operation, from planning, field prep, seedling care, transplant and planting, cultivating, tractor work, harvesting, post-harvest handling, marketing and greenhouse work. Apprentices will be given significant instruction and responsibility for the operation of the farm.
Apprentices will be expected to work 4 long, 10 hours days a week for a total of approximately 40 hours. Apprentices should be dependable, in good physical shape, willing to get dirty and work hard, excited about organic agriculture, and reasonably fun to work with.
The Educational Component
Apprentices will work 4 days a week on our farm, and then the 5th day each week is for educational opportunities. Educational opportunities usually mean one of three things:
1. Work exchanges with other farms. The most helpful thing we did when we started out was to see as many different farms as possible. Working here is great, but seeing other farms will be extremely helpful to accelerate your farm learning curve. We will arrange work days at other farms where we make the other farmer promise to give apprentices a tour, to work with them for the day, and to spend some mealtime with our apprentices. This gives you a chance to see how another operation works, and to pepper other farmers with questions.
2. Individual projects. If there is a project around the farm that you are interested in pursuing, we will offer whatever support we can. These kinds of projects can include farm infrastructure projects (such as setting up a biodiesel still, designing and building custom equipment needed on the farm, or building an outdoor bread over or sauna, etc.), growing projects (such as experimenting with your own crop or garden somewhere on the farm), or any other ideas an apprentice has. These types of projects are necessarily self-directed, and would require some discussion with us about how we can match your interests with our farm needs.
3. Attending farm workshops or conferences. We will do what we can to facilitate your attendance at farm workshops and conferences that interest you. That means we will work to get you transport and help with any registration fees required. For example, NOFA-VT has a series of afternoon and evening workshops every summer, and there is always a big NOFA conference in western Massachusetts every year.
The Set Up
Room and some board are provided. We live in a big farmhouse, and apprentices share the kitchen, downstairs bath, and downstairs common areas with us. Apprentices sleep in the field in either a small yurt or trailer. We have tried a couple of different set ups and we think this system will work the best. The housing provides a sturdy dry place to live, plus you get to live on a beautiful hillside, but you can still come down to the house for a hot meal and hot shower.
You should be aware that we have small kids (4 and 2), and living with them is part of the deal here. They are wonderful children, but the kid energy can get a little intense around here sometimes, particularly around dinnertime.
The kitchen is communal. Each apprentice gets a CSA share, plus stuff out of the community closet (like cooking oil, rice, bread, some meat). We are meat eaters, but not obnoxiously so. Each apprentice can have their own refrigerator out in the woodshed. Apprentices are expected to help keep the communal areas of the house in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
A weekly stipend of $150 is provided.
Other stuff
We have internet access in the house.
If you work for us, you will undoubtably be featured on our blog from time to time.
On your off days, there is a lot to do. We live in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom with lots of outdoor stuff, like some of the best mountain biking trails in the Northeast. Also, there is always fun stuff to do in Vermont, such as the Bread and Puppet Theatre, the Open Studios weekend, hiking, camping, etc. Or you can just go for a swim and fall asleep on a warm rock by the stream. However, I guess we should mention that there is almost zero nightlife around here, so if bar hopping is your thing, you may be in trouble.
If you want to talk to people who have worked here in the past, we have references available.
How do I apply?
If you think this apprenticeship might be a good fit for you, try to answer the following questions and email them or send them to us by April 1, 2008 (note: the NOFA-VT apprenticeship application can be substituted for this part):
1. Tell us a little about yourself and why you want to work on a farm.
2. Tell us about any previous work experience that might be relevant to working here.
3. Tell us a little about why you think this particular apprenticeship may be right for you.
4. Tell us a little about any experiences you have had in co-living situations, and why you thinking you may be able to live with a family with small kids.
5. What do you like to do in your free time?
Applicants should also send us some sort of resume of all your work experience, and at least 2 references who can describe your work habits and performance.
You can send or email all this to: Maryellen and Peter Griffin, P.O. Box 181, Peacham, Vermont 05862 or email us at either maryellen at oldshawfarm dot com or peter at oldshawfarm dot com. We can then arrange a farm visit.
Thanks for your interest!!!!
