Positions Still Available! Apply today!!
Interns will essentially be asked to participate as part of the staff of our developing education centre and farm. We plan to be conducting many integrated permaculture projects, and you will find yourself delving into everything from implementation of organic garden beds, to the construction of natural buildings, from working with short term volunteers, to feeding and caring for the animals, from graphic/social media design to mulching the food forest.
Work requirements are a minimum of 5 days a week, 6 hours a day with some occasional weekend duties (such as: watering garden beds, flipping compost, feeding animals, etc). Each Intern is asked to be the main caretaker for a certain area of the land/system, inspiring long-term vision, ownership and responsibility. You are given the freedom to make a genuine contribution to the future of our farm systems. As an intern, you are sure to get a full plethora of experiences from your time here!
The farm is approximately 50 acres located in a rural part of central Thailand, about 3.5 hours NE of Bangkok and 1.5 hours outside of Korat, Thailand’s second largest city.
Our plan is to implement our Permaculture design, and will see a transformation of the place in a major way. Our Master Plan is a dynamic, living document, and we encourage new, forward-thinking designs to be added to continually grow and produce a replicable, abundant system. We hope to see a number of major changes over the next year:
1) the site’s low diversity ecology moving towards a rich diverse, nature friendly system.
2) The farm systems go from barely breaking even to a healthy profit (by reducing costs, intertwining systems and finding new markets)
3) Increase the health and beauty of the landscape.
4) and to make the climate of the land more liveable.
We are looking for people who already have some permaculture experience, and are currently working on their permaculture diploma or are looking to get some solid permaculture practice. There is also the opportunity that an permaculture internship could develop into one of our paid (stipend) management positions. Our permaculture internship is intended as a hands on learning experience, rather than a workshop to be taught things day in and day out. You are able to guide your own learning experience and are sure to learn a ton during your time here.
Our design and community are ambitious, exciting and holistic. We look forward to seeing some amazing permaculture happen as the year goes by!
Costs
Our permaculture internship is for a minimum of 6 months, $200 per month, for a total cost of US$1200. The first $200 to be paid up-front on arrival and the remaining $1000 paid after completion of a 30 day trial period.
This cost helps to pay for your food and other resources associated with having you on site. We are not making any money through hosting interns. We genuinely want to make an even trade of your work time for the amount of learning available. It is our goal to make this trade worthwhile for everyone and insure that you go away having learned a ton, and had a great time. We plan on having a lot of fun and encourage a blurred line between work and play, creativity and design.
$200 of this is a non-refundable deposit and secures your place as an intern. This amount is payable upon arrival and cannot be refunded even if the internship is terminated during the first 30 days evaluation period.
How to Apply
Please send the requested materials to thefarmcq@gmail.com. If you application is accepted, we will confirm by sending you more detailed information about what to expect of your experience at Rak Tamachat, followed by organizing an interview via phone, Skype or face-to-face.
Please submit a record of any previous farm / permaculture work history. We don’t need a full resume, just an idea of what your experience with permaculture / farm work is.
Please also answer the following questions below:
1. What most interests you about the permaculture internship mentioned above?
2. In what capacity at the farm do you think you would be most helpful (animals, veg gardens, orchards, aquaculture, web design, working with volunteers, courses, cooking, cleaning, e-mails, networking and communication, etc)? Which would you be most interested in participating in, if different?
3. We prefer applicants to have completed their Permculture Design Course prior to their internship. Where did you take your PDC?
4. There is a Thai family and working crew on site with whom we interact with daily in order to coordinate projects. Do you speak Thai? If so, how much? Any other languages?
5. What qualities would make you a good addition to our team?
6. Farm life can be less than luxurious. You may find yourself dealing with manure, doing some hard work occasionally that you don’t find fun, and pooping in water-less humanure composting toilets. Also, because this project is just in the early phases, you may choose to live in a dorm situation, or to set up a tent (we will be building
while you are there). Are you up for this kind of lifestyle?
7. Do you have experience living in community before? What were your strengths? challenges?
8. When are you interested in coming, and how long are you interested in staying?
10. April, May and June can prove extremely hot months in this region, and July, August and September is the wet season here, when it generally rains every day. Wet/dry tropical weather might be shocking to those from temperate regions – do you think you can adapt to these extremes?
11. What are some goals you wish to achieve through this internship?
12. All permaculture internships begin with a one-month (30 day) trial period. This is a chance for us both to share and see if your a fit for this environment. How does this arrangement work for you?
13. Do you know how to blur the lines between work, play and art? Do you know when to take time for yourself, and how to express your needs in a community setting?
14. Do you have any questions for us?
Thank you for taking the time to fill out our Application form!