Clay Bottom Farm Internship Program
Our internship program is designed to give interns a fun, hands-on learning experience in all aspects of organic food production. Your tasks could include: planting, ground preparation, compost management, weeding, harvesting, marketing or washing vegetables. There are lots of Amish-related tourist attractions in our area (we are surrounded by small Amish farms) and we are within 3 hours of Chicago, Detroit, Ann Arbor, South Bend and Kalamazoo.
All internships are volunteer. We do not provide a stipend. Interns do receive basic housing and plenty of great produce. Our focus is on training so that interns leave with skills to start their own farms or to work successfully on other farms.
Farm work days are Monday afternoons from 2-5 pm and Tues-Fri, 8am – 5pm, with a one-hour lunch. In addition, we also ask interns to help us out at our Tuesday afternoon farmer market and at 2 Saturday farmers markets per month. We are also artists, and interns would have access to two pottery kilns and studio space. We occasionally provide housing for art interns for other area artists by special arrangement.
A 12-week stay from March-May, June-Aug, or Sept-Nov fits well with the needs of our farm. But feel free to ask and negotiate what works for you. We can accommodate up to 2 interns.
Who we are looking for: Someone with a passion for small-scale vegetable farming, ideally someone seriously considering farming as a career. You do not need to have farm experience, but must be eager to learn. We like creative interns who are always looking for better ways to get a job done, and who can also take direction when required. You should be able to show up on time, ready for work. Your work could be alone as well as in groups, and you must enjoy fast-paced work.
We ask that you show up on time and ready for work in all kinds of weather.
We also like to have fun! Our annual volunteer canoe trip is always a hit.
Living accommodations: We have a basement apartment which you would share in community with up to two other interns, or you may live in town and commute.
Book reading list: Reading and reflection on issues related to farming and ecology are an integrated part of a Clay Bottom Farm internship. Each term, we assign a short reading list of books that we all read and discuss. Past books have included:
The Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollen
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith
Life Without Oil by Steven Hallet
Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook
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Contact us at:
Clay Bottom Farm
11434 CR 34
Goshen, IN 46528
Ben’s cell: 574-538-8741
Corinne takes a moment to admire a wormy friend.
