Folk School Retreat Internships in WI

Tweet

Buttermilk Falls CSA and Folk School Retreat Internships in Western Wisconsin – 2021

Buttermilk Falls CSA & Folk School Retreat is a program of Philadelphia Community Farm. Established as a non-profit in 1989, the community farm sits on a 68-acre farmstead surrounded by hundreds of acres of land in conservation along the St. Croix River in Western Wisconsin. This land has been actively farmed using biodynamic methods and principles in some degree for over thirty years. Our intergenerational residential community includes one older adult with special needs. The garden, life-sharing, education, conservation and wellness retreats make for a busy and active farm centered around inclusivity, understanding equity and strong therapeutic rhythms.
Folks with interest or experience in biodynamic gardening, Waldorf or Montessori education, mechanical aptitude and those with a desire to participate in community life-sharing based on international Camphill Community model are preferred. Commitment to courageous communication, open-mind and heart, and liberation for all people required.

Skills you will encounter:

• Planning: for earlier spring arrivals, work side-by-side with the farmers’ circle to plan garden rotations, field configurations
• Cut flower gardening and arranging
• Beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, maple sugaring (March)
• Greenhouse Propagation: seeding, record keeping, seedling care and troubleshooting, greenhouse organization, composting
• Field work: irrigation systems, seeding, transplanting, weeding, thinning, mulching, frost protection, composting, “farmer intuition” and observation analysis, record keeping, heat/cold tolerance, biodynamic preparations
• CSA management: The following will be supplemental to the tasks of the onsite CSA Administrator. Tracking of CSA data, record keeping, communications, marketing, community building, mutual aid logistics 
• Life skills: Communal living in a multi-ability, multi-age household, conscious communication, meal planning & preparation using foods from the farm, mindful hearth-tending of communal spaces, hosting our many visitors and volunteers
• Animal Care: DOI, mostly in the context of their role on a biodynamic farm but may include feeding, rotational grazing, socializing, butchering
• Working with youth programs
• Food preservation
• Animals: May be included DOI, mostly in the context of their role on a biodynamic farm
  Compensation includes: Room in communal house, three meals/day, monthly living stipend.

Intern hours: M-F 8-4:30 with a 90-minute lunch/rest and, Saturday 9-12. At the height of the season, you may be asked to put in additional hours. Must be able to lift 30 lbs.

Term: 1-12 months onsite beginning now with possibility to extend.