January 31, 2005
That time of year again
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of labor on organic vegetable farms of our size and location. First, there interns or apprentices. These are folks who want to be farmers someday, or who for a variety of reasons, want a farm experience in their lives. So they work and live on a farm for the season, and have what amounts to a farm immersion experience.
Intern/apprentices typically trade labor for room, board, a modest stipend, and some learing. Learning time can be one on one, going to NOFA-VT workshops, or something more group oriented. For example, there is a group of farmers in our area that all labor share with their interns, which means that very week, all the farmers and their interns go work on someone else's farm for an afternoon, and then they have a potluck dinner together that night. That way the farmer gets a big crew for an afternoon, and the interns get to see how other farmers work as well. Plus, everyone gets to socialize at night.
This is the time of year that people start to advertize for intern/apprenticeships, so I am posting an notice on the site here, and I will link to it in the column on the left.
The second type of labor are hourly workers. We usually advertize for those folks later in the winter/spring -- sometime in March.
So here is the intern/apprencticeship notice:
Organic Vegetable Internship/Apprenticeship Available
Old Shaw Farm is a certified organic, family run, vegetable farm in Peacham, Vermont. We currently have three acres 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.
We are looking for 1-2 interns/apprentices for the 2005 growing season.
Interns 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, and greenhouse work. Other possible projects include trail upkeep, light carpentry work, or building a new greenhouse.
Interns will be expected to work 4 longish days a week for a total of approximately 36 hours. Interns should be dependable, in good physical shape, willing to get dirty and work hard, excited about organic agriculture, and reasonably fun to work with.
In addition, there are opportunities to visit other farms (and their interns!), attend NOFA summer workshops, and structure any one-on-one learning. For off-days, Peacham is a beautiful place, located in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, with nearby access to swimming, hiking, mountain biking, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, and lots of fresh air.
Room and board are provided. Housing can be in our house, which would be a co-living situation (warning: we eat meat and dairy), or in the unfinished barn, or out in the woods. A weekly stipend is also provided. We need at least a ten week commitment, and would prefer people who are able to stay longer. Our season runs from April until October.
There is also a chance that later in the spring we will also be hiring an additional 1-2 hourly workers for 16-24 hours per week,
If you are interested or have any questions call or arrange a visit:
Maryellen and Peter Griffin -- (802) 592-3349
or email us at either maryellen AT oldshawfarm DOT com or peter AT oldshawfarm DOT com.
We will also be at the NOFA-VT winter conference on February 12, 2005 in Randolph, VT!
