Massachusetts

01 - This nine-acre Baystate-organic-certified CSA and retail farm center grows varied vegetables, herbs, and blueberries with livestock including pigs, goats, chickens and sheep.

We're looking for one apprentice from March to November 1^st.  Duties include pruning blueberries, preparation for planting, planting in greenhouse and fields, weeding, harvesting and packaging for CSA pickup, animal care and general maintenance of buildings and structures.

Accommodations include room and board in upstairs bedroom and shared bathroom, with stipend negotiable depending on skills and commitment.

Educational opportunities include learning on full working farm, animal husbandry, milking dairy goats and cheesemaking, some biodynamics, meeting and visiting other area farms.  Farm is located one hour from Boston and Cape Cod.

 

02 - We are a new farm located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in the town of Chilmark.  The farm is located on five acres, of which only one will be in production this summer.  We will be growing flowers and vegetables and are open to input and suggestions from the person who ends up working with us.  In addition to flowers and vegetables, we will be making a variety of products, including, but not limited to: granola, pickled cukes, beeswax candles, applesauce and strawberry/rhubarb maple sauce.

We are flexible on dates but would like someone beginning in May/June and running until August/September.

We offer a brand-new primitive cabin with loft, outdoor shower, composting toilet and access to a washer and dryer.  We offer $10/hour after you've put in 20 hours/week, which covers your room.  Total hours are flexible.  You are also welcome to any flowers and vegetables we grow.

We are looking for someone or a couple with experience and confidence in starting a new farm.  We would like a person who is hard-working, self-motivated and responsible with a gentle, quiet lifestyle.  Pets are welcome provided they get along with our dog and are trained. We are also looking for a child-care person for our two year old.

We are located 1.5 miles from the beach, with many hiking and biking trails nearby.  We have bikes and kayaks for your use.

 

03 - Established goat dairy - milking 50 goats and making 350 lb. of fresh chevre each week.  Monterey Chevre has received many awards over our 23 years and is well known in the Berkshires as well as NYC and Boston.  Large organic garden, 100 blueberry bushes, small hoop house for farm garden transplants and extended season fresh greens. 

Apprentices will learn to milk and care for dairy goats, help make and package our chevre, do lots of cleaning (I take the responsibility of making food for people very seriously), help with yard and garden work, cut and stack firewood, prune and pick blueberries, and possibly do some maintenance projects.  Customers are welcome at the farm and I keep it very tidy.

Our season runs from March 15 - late December.  Seasonal commitment is preferred due to extensive training time.  We have openings for two apprentices.  Two bedroom log cabin with wood heat...water running April 15-Dec 1...frost-proof hydrant off back porch for cold weather...living room, kitchen, bathroom, washer/dryer, screened-in front porch.  We provide housing, utilities, garden food and $150/week.

 

Local Berkshire towns are full of cultural opportunities.  Great Barrington, Lenox, and Stockbridge are close by.  Streams, waterfalls, woods and loveliness are literally in our front and back yard.  Pony, cats, interesting visitors, and great cross-section of people work here part time and year-round.

 

04 - Farming combined with a balanced life is essential for a truly sustainable agriculture. The farm and apprenticeship unite the physically demanding work of farming with the techniques one needs to lead a balanced and productive life.

 Our farming philosophy emphasizes soil building and worm production through permanent, no-till raised beds in which high quality vegetables are grown intensively for restaurants, food co-ops and schools. We use solar greenhouses to expand the growing season, solar electricity to power our farm and buildings, and biodiesel to power our vehicles. We teach apprentices how to envision life goals, the organizational skills to get there, then how to implement one's vision.

Apprentices work Monday through Friday on the farm, from mid-May to end of October. Farm apprentices receive room, board and a monthly stipend. Additionally, apprentices have the opportunity to participate in "Grow Community," our neighborhood's efforts to become food and energy secure, and the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival.

If working hard physically and transforming personally is important to you, view our website and read our newsletters (www.seedsofsolidarity.org), then email or call us to receive an application. The application process includes an in-person interview.

 

05 - We have a beautiful farm on the south coast of Massachusetts surrounded by history.  Our 50 acres has been farmed since 1680, and the large, comfortable farmhouse was built in 1718.  Located in a thriving college town, we are close to the ocean, 50 miles to Boston, and 25 miles to both Cape Cod and Providence.

We grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that are non-certified organic, some unusual, including almost anything that you would see at a farmers' market.  We host a CSA at our farm, and have 225 members.  We attend 12 farmers' markets each week.  We proudly partner with a community health center in a cutting-edge inner-city market/CSA in an urban Boston neighborhood that would not usually have access to such a market.

Andy Pollock holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Maine and has used his knowledge and experience to create new local markets.  He has also collaborated in unique ways with local farms and organizations to increase awareness of the importance of locally-grown and sustainable agriculture in southern Massachusetts.

Apprentices will learn not only how Silverbrook Farm has fostered partnerships with the local university, health facilities and high school, but also how Andy has involved the surrounding community in farm life and understanding where their food comes from.  Apprentices actively participate in the full year farm cycle from planning and implementation to harvesting and preparing fields for the winter.  They will be exposed to the science and philosophy of organic farming as well as the politics and mechanics of starting a farmers' market or a CSA.  We also offer learning opportunities with other local farms, cheese producers, non-profit agricultural support organizations and sustainability programs.

Work is physically demanding at times and may include planting, cultivating, irrigating, mulching, seeding, harvesting, helping with Farmers' markets and the CSA, feeding our free-range hens, occasional light building maintenance and petting our dog, Chloe.  Applicants must be capable of lifting 50 lbs.  The opportunity to learn beekeeping is available.

We pay a stipend of $50/week, half of which is placed in a bank, which you will receive at the end of your commitment.  We also provide room and board in exchange for the required 32-hour workweek.  Additional hours up to a total of 45 hours/week may be required but will be compensated at the rate of $9.00/hour starting after the second week of the apprenticeship.  Additional hours (and compensation) may be available if you so choose.  Lodging is a room or efficiency apartment in our home.  We need your commitment for the entire growing season, March through November. (Specific dates in those months are negotiable.)  We will try hard to accommodate your preference for work days and times.

Food is provided, but apprentices are expected to plan and cook at least one evening meal each week (with the assistance of the host and other volunteers and apprentices) and to help keep common areas clean.  A washing machine and clothesline are available for your use free of charge.  Wi-fi is available for your laptop.  No children or pets and no smoking in the house.  Driver's license and your own transportation are required.  Wir sprechen Deutsch.

Application process includes: initial email contact, which will be followed up by a telephone interview; letter of intent, to include, why you want this experience, what you hope to learn, what strengths you can bring to the farm; resume; references with addresses, emails and phone numbers; proposed dates for interview visit; a three-day working farm visit is required before final acceptance.

01 - This is a 50-acre farm with a 72’ high-tunnel greenhouse and about 3 acres of native highbush blueberries, black currants, raspberries, and strawberries that produces value-added products and attends farmers’ markets.

Work to be done includes picking and processing berries, greenhouse work, weeding, pruning, transplanting, sales at farmers’ markets, delivery of products to stores, in-store demonstrations, and optional poultry care.

We need one or two apprentices from April through October, with a minimum of six weeks during this period.

Accommodations include a private bedroom on the second floor, shared bath, veggies and all crops being grown, some shared meals, and a potential stipend depending on experience and commitment.

The farm is near miles of hiking trails with a beach within walking or biking distance. Owner is a graduate in landscape design with horticulture, perennial/ornamental plant science background and an MS in conservation biology.  There is optional paricipation in beekeeping on-site, as well.

 

02 - This nine-acre Baystate-organic-certified CSA grows varied vegetables, herbs, and blueberries with livestock including pigs, goats, chickens, sheep, rabbits and Dapple the donkey as a guard.

 We’re looking for one apprentice from early March to November 1^st.  Duties include pruning and mulching blueberries, preparation for planting, planting in greenhouse and fields, weeding, harvesting and packaging for CSA pickup, animal care and general maintenance of buildings and structures.

 Accommodations include room and board in upstairs bedroom and shared bathroom, with stipend negotiable depending on skills and commitment.

 Educational opportunities include learning on our full working farm; animal husbandry, milking dairy goats and cheese-making and some biodynamics.

We cooperate with several local farms and provide opportunities to meet  and visit with other area farms.   This farm is located one hour from Boston and Cape Cod.

 

03 – This farm is one of the first CSA farms in the US, located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.  The farm is a total of 17 acres, growing mixed organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers on 4-5 acres.  Remaining land is either in pasture or green manures.  The farm is a land trust owned by the Community Land Trust in the South Berkshires.  (Please see www.schumachersociety.org for more information on the legal arrangements.)  We have a 140-member CSA and go to the Great Barrington Farmers’ Market every Saturday, June-October.  We also sell to a few retail stores and restaurants.

Work to be done includes: seeding, planting, harvesting, cultivating with hand tools, and greenhouse management. In addition, apprentices will work in the distribution room on a rotating schedule, help out at the farmers’ market, and oversee volunteers who come to the farm. The workweek is approximately 40 hours.

We are looking for 1 apprentice from June through September In exchange for working, apprentices receive accommodations and some meals will be shared with the farmers by rotating cooking responsibilities. The wage is $8.00/hr. We are a member of the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training program (CRAFT), and apprentices gather ten times during the season for extensive farm tours and additional training. In addition, we try to have one-on-one sessions with apprentices on topics of agricultural interest.

 

04 - We have a beautiful farm on the south coast of Massachusetts surrounded by history.  Our 50 acres has been farmed since 1680, and the large, comfortable farm house was built in 1718, with a sunny kitchen added in 2005. Located in a thriving college town, we are 5 minutes to the ocean, 50 miles to Boston, and 25 miles to both Cape Cod and Providence, RI.

We cultivate a variety of fruits and vegetables that are sustainably grown.  We host a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at our farm, and have 397 members.  We attend 14 farmers markets each week, many on Cape Cod.  We proudly partner with a community health center in a cutting edge inner city market/CSA in an urban Boston neighborhood that would not usually have access to good quality, fresh food.

Andy Pollock has used his knowledge and experience to create new local markets. He has also collaborated in unique ways with area farms and organizations to increase public awareness of the importance of locally grown and sustainable agriculture in Massachusetts & Rhode Island.

Apprentices will learn how this farm has fostered partnerships with health facilities, universities, and high schools.  They will also learn how Andy has involved the surrounding community in farm life and understanding where their food comes from and where it should not come from.

Apprentices will actively participate in the full year farm cycle from planning and implementation to harvesting, safely controlling pests and preparing fields for winter.  They will be exposed to the science, economics and philosophy of sustainable farming as well as the politics and process of starting and managing a farmers market or CSA.  We also offer learning opportunities with other local farms, cheese producers and non-profit agricultural support organizations.

Work can be physically demanding at times and may include planting, cultivating, irrigating, mulching, weeding, harvesting, helping with farmers markets and the CSA, feeding our free range hens, occasional light building maintenance and petting our dog Chloe.  The opportunity to learn beekeeping is also available.  Applicants must be capable of lifting 50 pounds ! 

We provide knowledge, experience, room and board in exchange for the required 35 hour work week.  Additional hours may be asked of you but will be compensated at the rate of $9.00 - $11.00 per hour commencing after the 2^nd week of the apprenticeship.    Lodging is in our home with your own bedroom.  We must have your commitment for the entire growing season, March through November.  (Specific dates in those months are negotiable.)  Some days can be long.

Food is provided.  Apprentices are required to plan and cook at least one evening meal each week (With the assistance of the host and other volunteers and apprentices if needed.) and to help with household chores!  A washing machine and clothesline are available for your use free of charge.  The house has Wi-Fi for your use.   (No computer is available for your use!)  No children or pets and no smoking in the house.   Drivers License and your own transportation required.       

Application process includes:

1.          Your email contact which will be followed up by our email or a telephone call.

2.         Letter of intent to include: 

A.      Why you want this experience.

B.      What you hope to learn. 

C.     What strengths you can bring to the farm.

3.          Resume’

4.         Two references with emails or phone numbers.

5.         Proposed dates for interview visit.   (A two day working farm visit is required.)

 We are seeking energetic, hard working folks with a positive attitude that can work and socialize well on a team!  We work hard, but take time to play as well!