Apple Farm Apprentice Wanted in Southern Maine

APPLE FARM IN SOUTHERN MAINE SEEKS ENTHUSIASTIC APPRENTICE ASAP!

Apple Acres Farm in Hiram, Maine (outside of Portland), is seeking one more apprentice to join their team for 2014. The apprenticeship would ideally begin as soon as possible, and end November 1^st but they can be flexible! They are a small pick-your-own and wholesale apple farm, in the foothills of the White Mountains. They offer agri-entertainment with a playground, live music, and farm store that sells local and organic products, as well as sandwiches, soups, and homemade goodies like fudge and cider doughnuts. They are of modest income and rely on ambitious apprentices to accomplish huge amounts of work from hand thinning and picking, to grading, to cooking food, to working the store cash register, to artistic sign making, to managing school tours. Apple Acres provides a $150/week stipend, and housing. You would live with another apprentice in an open floor plan apartment, and purchase or grow your own food.

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They want to be clear, they are new farmers themselves. Their farm has been in the family since 1949, but they spent their lives until three years ago in other professions. Their three years experience running the farm, and working with apprentices has taught them is these three things:

1. Apprentices never know what they are getting into, even those who have worked on other farms. Every farm is different – Apple Acres needs people that can roll with the punches, work with little supervision or reinforcement, and be OK with failing.
2. Farming is 80% effort and 20% thought. While you will learn new things, learning about farming is really about learning how to cope with the raw necessity of huge amounts of work, and how to insert brief moments of poetry into that work (hopes of sustainability, coexistence, success, etc.). You will be learning how to develop that poetic work ethic through monotonous labor as much as any farming technique.
3. Breaks are important! They love to go sea kayaking, biking, hiking, movie watching, and to live music. They also run a medium size roots and Americana music festival in the summer, which the apprentices would participate in. They work hard and play hard!

How to apply: email imemine909@yahoo.com with your resume and a little paragraph about why you’d like to come work with them. They are looking for one apprentice to join their current apprentice and stay with them between now (mid-June), and November 1^st, ideally for the entire time, but they can be flexible.

Stipend: $150.00/wk and housing. No food provided, but their current intern has a garden and CSA share, and bulk ingredients are provided.