Sugar Camp Farm Internships in Tennessee

Sugar Camp Farm is located in Bon Aqua, TN, 45 minutes to an hour outside of Nashville. My husband, Jesse, (landscape designer turned farmer), our dog and I (forest ecologist and environmental educator) have wanted to spend more time with our hands in the soil than on computer keys since 2011. After some farm internships and barn living, we finally started our own farm in the fall of 2014. Now in our third growing season, we grow 1.5 acres of vegetables for a 40-50 person CSA with our customer base in Nashville. In addition, we sell at a Saturday market and to restaurants. We never use chemicals on our farm. We also raise a flock of grass-fed katahdin sheep which we raise for meat. We enjoy canning and storing food for ourselves and would love to share our knowledge about this. We are planning on planting perennial gardens, berries, and a small orchard this year.

To learn more about our farm we highly encourage you to check out our website (www.sugarcampfarmtn.com), our instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/sugarcampfarm/ ), and our Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/sugarcampfarm/).

Nashville is the Music City and has sooo much to do. We make two regular trips there per week for the market but also we sometimes attend a weekly potluck with other farmers around Nashville. Dickson has a coffee shop, a craft brew bar, some nice restaurants and a quaint downtown with TONS of antique shops. There are several outdoor opportunities within an hour including Montgomery Bell State Park and several rivers for canoeing and fishing.

Our current intern availability is based on our housing. We have room for one individual, a couple, or even a couple of friends who don’t mind sharing a smaller living space. The dates are flexible but we are hoping to have someone between March and April who can work until October or November.

We are seeking interns with previous farming, horticultural, landscaping experience, and/or some other outdoor physical work experience. Ideal candidates have worked on a farm for a year or so and have worked outdoors through a warm summer. We prefer candidates with their own transportation for logistical reasons and really it enhances the intern’s own freedom. On the farm, we work and live closely together and it is important to us have transparent and healthy communication. So, we seek interns who are good communicators, who want to work hard, but also have a great time!

Sugar Camp Farm is inclusive and people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religious backgrounds, etc. are encouraged to apply!

Sugar Camp Farm Interns are expected to work 5 days a week working occasionally on market days, so every 2-4 weeks, working 6 days a week. Tasks and responsibilities will include seeding, greenhouse work, transplanting, weeding, hoeing, harvesting,  washing vegetables, packing for restaurants, CSA and market, maintaining workspaces, working the farmers market and the CSA drop, interacting with customers, recording data, moving and handling sheep, cooking for the group (we alternate), cleaning up the common spaces, soil amending, tractor work, and maybe even feeding the chickens if we get some! There are a bazillion different tasks to do on the farm. You will likely help with most if not all of them.

In exchange for your time and work we offer meat and vegetables raised on the farm, and food staples, housing, a stipend and a week paid vacation (planned in advance). Please, understand that our ability to meet very specific food needs is limited. If you have strict dietary restrictions, you are welcome to apply, but know we may not be able to accommodate all of your food needs. The stipend is $400/month. As former interns ourselves, we recognize the valuable education that one can gain through this kind of internship. We aim to make everyday a learning experience, include interns in farm planning, and we hope to give them an opportunity to take on some farm responsibilities. This may better prepare interns  to continue their farming careers once they move on from our farm. We will be available to interns after their internships for future guidance as well.

If interested in the internship positions on Sugar Camp Farm, please send a single page resumé with your most applicable work experiences and letter of intent (no more than 300 words) to sugarcampfarmtn@gmail.com. Feel free to send these as attachments or pasted into the body of your email. You will be notified by email shortly after we receive your application if you are selected for a phone interview. We’re really excited to hear from you!

Best,

Lizzie and Jesse