APPRENTICESHIPS: GOLDEN, BC - Goonieland Permaculture Farm

Goonieland Permaculture Farm in Golden, BC is seeking apprentices for the 2020 season!

About Goonieland Permaculture Farm

We are located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains near Golden BC. Our land is mostly forested hillside where we are building a Permaculture farm-stead. We started with bare land and have in the past 8 years built a functioning though still under construction farm-stead. We built an “Earthship” (rammed earth tire wall/hempcrete/off-grid home.) Set up an outdoor kitchen with pizza oven and gardens. Planted an orchard/food forest with 30 fruit trees, hazelnuts and other edible plants. We put in (and are still working on) water systems, solar systems, campers for wwoofers, an Air BNB and are in the process of completing a tiny-home cabin. We raise pigs in the woods (15+/year), free range laying hens (50+) and ducks for pest control and food. Our newest farm enterprise and primary commercial focus is high CBD hemp grown in greenhouses. In 2020 we will be building a few row tunnels to expand production and focusing on Korean Natural Farming (KNF) techniques for fertilizers and pesticides based on fermentation and locally harvested microbes. *If you are interested in cannabis or hemp this is a great opportunity to learn small scale beyond organic production methods! We also garden for ourselves and for winter storage. Betty is a chef and is always busy baking, fermenting, canning as well as cooking wonderful meals for us. Betty also works off farm at her Organic grocery store Eat Pure Mountain Market and grows 5000 garlic each year to sell there.

We are Permaculture inspired practitioners, continual students, and burgeoning instructors. We practice organic and Korean Natural Farming techniques.

We are looking for motivated helping hands who wish to expand their knowledge of permaculture, homesteading and hemp! We are looking for co-creators with skills with tools, horticulture or animals, knowledge of permaculture and willingness to get dirty, work hard, live minimally and have fun!

Requirements and Expectations

Must be 19 years or older and have lived away from home for at least 1 year.
Farm work can be physically demanding, you must be generally fit.
Some knowledge of Permaculture, preferably a Permaculture Design Course. *This is such a benefit to us as then we go from being instructors to co-creators and learning ourselves from your experience and education!
Must enjoy rustic living. You will be living in a rustic camper, using an outhouse, showering outdoors (heated) and using an outdoor kitchen. This can mean cold mornings, mosquitos, rain etc. Of course we are not barbaric and also have a wood-fired hottub, sauna, access to internet etc. but your life will be much more comfortable if you are prepared and dressed appropriately. (Rubber or work boots, work gloves, rain gear, warm layers, bug spray… you would be amazed how many people show up without boots or gloves!)
Commitment to 5 day work week plus daily farm chores.
Ability to see chores that need to be done and to take them on without having to be asked. We aim to create a fun and efficient team. We dislike having to parent people or act as wardens over dishes, egg collecting etc. We welcome ideas on how to better assign farm chores to make things run smoothly!
Qualities we look for: work hard, play hard, eager to learn, ability to accept feedback, commitment, self-motivated, work well with others, honesty, clear communicator, adaptability and compassionate.
Someone who doesn’t mind being in the country side.

You will learn:

Small animal husbandry; pigs, chickens, ducks.
How to build and feed organic soils, composting.
How to make fertilizers, compost teas & foliar sprays on farm with Korean Natural Farming Techniques
Planting and caring for seedlings, transplanting, pruning.
Harvesting techniques, drying, curing.
Natural building: Hempcrete, clay/lime plasters.
Gravity water systems.
Solar systems.
Food preservation, canning.

We work either alongside or instruct then work nearby our interns. We meet each morning to check in and discuss the days’ work then recap at dinner time on how the day went. We have a large Permaculture library for your use.

Accommodations

Housing available to you is in a private camper with shared access to kitchen, outhouse, shower etc. Sheets, eco-shampoo, soap etc. are provided.
There is cell reception.
There is access to laundry facilities
There is internet access in the Earthship. We ask that you use the deck unless it is raining you may use the “greenhouse”. We ask for our privacy from 9pm-9am.
We do have a wood-fired hottub and sauna. We often use the hot-tub in the summer, you are welcome to enjoy it too.

Details

Term: May 1st-Oct 15th (aprox)
Preference is given to full season applicants, we are looking for 2 full season interns (May-Oct). We understand that this is not possible for all so we require a two month minimum commitment.

Hours: 35 hours per week

Stipend: Stipend is as follows first 2 months $220/month, 3rd month $320, 4th/5th/6th month $420/month. Full season bonus of $1000. (Works out to $500/month for full season interns.) Plus! Additional funds can be earned cleaning our Air BNB camper $40/clean, interns can take turns.

To Apply

Please fill out our application form at: https://www.goonieland.com/internship

When applying, please mention you saw this opportunity at youngagrarians.org

youngagrarians

APPRENTICESHIPS: GOLDEN, BC – Goonieland Permaculture Farm