Ucwalmicw Community Farm in Lillooet, British Columbia is seeking an Incubator Farmer!
ABOUT Ucwalmicw Community Farm
Ucwalmicw Community Farm is an Indigenous-led food security project located in the St’at’imc community of T’it’q’et near the municipality of Lillooet, BC. The land (on-reserve) was donated by families in T’it’q’et to be preserved for food security purposes and the gardens have been running in many different forms over the last ten years. The farm is hosted by the nonprofit organization the Ucwalmicw Centre Society and this season we are launching our first run of the Ucwalmicw Incubator Farmer Program.
The farm contains an acre plus of cultivated/electric fenced land, a 200 + mixed fruit tree orchard as well as a 50 ft greenhouse, a walk in cooler and dry storage plus more tools and resources. We use a BSC at the beginning of the season and otherwise do most other things by hand. We are looking for farmers to grow mixed produce to supply the Lillooet Farmers Market this year.
We grow non-certified organic, minimal tilling, lots of mulching, cover cropping, use of landscape fabric and drip irrigation that is run from a local spring/reservoir. We deal with a good amount of wind and are conscious of preserving our top soil and encouraging the natural biology and biodiversity. We use high quality compost as our main soil conditioner and add basic balanced organic fertilizer. We value ethical labour and fair, living wage for all employees. We recognize the unique challenges of market gardening in this area and with the Incubator Program are seeking to address some of these barriers by supporting new growers with access our land, tools, mentorship plus a weekly income for their labour on the plot.
DESIRED QUALITIES
- At least 1 season of experience either working for an organic (certified or uncertified) market garden, managing your own large garden plot or running your own farm business; experience is an asset but desire to practice growing food crops on a moderate scale is more important
- Commitment to the full season & desire to sell your own food
- Access to vehicle + license for market days
- Good organizational skills & strategies
- Strong communication & problem solving skills, willingness to work through conflict
- Reliable & able to manage their own time according to the guidelines set out by the Ucwalmicw Centre & Farm Manager
- Ability to represent Ucwalmicw Centre & Farm well at Lillooet Farmer’s Market
- Ability to handle cash transactions at market as well as willingness to learn some basic book & record keeping for financial tracking
- Ideally someone who is considering farming as a career, for income or is eventually wanting to start their own farm. Willingness to learn & adapt is a must.
JOB TASKS
The structure of this program is intended to be starting in March 2023. Community Incubator farmers can work up to 25 paid hours a week on their plot in order to be ready to begin selling at the market in May/June. While help and support will be available at all times for the farmers, we are seeking farmers who are ready to grow relatively independently (crops to be grown & work schedule etc are determined by the farmer). They may grow in a plot up to 85 x 100 ft of space or less, however, financial projections will be created at the beginning of the season in order to help establish what each farmer will grow to offer to market which will determine the amount of space needed (ex. Crop Planning). They may keep whatever income is made from the sale of vegetables and will be responsible for tracking that weekly so that we may have solid financial and marketing information for each farmer by the end of the season. The purpose of this program is to provide access to land and opportunities for new community farmers without land. It has also been created because Lillooet is quickly loosing access to organic produce through the Farmers Market, thus this program will provide an important and unique opportunity for new growers to establish a presence at the market and begin the process of collectively growing and selling crops while sharing in the abundant agricultural resources of the T’itq’et community. We are seeking farmers who will be respectful and honorable participants in this new program and will work with mindfulness for the community whose land they are farming on and those they work alongside.
JOB DETAILS
Term: Ideally this person can start in March and work until the end of the season/farmers market dates which is usually in October.
Hours per week: The program is structured so that the Incubator Farmer can work up to 25 paid hours on their plot weekly, and then keep whatever they make at the market on top of that income. If yields and motivation are sufficient, Incubator Farmers are welcome to seek out other channels of sales and organize their own distribution.
Wage: $22/ hour + income made at farmers market. We will also provide $500 to cover personal work equipment & care services throughout the season (physio therapy, gym, massages etc)
Other perks: 1 hour per week of Mentorship from experienced local organic farmer
*This is not a family farm and we do not have housing, thus we require farmers to have their own housing
TO APPLY
Please send an email to the Farm Manager, Chelsea Tims at gardenforewoman@ucwalmicw.org in order to apply. In your email, please attach a resume, list your preferred name & whether you live in St’at’imc territory or not, how you heard about the program and briefly why you are applying.
Deadline to apply: Feb. 28
When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org
LEARN MORE ABOUT Ucwalmicw Community Farm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ucwalmicworganic/
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