Braden Hill Orchard and Farm in Summerland, BC is seeking an intern for the 2024 season!
ABOUT Braden Hill Orchard and Farm
We are a small (~5 acre), regenerative polyculture orchard and market garden in the South Okanagan. Our primary crop is apples (McIntosh and Spartan), which are sold to a local cidery. We grow annual and perennial vegetables and small fruit for the Penticton and Summerland Farmers’ Markets, local grocery stores, and our local food resource centre. We have an elderly Massey Ferguson that we use as little as possible, but an intern may learn to use and care for if they wish. Most orchard work, and all garden work, is done with hand implements. We produce our own energy (electricity and heating wood) and minimize external inputs.
I seek to create a whole-farm ecosystem that utilizes water prudently to produce food to support our local community and ourselves. We are not certified organic, as our main buyers know us personally and the stamp doesn’t add value to our relationship. However, when we need guidance about inputs, we follow OMRI guidelines.
DESIRED QUALITIES
I am looking for someone who wants to learn how small-scale sustainable agriculture works. Maybe you want to run your own farm someday, maybe you just want to get deeply immersed in what a just and sustainable future of food could look like. I wish to work alongside someone who works hard, asks questions, and thinks about what we are doing; you will help me be a better farmer by doing so!
INTERNSHIP TASKS
- Assist in day-to-day tasks in market garden, e.g. harvesting, wash-and-pack, mulching, weeding, planting and seeding, irrigating
- Market farm produce at the farm gate, the Penticton and/or Summerland farmers’ markets, and other locations
- Learn and master produce preservation techniques, e.g. drying, canning, pickling, fermentation
- Care for farm poultry, from egg incubation and chick/duckling care, through to preparing eggs for sale, housing and rotational grazing
- Monitor tree health and fruit development for apple and pear crop
- Investigate and help improve farm ecosystem
- Other related tasks, as needed
INSTRUCTION & EDUCATION
Usually, we set out tasks at the beginning of the day, work on any new tasks together with demonstration, theory, questions and answers mixed in. I usually work alongside my intern, but if life (we have two kids, and the rest of life to deal with) calls me away, I make sure expected tasks are well defined.
ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES
I have a small library of farming books and a brain full of many more that our local library has, in addition to audio and media resources. Our community is vibrant, with many young farmers and their families as part of our social circle. An intern would ideally be part of our social time sometimes, meeting and learning from the accumulated knowledge of those who surround us. As a representative of the farm at farmers markets’, the intern will have the opportunity to meet farmers from throughout the South Okanagan who specialize in different types of agriculture, foraging and food production.
ROOM & BOARD
Ideally, interns will live on farm, as much learning happens in moments of observation when not working and over meals, but we will consider applications from those who wish to live off-farm. We can offer a private room, with all utilities and internet, with use of the rest of the house and property. Board includes sustainably-sourced meals (plus snacks, and drinks); $1500/mo for room and board. We can accommodate a vegetarian diet and most food restrictions. We are flexible about cooking arrangements, and will make sure there is consensus about them; our baseline expectation is that we share food preparation and clean-up responsibilites, and eat most meals together. Our household is two adults, two children, one lab-mix dog and varying numbers of wwoofers and other visitors in a large, historical farmhouse that is the heart of the farm.
INTERNSHIP DETAILS
Term: Position dates are flexible; suggested May 13 – September 30, but we are happy to discuss individual circumstances.
Hours per week: 10-25
Wage: We offer $18/hr, in addition to instruction about organic farming, farm planning and management and marketing.
Room and board (more details in the room and board section, but to be clear I’m repeating it here) is $1500/mo; we will consider applications from those who wish to live off-farm but, ideally, interns will live on farm, as much learning happens in moments of observation when not working and over meals.
TO APPLY
Please send cover letter and resume to braden.hill.orchard@gmail.com
When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org
LEARN MORE ABOUT Braden Hill Orchard and Farm
Website: https://www.bhorchard.wordpress.com