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Apprenticeships And Interships
We
have
3 to 6
apprenticeships available from April First thru November First and one or two
apprenticeships from November
to April. Apprentices beginning in April
will learn all aspects of growing fruit, vegetable, and herb crops including
planting, cultivating, biological insect control, companion crops, cover
cropping strategies, harvesting and marketing through the CSA model, farmers
markets, and delivery to co-op retail stores.
They
will work in our greenhouse for retail bedding plant sales and the 50,000 plus
plants we start for our own plantings. Apprentices will also learn and take turns with animal husbandry and chores.
From
mid-to-late summer we will learn pickling, canning, freezing, cider making, as
well as other homesteading skills like carding and spinning wool, carpentry,
cooking and heating with wood, or music making. Winter apprentices will work with our community outreach program, tend to
animal and firewood chores, and possibly learn furniture making in our woodshop.
Beginning in January they will start working in the greenhouses.
One of our Recent
Apprentices writes:
"I arrived at Oak Center in early February 2003 and stayed until the beginning of August. My husband Beany and I had been thinking about starting our farm and wanted to get a taste of the skills and knowledge we would need to make it work.
The six months we spent at the farm were busy, but wonderful. We worked hard, listened to great music, and dined on fresh vegetables from the garden and snacks from the general store. We learned about the process of growing organic vegetables from starting the seeds in the greenhouse to harvesting the produce from the fields. In addition, we also had the opportunity to experience a few other new things.
I got to know the Oak Center community - the people who attend concerts on the weekends and show up at the farmer's market regularly. I helped take care of baby chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. In the cold winter mornings we came in from chores and cooked breakfast on the black, wood burning stove. I was taught how to properly prune fruit trees. In the spring we hauled manure to the fields using a horse-driven manure spreader. We helped shear the sheep and saved their wooly winter coats for spinning. When summer came I watched as different flowers bloomed and helped make bouquets for the farmer's market.
As the months passed, my arms and back grew stronger from carrying, bending and lifting. At the same time I grew more confident that I wanted to continue this king of work on my own somewhere, someday. I appreciated being able to get involved in various aspects of the farm work. Steven and Susan allowed us to find our niches, and helped us to learn about any aspect of the farm, the Folk Forum events, and the general store that we were interested in. Most lessons weren't taught in a classroom setting. Instead, I learned mostly by observation, discussion and working together with Steve and Joe in the greenhouses and in the garden.
The work was both independent and team-oriented. Sometimes we needed to split up and each do different projects. Other times we would all focus on the same thing and work together.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience and the people that I met throughout my time there. I would recommend Earthen Path/Oak Center General Store to any one who is interested in learning about organic agriculture. If you enjoy physical work, are interested in community living, and have an appreciation for alternative energy sources (such as horse drawn power, wind energy, and wood burning stoves), then Oak Center would be a good fit for you."
--Joanne Roepke Bode
2003 Farm apprentice
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