Are you a young, aspiring ecological farmer looking for an off-grid living and farming experience this spring? Solstedt Organics might be the place for you!
About the Farm
“Solstedt” means “sun home” in old Norse.
Solstedt Organic Farm is a woman owned and operated Certified Organic farm in an off-grid, remote mountain setting. This is a commercial vegetable farm and fruit orchard, selling to some of the best Vancouver restaurants and at a farmer’s market weekly from July through October.
There are approximately five cultivated acres divided into gardens and orchards. The gardens grow heat-loving crops, like hot peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and squash among others. The orchards grow peaches, cherries, apricots, plums, apples and pears. All field crops are grown outside, not in high tunnels. Recently, a small focus on medicinals has been explored and small batches of herbal teas and salves are created for market sales.
About the Apprenticeship
The apprenticeship season runs from April to October. The spring consists of a variety of tasks including crop planning, preparing the fields, transplanting planting, seeding, and building farm infrastructure, like our gravity fed irrigation systems. Seedlings are started in the greenhouse heated by a wood fire stove, so learning how to start a fire and keep it going becomes an important skill early on.
We work together to hand build all the beds up the side of the mountain, establishing irrigation systems, rolling out black plastic, transplanting ground crop seedlings and pruning the fruit trees.
Summer days fall into a rhythm of weeding, planting, bed prepping and transition, moving irrigation systems, harvesting thousands of pounds of cherries, packaging and sorting fruit and vegetables for restaurant/market sales. Fall activities will be harvesting of storage crops, cover cropping, farm season review, crop planning, building compost piles, cleaning up the fields and other infrastructure.
There is a small flock of chickens rotated through the orchards, so there will be an opportunity to learn about poultry health, management, predator control and access to fresh eggs daily.
Apprentices are expected to use their labor for the daily work of the farm as a major part of their learning experience. Apprentices will work in all aspects of farm production from soil preparation to harvest, seeding to cultivation, tractors to hand hoes, and farm planning to marketing.
You’ll have the opportunity to meet with other apprentices across the province who are part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship program. Field days, learning opportunities and potlucks will be planned with the group at each host’s farm.
About the Farm Mentors
Your main mentor will be Ashala Daniel, the owner and operator of Solstedt Organics. Starting her farm journey later in life, Ashala farmed with friends for a few years, while working at the Richmond Farm School, started a canning CSA and worked with practicum students.
Ashala enjoys teaching, has lots of patience with people, and doesn’t get tired of being asked questions. She is certain she doesn’t know everything and is eager to learn something new. In the ten years of operating Solstedt Organics, Ashala has mentored nine apprentices and hosted many WOOFers.
When Ashala purchased the farm, she purchased a business as well. Sapo Bravo Organics was run for 20 years on the land before Ashala purchased it. She was introduced to the restaurants in Vancouver that they sold to and secured a spot at the coveted Trout Lake farmer’s market.
Skills this farm has to teach
The following skills are being offered by this farm. While you’ll get exposure to many of these areas, it is likely that not all will be covered. Apprentices will work to identify the skills they want to develop through a learning plan with the host farm.
| off grid living & farming | basic tractor operation |
|---|---|
| market gardening | BIODIVERSITY OF FLORA & FAUNA |
| assessing soil health | Certified organic farm management |
| watershed management | Harvesting orchard and vegetable crops |
| Gravity fed irrigation set-up/use | compost making/processing |
| Wood Fired greenhouse management | Livestock integration with orchard crop |
| no-till vegetable growing | retail picking, packaging & sales |
Skills Required of the Apprentice
Adaptability and flexibility, along with significant interest in learning about off-grid, organic agriculture, are key skills for a successful apprenticeship. The farm is located in a remote mountain location, the closest town is 64km away, so being able to handle being in a remote location for the season is important. Having your own vehicle would be a huge asset for taking off farm trips and exploring the beautiful area on days off.
The ability to do physical labour on a day-to-day basis is essential, so being physically fit and able to lift weight in the range of 30 to 80 pounds is essential. This role also requires the ability to work early mornings (e.g starting harvest at 7 am on hot days) and beyond 8 hours per day between June and August.
Being able to comfortably make decisions, execute tasks, and train others in a diverse and dynamic working environment. After training and onboarding, the ability to work quickly, efficiently and calmly in physically challenging contexts for long hours in variable weather is essential to enjoying work on the farm.
Housing, Wage and Duration
Apprentices will have access to a separate cabins The cabin with a double bed, power, running water, outhouse and cook area. The cabin has a wood stove and is comfortable to live in in the spring through fall.
There is an outdoor, shared shower for the summer months and an indoor, shared shower for the cooler, shoulder seasons. Access to the main house is available for showers, laundry (washer only), landline, internet (limited accessibility) and a huge library of farming-related books, etc. is avaliable until 5pm each day.
All the food essentials, pasta, grains, dry beans, cheese, butter, coffee, tea, herbs/spices and all the food we grow on the farm are provided. Meat isn’t provided, however they are happy to purchase some and have the apprentice reimburse.
Guests are welcome with two weeks notice Guests who stay more than one night are asked to spend some time volunteering on the farm in exchange for being fed and housed while they are here, much like Wwoofer.
No furry friends, as there are three large farm dogs on the property already.
Apprentices will be paid an hourly wage and will need to pay for housing and food separately. Pay will be 17.40/hour, FTE (40 hrs/week)
The ideal length of apprenticeship is April to October.
About the Community
Solstedt Organics is grateful to be on the unceded traditional territories of the Nlaka’pamux peoples.
The farm is surrounded by crown and First Nation reserve land. We are located on the West side of the Fraser river, about 12 miles North of the village of Lytton, which burned down in 2021. The closest town for all your amenities is Lillooet which is 64 km away.
We are located close to the Stein Valley, an incredible hiking area. The Stein and Fraser rivers are amazing places to explore and are where we spend a lot of time swimming when not farming.
The neighbour is another certified organic farm who hosts Wwoofers and occasionally apprentices, so there are opportunities to learn with them on occasion. Other nearby farms include vineyards, cattle ranchers and homesteaders.
Check out Solstedt Organics on their socials @solstedtorganics or on the web
More Details about this Apprenticeship and How to Apply
Applications open: December 2, 2024
Deadline to apply: January 31, 2025
Interested in an Apprenticeship but this isn’t quite the right one? Check out other Young Agrarians Apprenticeships being offered in 2025 here.