2015 Ecological Farming Internships in SW Ontario
Posted: December 17, 2014
Categories: Food in the News / GoodFoodBites / Opportunities / Volunteer. Job and Writing Opportunities
Credit: CRAFT Ontario
The Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (C.R.A.F.T.) network in Ontario connects farmers with individuals eager to learn about ecological farming through immersive hands-on experiences. The South-West Ontario chapter has just released the list of internship opportunities for the 2015 growing season. Check out the opportunities listed below and learn more about the CRAFT SW Ontario member farms, including Sustain Ontario Member Everdale, on www.craftsouthwestontario.ca.
From CRAFT SW Ontario:
If you’re ready for a full, hands-on experience that will immerse you in ecological farming then you’ve come to the right place. CRAFT Ontario is your gateway to a farming internship experience that will change your life. Whether your dream is to have your own organic farm one day or you just want to learn some food growing and hands-on skills that can be applied in other parts of your life, a farming internship is a powerful experience that will equip you with the tools and insights to make a real difference in the world.
Each CRAFT farm operates independently and offers its own internship with individualized agreements around such things as living and eating arrangements, stipends, work hours, and training methods. For more details see the farm descriptions below and contact individual farms directly to apply or ask further questions.
Cedar Down Farm
Cedar Down Farm offers a positive and challenging internship position for an individual who is keen to learn how to market garden through hands-on experience. 185 summer and 100 winter CSA shares. We provide an intensive work-to-learn experience that will get you familiar with all aspects of running an organic vegetable farm, from planning to field work to customer service.
Everdale (Two internship locations): Hillsburgh (rural) and Toronto (urban)
Everdale is CRAFT’s only tuition-based internship. We follow an intensive training curriculum that includes project work, field trips, and seminars as well as experiential learning on our diverse farm. The Rural and Urban SFC programs both include seminars, field trips and project work, as well as onfarm training days.
Fertile Ground CSA
5 acres certified organic vegetables near Waterloo. 100+ member CSA & farmers’ market with a focus on community building and participation. Small flock of laying hens and beehives.
Fiddle Foot Farm
5 acre CSA & market garden, organic and biodynamic principles & practices, mixed livestock, season extension. Scenic Niagara Escarpment location, north of Orangeville.
Ignatius Farm CSA
250 member vegetable CSA, structured education program including biweekly field trips, workshops and handson farm training. Team oriented farming. 1 km from Guelph. 12 years of internship experience.
Kawthoolei Farm Organics
10 acre certified organic farm, 40 minutes from Stratford and London, growing a variety of vegetables and fruits including cranberries and sprouts. Some value added products. Direct sales via three markets in Stratford and London, plus a few restaurants and retail stores. Offering one intern position for a single person or a couple who are willing to come for the same conditions as one.
Kolapore Gardens
Biologically intensive market garden producing top quality, nutrient dense vegetables and herbs for the local communities of Collingwood, Thornbury, Clarksburg and the Beaver Valley, through summer and winter CSAs and two farmers’ markets. Also, raise laying hens. Accept two apprentices each year who live on farm, share in food prep, and earn a modest stipend.
ManoRun Farm
40 acre farm operating a 120 member CSA, going to two Farmers Markets and offering an expanded education program that includes vegetable production, animal husbandry, food preservation, tours of local farms and one day per week to work on your chosen intern farm focus.
Marvellous Edibles Farm
We are looking for 3 interns who share our philosophy of accessible and affordable food and who will be involved in every aspect of our farming operation, from seed starting, planting out, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, post harvest care, marketing and preserving the excess harvest. For those interested we are happy to mentor the business side of farming, and what it takes to own and run a small farm without having to work out of the farm.
Meeting Place Organic Farm
100 acre farm near Lucknow; Horse powered mixed livestock operation, small apple orchard, retails freezer meats by seasonal home delivery; Certified organic.
Orchard Hill Farm
Horsepowered CSA for 200 members with on farm pickups only. We are happy to share the lessons of our 30 years of farming and to teach the many skills (from crop planning on paper, through field and garden work, to harvest and marketing) that young farmers require to get started on their own.
Persephone Market Garden
50+ member CSA. We practice intensive crop rotation, relay cropping and intercropping and our fertility management is based on integration with livestock (sheep, horses and laying hens), as well as cover crops.
Plan B Organic Farms
50 acres of Certified Organic mixed veggies, 5 greenhouses for season extension. We also harvest from a 4 acre organic vineyard, for our 500 + member CSA and 3 weekly farmers’ markets. Located in rural part of Hamilton.
Reroot Organic Farm
Certified organic 100 share vegetable CSA and farmers’ markets, pastured pork and poultry, grassfed beef, freerange laying hens and small apiary.
Saugeen River CSA
Saugeen River CSA: 80 acre Biodynamic farm. Six acre garden powered mostly by draft horses, for CSA and Market. Small herd of Highland cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks and a good time for all!
Shared Harvest Community Farm and Education Centre
7 acres mixed veggies, 32 week 80 member CSA, Dufferin Grove Farmers Market, certified kitchen, canning, fermenting food, chickens, community education centre, stilt walkers, greenhouse and notforprofit org. Focusing on community building.
Whole Circle Farm
Biodynamic, 9 acres mixed veggies and yearround greens for a 46 week CSA & yearround markets. Flour, maple syrup, cows, pigs, chickens and a highly respected education program.
What is CRAFT Ontario?
CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) is a collaboration of organic and biodynamic farms whose aim is to provide opportunities for interns to learn more about sustainable small-scale agricultural production. The CRAFT program offers on-farm training to the interns of all regional CRAFT farms. Monthly CRAFT field days include a potluck lunch, a group activity, a workshop, and a field tour.
For more information, visit: www.craftsouthwestontario.ca
To apply, please contact individual farms directly