The Internship, But In Greater Detail
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Barefoot Farms is celebrating its third birthday this year and with that comes some changes to the farm. We started as a mixed urban and peri-urban farm with a half acre plot in South Richmond and various plots in the city. We use organic principles and repurpose what we can from the waste stream the city provides. We find innovative ways to farm in a more ecologically friendly and sustainable way. This year most of our farming will be on the South Richmond plot with two to three yard plots in the city. The last two years we have operated a Barefoot Farms CSA (veggie box). This year the CSA will be aggregated with FarmCity Co-Op of which we are one of ten member farms. Most of our veggies will go to that CSA. We will also grow veggies for the Westside Community Food Market and restaurant sales through the co-op. We will focus on growing large quantities of a smaller variety of vegetables for the co-op and in smaller amounts we will add some variety.
Interns need to commit to a minimum of two days per week (16 hours) from mid April through October. The internship can start as early as March for those who are available. If you are a student returning to school in the fall, we can accommodate that, this will be discussed with the intern and the farm manager. Hopefully we can figure out how to keep you involved in the farm in some capacity so that you can see all your hard work come to fruition in the field.
Despite being a very small farm we want to give back to our interns for all of their work during the season. This means that if we exceed our harvest and sales expectations there is the possibility to offer a small stipend to interns that consistently commit to two days per week. There is a stipend starting at $1500 for interns that consistently commit to 3 days or more per week. We will consider short-season applicants but would prefer full-season applicants. LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Greenhouse management (we have 2600 square feet of greenhouse space) Transplanting and direct-seeding Harvesting and post-harvest handling Soil preparation Seed saving Food preservation Crop planning and harvest planning Small-scale animal husbandry (layer hens) Weed management and pest control Irrigation Volunteer supervision and teaching Oversight of the CSA and farmers’ markets Marketing 
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All it takes to intern with Barefoot Farms is a keen desire to learn about small scale peri-urban and urban farming. No experience is required. The ideal intern will be eager to learn and to work as part of a team. Lots of farmer friends of Barefoot Farms started out knowing very little about farming and now you would never know that they weren’t raised on a farm. This could be you.
While we require no previous farming experience, be prepared for a full season immersed in the hard work of farming, it is physically demanding. You must be prepared to work in varied weather conditions, from the hot sunny days to the wet, windy and cold days. 
BENEFITS OF BEING AN INTERN
Weekly intern harvest veggie box Skills and knowledge to farm from the beginning of the season right through the end Yard and field farming techniques A great team of people to work with Farm family dinners Stipends for those who can commit to three or more days per week The possibility to take on responsibility in your areas of interest OTHER Driver’s license is considered an asset Bike access for transportation is helpful as well. You will be responsible for getting to and from the various plots. There is a farm truck available for some transportation purposes. |
To get more information and apply for the internship click the big green botton.
We look forward to bringing you into the farming world and seeing where that takes you.
