Nonprofit Garden Internships in North Carolina

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Nonprofit Garden Internships Available in North Carolina for the 2018 Season

Nonprofit Garden / Mini Farm Seeks 2 Full Season Interns early April – October 2018 near Asheville, NC. We are looking for highly motivated & committed interns to assist in growing our nonprofit garden / mini-farm project. Our goal is to address hunger by seeking ways of building community around gardening and food. We grow and give away an average of 10 tons produce yearly in addition to hosting volunteer groups, providing education, manning two free markets and building community. We are serious and hard-working, passionate about doing and improving our work, yet flexible and fun-loving and are looking for the same in our interns. In exchange for approximately 33 hours of weekly work growing and distributing food and working with volunteers we offer a private bunkhouse, a $400 / month stipend, organic produce, a quality education, field trips, and immersion in a wonderful small community near Asheville. We have six acres of land with one acre under production.

Duration of Nonprofit Garden Internships: Internship runs from early April until the last day in October. A 1- month trial period is part of the internship. Interns must provide a 2-week notice before terminating the internship though no one has ever done so. In addition, vacation time of a week or so is available during the growing season.

Work/Experience Desired: Since the intent of the internship is to pass along knowledge, we do not have specific experience requirements. All thing being equal, we may, however, give preference to those with a gardening background or those pursuing a career/lifestyle in the work we do.

We are looking for applicants for the nonprofit garden internships who are: highly motivated, flexible and adaptable, collaborative, follow directions while sharing their opinions, independent workers, in good physical condition, have a sincere desire to learn about sustainable food production, hunger issues, and community building, value quality work, are able to maintain a clean, safe and organized work space.

This is a hands-on internship. You will be immersed, get dirty, be challenged, and be encouraged to use your gifts and your mind – not just your muscles.

Nonprofit Garden Internships Expectations:

• Engage in physical work and activity regardless of weather
• Get up early especially in the summer and be ready to work on time.
• Eventually lead and teach groups and individual volunteers
• Study and apply sustainable, organic, traditional and alternative growing practices
• Participate with the crew in all aspects of growing food (cultivation, planting, transplanting, harvesting, washing, distributing…)
• Participate in upkeep and maintenance of the interns’ common space
• Interns should carry their own health insurance and are responsible for their own medical expenses.
• Additional desirable traits: being a morning person, ability to operate tillers/ weedeaters/ mowers, willingness to learn new skills, enjoying people, make friends with all types of people, having a sense of humor

Nonprofit Garden Internships Education Opportunities:

• A systematic 16-week educational program consisting of independent assigned reading, short presentations and group discussion covering basic principles of growing food and doing nonprofit, community building work.
• Experiential, hands-on learning 5 days / week
• Excellent home library is available
• Learning through continual casual discussions, often with others who do similar work.
• Work with the local food pantry, Welcome Table and other hunger alleviation initiatives
• The opportunity to sit in on our work with local colleges & other organizations
• Field trips & membership in CRAFT – monthly farm tours and potlucks
• The opportunity to sit in on our board meetings to better understand the organizational aspect
• The freedom to utilize your expertise and passions to create something new.
• & a whole lot more!

Compensation: housing, $400/ month stipend, garden produce, some basic staples (grains & beans), education, personal growth and immersion into an amazing community.

You can learn more about the nonprofit garden internships, our work, our philosophy and our story here: www.thelordsacre.org and by checking us out on Facebook. Write us for an internship description and/or application: susan@thelordsacre.org

 

To learn more about farming jobs and internships or to post an opportunity on beginningfarmers.org, go to: https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/