Filter by Popular CategoriesAre you an aspiring ecological farmer who wants hands-on experience in organic market gardening and living in community? Amazia Farm in Oliver, British Columbia might be the place for you!
About the Farm
Amazia Farm is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, and specifically within the lands stewarded since time immemorial by the Osoyoos Indian Band, in Oliver, BC.
Amazia Farm is a Gap certified, Certified Organic no-till vegetable farm, with a small amount of animal integration to bolster their regenerative goals.
The farm produces lettuces and leafy greens consistently from May to October, and follows the rhythms of season to produce over 40 different crops throughout the season.
Originally, they set out farming for Farmers Market sales, with the long term goal of building a core Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model to drive sales. By the third year, their farm focus was mainly on supplying our local restaurants, managing a small CSA and a weekly farmers market. Today, they supply two organic grocery stores as well as restaurants, locally and in Vancouver.
At Amazia Farm, their goal is to invite people (WWOOFers, apprentices, volunteers) to their farm, and then capture their heart, teach them about farming, land stewardship, and friendship. The family loves to cook, and always enjoys hosting folks who share that passion.
Amazia Farm is also focused on being a community-centered, educational farm, collaborating actively with Senpokchin “First Light of Day” School on their school farm and by hosting farm visits.
Organic and regenerative practices such as: no-till, stale seed bed, flame weeding, straw, fabric and plastic mulch (they are trying to phase plastic out), composting, biological predator control, heirloom production, rare breeds, companion planting.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Amazia_Farmer
Instagram: www.instagram.com/amazia_farmer
Workplace Culture
The farm will host as many as 15 volunteers in the season, and has a number of part-time and full-time employees. With the most of the crew living on site, the farm is a vibrant, diverse, and dynamic community.
About the Farmers
An apprentice will work alongside a diverse group of people on the farm team. The primary mentor, Michael Kosaka, grew up farming in his family’s hydroponic greenhouse in British Columbia and later spent more than a decade as an owner-operator of olive farms and vineyards in France. In 2016, he purchased the raw land that would become Amazia Farm.
About the Apprenticeship
Apprentices are expected to participate in the daily tasks on the farm as a major part of their learning experience, working in all aspects of vegetable production from soil preparation to harvest, seeding to cultivation, hand hoes to tractors, and farm planning to marketing.
Michael brings a wide range of expertise to the apprenticeship, and is happy to share his knowledge in: crop planning and field layout, seed provisioning, packaging and inventory management, soil testing, and tractor and implement instruction, among many other practical skills.
The ideal duration of employment is May 1 – October 15, 2026.
The job requirements are:
- Collaborator, not just a farm worker – someone who wants to grow alongside Michael and the crew
- Motivation to learn about regenerative vegetable production, and a desire to do a good job of it!
- Able to adapt to fast-paced, changing conditions
- Ability and willingness to do physical labour on a daily basis
- Physically fit and able to lift 30-80 pounds
- Comfortable making decisions, executing tasks, and training others in a diverse and dynamic working environment
- Able to learn to work quickly, efficiently and calmly in physically demanding contexts, for long hours in variable weather conditions
Apprentices are willing to learn these skills:
- Assessing soil health in the field
- Crop planning & rotations
- Working in a zero/low-till system
- Setting up irrigation
- Greenhouse management
- Harvesting crops
- Getting harvest to market
- Compost making & application
- Truck & tractor basic operation
- Hand tools operation
- Networking with new people
Compensation
Apprentices will be paid an hourly wage and will pay for housing and food separately.
The wage will be $20/hour for 40 hours per week, with two days off per week. One week off during the season can be organized.
About the Community
Oliver—known as Canada’s Wine Capital—offers a unique blend of small-town warmth and big-town amenities. Although the population is only about 4,500, its status as a destination community means it provides attractions and events far beyond what one might expect from a rural town.
At Amazia Farm, where many volunteers are hosted throughout the year, the team enjoys sharing the richness of local culture. This might include: the annual rodeo, the fall fair, the Penticton Pow Wow, and open-mic nights in town.
The farm is 5 km from the town of Oliver.
Accommodation
Accommodations: yes
Accommodation details:
There are trailers (shared and private) and one tiny house on the farm. Many of the volunteers will stay in tents (glamping). Although we have had people stay year round in the trailers, they are most comfortable from March-November. The farm has a plumbed outdoor heated shower and toilet facility, as well as a shower and toilet in the house.
Accommodations shared with other employees/apprentices: yes
Access to a full bathroom with running water: yes
Type of dwelling: Single season
Accommodation checklist:
- Furnished
- Clean
- Running water (potable)
- Shared bathroom
- Shower
- Shared Laundry
- Shared kitchen
- Electricity
Pets permitted: yes – they must be well-mannered and stay in the fenced area around the house, and outside of production zones.
Guests permitted: yes
Rent: TBD
Accommodation Agreement: yes
Other information:
All food is provided. There is an expectation that everyone on the farm takes a turn cleaning up, and keeping the common area tidy.
Amazia Farm looks forward to seeing you!
