INTERNSHIPS
AND APPRENTICESHIPS
Many permaculture, or Pc-related, sites, businesses, and people offer intern or apprentice opportunities. This list can help you get your search started. In addition, see he Directory for contacts in the region of interest to you.
Alternative Technology Transfer to Rural Area (ATTRA) is a listing of Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships (US & Canada). This is an awesome resource that should be used by every gardener, farmer, grower. They have reams of material for free paid by your taxes. If they aren’t used the USDA will defund them entirely. Don’t let that happen!
Need interns? To add a listing, call ATTRA at 479-442-9824
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
www.wwoof.net
WWOOF is an exchange – In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. WWOOF organisations link people who want to volunteer on organic farms or smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help. Many countries have national WWOOF groups.
Residential Internship Positions at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
OAEC's experience is that despite living in such a state of alienation and individualism, people actually crave to come home to the heart of what it is to be human: to feel gratitude for our ancestors; to cultivate healthy communities; to act with mindfulness for the seven generations to come; to respect and steward the earth for the good of all life. We are evolved to want to tend deep, healthful and reciprocal relationships with the rest of the natural world. E.O. Wilson called it biophilia – “love of life”. OAEC’s work embodies this ethos.
This is a unique opportunity to live and work in on a thriving land-based community/non-profit January through November. There are 6 positions total, 2 in each focus area: Program Administration, Facilities, and Garden. Interns participate in all aspects of community life and work 25 hours per week in exchange for a private cabin to live in, use of OAEC facilities, and enrollment in some OAEC courses. Past interns at OAEC have gone on to become powerhouse agents of change in their communities! Join us!
Applications are due November 1st.
For more details, visit our website and download the application:
https://oaec.org/about-us/internships
KUMU AINA PERMACULTURE SCHOOL
Two-year life-in Permaculture Diploma Program on Maui http://www.kumuainapermaculture.org/
www.idealist.org
At this site one can browse volunteer opportunities by country
or one can narrow their search by filling out a profile identifying
personal interests. There are also job and internship postings available.
www.crossculturalsolutions.org
A non-profit international volunteer organization that operates
volunteer programs is Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala,
India, Peru, Russia, Tanzania, and Thailand. Volunteers work with local
people on locally-designed projects.
www.backdoorjobs.com/farming.html
A farmer-to-apprentice matching directory, known as the Farm-Based
Education Opportunities Directory. The opportunity to search for a
farm to work and learn on, or to search for an aspiring farmer to train on
your farm, is available to anyone who is interested and qualified.
www.nofamass.org/programs/apprentice/apprentice.php
The NOFA/Mass Beginning Farmer Program aims to cultivate the next generation of committed organic farmers in Massachusetts. Through three distinct educational components of the program, as well as educational conference scholarships, we are able to offer young farmers and those who are coming to farming after a diverse range of careers to engage in educational opportunities that are appropriate for where they are in their professional farming development.
The Seed Farm - New Farmer Training
www.theseedfarm.org/apprenticeship-program
Take part in a 9-month program designed to train new farmers in all aspects of managing a diversified vegetable farm. Apprentices are given decision-making responsibility for our two-acre market garden at the Seed Farm site in Emmaus, PA, from seed to harvest to market. Participants learn a variety of skills, including: business and production planning, risk management, soil fertility management, safe operation of farm equipment, disease and insect management, harvest and post-harvest handling, and marketing. On-farm experiential learning is complemented by formal classes through Penn State Cooperative Extension.
MSU ExtensionBeginning Farmer Webinar Series
In-person, on-farm (and online) learning for beginning farmers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
The Michigan State University Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center (UPREC) in Chatham, MI is accepting applications for its 2021 Farm Business Incubator (FBI) program. The FBI is a launching point for beginning farmers interested in starting their own business. This program lowers barriers to entry for beginning farmers by providing access to organically managed land, hoop house space, farm equipment, tools, cold storage, and wash/pack facilities in exchange for a small program fee and four hours of volunteer work each week to support the overall program. Affordable on-site housing is also available. UPREC staff and MSU Extension educators provide mentorship on business planning, marketing avenues, and farm management.
MOFGA’s Farm Apprenticeship Program
www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmApprenticeships/tabid/502/Default.aspx
This program connects people wanting to learn organic farming with experienced farmers willing to share their expertise. The typical arrangement involves an exchange of labor for room, board, a stipend, and informal, intensive training and experience in farming.
Apprenticeship in Sustainable Living in Costa Rica
http://ranchomastatal.com/apprenticeship/
Permaculture, Natural Building, & Homesteading
Interested apprentices are highly encouraged to thoroughly read the below Program Overview and download the Full Apprenticeship Description here. Specific information about expectations, work, costs, what to bring, start dates, etc. are described in-depth in this document. If you are interested in our program after reading these pages, please complete the Online Apprenticeship Application. Once we have received your application we will let you know about available space and set up a phone interview with the best prospective applicants.
Internships at Wa Samaki Ecosystems — Northern Trinidad / Tobago
https://www.wasamakipermaculture.org/internships
Wa Samaki Ecosystems is a multi-generational family farm and interns will live and work with all 3 generations of our Wa Samaki family as well as other amazing core members. Interns will make lifelong friends, participating in a style of living that often times, changes them forever. Wa Samaki offers an experience second to none in Trinidad and exposes interns to the successes and challenges of running a regenerative site in a challenging Caribbean climate during a time of climate change. We will expose you to all our climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the hope that they will inspire you to take the information worldwide. Solving problems and creating solutions will leave you with a valuable skill set relevant to all the challenges life will throw you.
Our Internship program is a 12 week full-immersion experiential opportunity for individuals interested in a hands-on introduction to regenerative practices in the tropics. We also offer 4 week internships within the larger 12 week experience. Internships are scheduled to begin in January, April and August of each year and details about exact dates can be found on our website. Interns are expected to arrive on the Sunday before the start of the program. The internship includes a 2 week Permaculture Design Course, co taught by the director of Wa Samaki. The internship will be run by a core group of residential instructors specializing in natural building and fibres, woodworking and permaculture.
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems
www.cefs.ncsu.edu/getinvolved/apprenticeships.html
A hands-on work & study apprenticeship program that trains participants in all aspects of sustainable agriculture production.
National Young Farmers Coalition
www.youngfarmers.org/practical/training-and-helpful-organizations
www.beginningfarmers.org/beginning-farmer-training-programs
Lists several farmer training opportunities
The Sustainable Farming & Food Systems Program
www.tc3.edu/catalog/ap_program.asp?dp=sustainable_farming
At Tompkins Cortland Community College near Ithaca, New York.
Sustainable Agriculture Program
The University of Maine offers academic, research, and extension programs in Sustainable Agriculture (SAG) in order to address the principles and practices of environmentally sound, profitable farming.
The Michigan State University Student Organic Farm
A 9-month intensive training certificate program in year round organic farming.
Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers
Madison, WI & Satellite Locations.
University of Missouri and Jefferson Institute.
University of Vermont & the Intervale Center’s Farmer Apprentice Program
in Burlington, Vermont.
C.R.A.F.T. (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training)
programs in North America organized by region.
The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
East Troy, WI offers training programs for beginning farmers including Whole Farm Workshops
North Orange, Massachusetts has a One Year Learn to Farm Program
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Farmshare Austin’s FarmerStarter program
is designed to provide aspiring farmers with the essential skills and training needed to manage a sustainable farming business.
Greenbank Farm Ag Training Center
is a 7-month residential, farm-based training program in Washington state.
Jefferson County FIELD (Farmer Innovation, Education, & Leadership Development) Program
Jefferson County, Washington (Olympic Peninsula)
is an offshoot of Thompson Small Farm, a horse-powered initiative begun in 2007 by Andrea Thompson and Jonathan Wright with the goal of providing locally, sustainably produced food and an example of a human-scaled, alternative way of doing things.
Biodynamic Training & Apprenticeships
are available at the North American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program Opportunities from the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
The Farmer Training Program at Calypso Farm & Ecology Center in Alaska
in Willits, California is dedicated to teaching the next generation of responsible, innovative, and successful farmers. They offer hands-on training combined with a rigorous academic curriculum through their Practicum Student Program.
The Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings Program,
based in Minnesota, is one of the best know and most respected programs in the country: Contact information for Minnesota based programs is available.
The Michigan Land Use Institute’s Get Farming! Programs
Traverse City, MI
Groundswell: Center for Local Food & Farming
Ithaca, NY
Farm School NYC
New York City
Earthworks Agriculture Training
Detroit
Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship Program
Oregon
Polyface Farm Internships with Joel Salatin
Swoope, VA
