Each year, OAEC hires a cohort of enthusiastic interns to live and learn at OAEC. Internships are approximately 24 hours per week. In exchange for their work, all interns are given a private, cozy place to live, community meals (including access to a fully-stocked kitchen, pantry, and on-site garden veggies and orchard) and use of all OAEC facilities (hot tub, swimming pond, etc.) Interns also receive free participation in the OAEC Permaculture Design Course, a $500 monthly stipend, and generous vacation and sick leave. Interns take part in the life of the residential community and participate in community cooking and chore rotations. There may be opportunities for additional paid work on site, though these are coordinated separately from the internship.
Explore the world of organic gardening through OAEC’s annual Garden Internship in our 50-year-old biointensive gardens—a rich setting for experiential learning. Work closely with our Garden Manager, engaging in all aspects of gardening. We are seeking passionate individuals excited about small-scale food production and curating beautiful and bountiful gardens for our retreat guests and community. Many of our past interns have achieved leadership roles in farming and gardening. Join us for a transformative experience!
Typical Tasks
Bed preparation and transplanting
Plant propagation and greenhouse work
Compost pile building and food waste management
Fertilization
Hand watering and drip irrigation
Pest and disease management
Gopher trapping
Weeding
Harvesting
General garden maintenance
Assisting in coordinating volunteer activities
OAEC Nursery and Plant Sale assistance
Qualifications
Physical stamina is a must! We work outside rain or shine doing lots of manual labor and repetitive tasks.
An excitement and desire to learn gardening through hands-on experience is essential.
Prior garden or farming experience is helpful but not necessary.
We are looking for motivated, self-starting people who can be comfortable occasionally working alone.
Interest in helping to coordinate volunteer activities and work with groups of people in the gardens.
We encourage garden internship applicants to attend a Garden Volunteer Day at OAEC sometime in October. This is a great way to meet us, see the garden, and get a feel for the work, especially if you’ve never been here before. On the RSVP page, please indicate that you are applying to the garden internship.
To Apply:
Visit - https://oaec.org/about-us/internships/
Applications open on August 1st. Deadline to apply is November 1st. Early application is highly encouraged!
Complete the Intern Application (google form – will begin accepting responses on August 1st). You can go back and edit your responses at any time.
Upload a PDF of your cover letter and resume for each department you are applying for.
Enter your references as prompted in the form.
Upload an optional photo (not required.)
Questions regarding internship applications can be directed to cameron@oaec.org.