Internships, Work-trade and Volunteer Opportunities
Root 'N Roost Farm offers a variety of immersion learning experiences through the year. If you would like to be involved in our operations in any of the positions described below, please contact us with an up to date Resume, two professional references and one non-family personal reference. We are happy to consider applicants at many different times throughout the year.
Internship
2015 SEASON: Spring, Summer, and Fall Interns and Work Traders apply now!
There are four INTERNSHIP positions available for this summer and fall (spring is already booked, sorry!):
Spring: Starts as early as March 15th.
Summer: Starts as early as May 15th.
Fall: Starts as early as August 15th.
Multiple WORK-TRADE positions are available throughout the growing season, please let us know what time-frame you have available and we will try to fit you in.
The basics
All interns and work-traders are provided with a place to sleep, three square meals
Our focus for 2015 will center around (but is not at all limited to!) the following topics:
1) rainwater harvesting and water filtration,
2) human food production, processing and storage/preservation,
3) growing, foraging and storing livestock food
4) greenhouse building and development.
5) permaculture design and implementation
We're looking for interns and work-traders who are interested in an experience/lifestyle centered around farming and permaculture, living relatively off-grid, in a community of like minded people. Prior experience is a plus, but not necessary, and we welcome all forms of skills and experiences. Expect to be with at least 1 to 10 other interns and wwoofers throughout your stay. We build community every season on our farm and share our experiences through direct hands-on education, hard work, and hard play!
Our INTERNSHIP positions entail living and working on our farm for a minimum commitment of three months during any time of the year, though our preference is anywhere between March through December. Positions may be extended further once you have spent time with us and if we all feel comfortable with a longer stay. You'll live with us on our land and be a part of our farming business operations giving tours, working with customers, planting/weeding/irrigation/harvesting/packing, cooking, chores, working with our animals, building things with hand and power tools, saving seeds, putting up food, and much more!
We request interns to champion at least one project during their internship that you are interested in and that fits into our farm and farming practices (wwoofers can too). Examples: building an earthen oven, cultivating mushrooms, working with bees, raising a specific animal or growing a specific type of annual or perennial, on-farm plant identification and tagging, writing recipes, baking for our farm stand, etc... you will get 4 to 6 hours per week to focus on your project. We also will require you to read on-and-offline materials to either get familiar with our practices, or, to teach a new and exciting permaculture or farming idea or practice, such as mushroom growing, for example. You will also have the opportunity to design, layout, and grow your own garden while with us!
Our WORK-TRADE (see also WWOOF-USA) positions are for a minimum of 2 weeks, same environment as internships, and we usually have between 5 and 15 work-traders and wwoofers per season, with folks coming and going frequently.There is no stipend while work-trading and no time commitment, although we ask that you plan a stay of no shorter than two weeks. Typically a wwoofer will extend their stay because they enjoy it so much. Happens every season...
All positions must be willing to work a 50 hour week, 5 days on, two days off, participate in active learning sessions and classes, be able to carry at least 30 pounds (water buckets, building materials, etc...), work hard / play hard, and enjoy working with animals, soil, plants, and other people. We offer a 2-hour lunch siesta from May through September so you can stay refreshed for the entire day.
We offer a return of housing, food, utilities (phone, laundry, outdoor wood-fired hot tub, etc...), lots of learning opportunities and a monthly stipend (only for the three-month internship, paid monthly). Please note that we do not have reliable cellphone service on our property, and your access to the internet will be limited and only available in certain locations. Use of cellphones during working and teaching hours will not be tolerated.
Meals: Three well rounded meals a day of farm fresh and locally produced organic foods, snacks, and drinks. We are quite flexible to people with different needs, allergies, health choices, etc... during the 2015 season we are placing an emphasis on eating and cooking with farm fresh, seasonally and locally produced ingredients, . All interns and work-traders will be expected to spend at least one full day per week in the kitchen, cooking meals and doing food preparation and preservation. Education will be provided in this area also.
Skills Desired: There are a wide variety of skills to learn, and to bring to us. No experience is absolutely necessary, but any farming and/or permaculture understanding and skills are desired, including using hand tools, building, planting, harvesting, animal husbandry, mushroom cultivation, people skills, cooking, etc... are all great to have! Please list ANY and ALL skills and experiences you have related to any and all of the above in your resume and/or cover letter.
HOUSING: Private outdoor living space on our land, bathroom/shower, food, phone, Internet, laundry, wood-fired hot-tub, pool, babbling brook, woods to explore. All accomodation is rustic, ranging from cabins to camper vans to roofed tent platforms. If all of our shelters are full, we may still be able to accomodate you if you can bring a tent (typically this applies to work traders arriving during the summer period).
STIPEND: (INTERNS ONLY) $100 monthly for three-month or longer interns, plus bonuses and opportunities to earn additional money on and off our farm. We realize this is a low stipend but know it is comparable to renting your own living space, buying food, paying for utilities, transportation, laundry, Internet, etc... and, it provides a tight-knit community on our farm, which we prefer. Common expenses are taken care of, but know that any habits you bring or debts you owe are not our responsibility and you must plan accordingly!
BOTH internships and work-trades are AT WILL, meaning if it doesn't work out for you, or us, the position could end early, or be longer. We've hosted over 40 people at our farm in the past few years, with upwards of 11 people at one time, and as low as 1 person at a given time. We prefer to have between 3 and 10 people with us at any given time. We work flexibly with you to determine dates/times of the position and communicate openly constantly about everything that is going on - we expect open communication from all people who join us.
We work hard and play hard - we expect the same of you. Sean is a musician, plays in a band (www.whenpigsfly.org) and we usually go out once or twice a week to get away from farm activities and socialize off the farm - people are more than welcome to join us, and being a musician is certainly a plus, so let us know! There are also fun activities off the farm in the community, tours of neighboring farms, training programs when/if available, C.R.A.F.T. events, and other learning opportunities. There are also opportunities to make additional money with us and friends in the area, if the need arises.
If you are interested in interning or work trading with us, please email us your resume, three references (two professional farming/permaculture references, and one non-family personal reference) and the best times/dates to contact you back.Work trade positions are without stipend, and can be any amount of time commitment, but we do request a resume and references as well.
After we receive your resume and check your references, we'll contact you via email or phone to setup a phone interview. After the phone interview, we may ask you to come to our farm for an onsite interview so you can meet us, see our farm, and we can meet you. An onsite interview is required for interns, not for wwoofers. If you cannot come to our farm for an interview, we will do our best to work with you for a final interview. Any intern applicants who are unable to do an on-farm interview will be on 1-month trial if they are invited to come stay with us.