Forest Farmstead

Last Updated On: junio 8th, 2023 at 08:24AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
55753 SR 20
PO Box 205
Rockport, Washington, 98283

Primary Contact: Terrance Meyer
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 785 865 8758
    Email: forestfarmstead@gmail.com

Website: http://www.forestfarmstead.com

Internship information

General Farm Description: A 23 acre farmstead bridging fields and woods, working toward ecological, social/spiritual, and economic sustainability. We have cash crops, system support animals, self sufficiency garden, orchard, forest products, wildlife, and living spaces sharing this land. The focus is on developing value added products to create real income from a light harvesting of the forest, while building a sustainable and welcoming community.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: Now
Internship Ends: Fall of 2023 or 2024
Number of Internship Available: 3
Application Deadline: flexible
Minimum Length of Stay: 6 month. We do have a review at two weeks where either of us can terminate the internship if it is not working out.

Internship Details:

When you think of your future do you want to run a small farm? Live in supportive mindfulness with others? Have a sustainable homestead? Ecologically manage a forest? or Develop and market cool natural products?

If so, you are invited to take a practice run here at Forest Farmstead with a full season internship and optional second year apprenticeship. Come here to receive support in forging your own path while also integrating it into the whole. We have loads of resources, land, and mentorship to offer, getting you the valuable experience you need to be a success. There is so much to do here we are happy to have you focus your time on what you are most interested in; be that farming, forestry, animal husbandry, hospitality, community building, marketing, food processing, homemaking, product development, and many others. We meditate as a farm team every morning at 7am to start the day. The ideal intern is one who is looking to build their own sustainable future and wants and use our farm to start living that way and practice their skills and train their mind.

You are a co-creator of what will happen here and how we will live during your internship. I try to follow as best I can any leadership by interns and resort to my authority as little as possible. It has been surprising how much ‘radical youth’ actually want someone to tell them what to do once it gets down to it. My challenge is to make as non-hierarchical an environment as possible within the natural limitations. I always learn something from interns, and interns always come to see ways they have grown dependent on outside authority to run their life.

At first you will simply get familiar with the place through the chores available finding the potentials that interest you to explore further and I will get familiar with your capabilities and personality. After we review the trial period together (two weeks to a month) the exact form of the rest of the internship will be much more in your hands with a negotiation balancing your interests, capabilities, and desires, and the base needs of the farm. At this review either one of us can cancel the internship with no hard feelings or we can commit to support each other through the term of the internship.

The first year of internship will allow you to build skills, develop internal capability, and explore interests. A second year we will transition to more of an apprenticeship where you will take on a crop, animals, develop a product, start a business, build a tiny house, or whatever other project you would like to accomplish with the land, resources, tools, and mentorship of Forest Farmstead supporting you. This “thesis project” for lack of a better term may well be something you can take with you to your next step on your path, or leave on the farm as an enduring contribution to what we are doing while you carry the skills developed in that accomplishment through the rest of your life.

This opportunity is likely not for you if:
— You have a strong habit of leaning on recreational drugs to meet your mental health needs and are not willing to work to transition away from that.
— You need a lot of external structure for success, a big part of our philosophy is getting you trained to handle situations where you need to figure it out for yourself. You will have a mentor not a boss or a professor. There is no set training program.
— You come with the attitude of being an employee, this is a community of opportunity and we rely on mutual gratitude and generosity .

This opportunity could be great for you if:
— You want to give back to the the earth and society even as you build the skills and perspective to go further
— You are good at self direction and taking opportunities when they are in front of you
— You are interested in being a harmonious creative part of a community

If I have made this opportunity seam idyllic to you, Great please apply. Also know that there are plenty of things not idyllic, the farm has messes, systems that are not efficient, and there are ways we are not sustainable yet. I have a unique personality that is challenging to some, delightful to others.

Lastly this is a place for everyone you are welcome here, regardless of: race, sexuality, gender, political affiliation, social class, religion, vaccination status, body type, neurodivergence, you name it. , you are welcome here. This is a safe place for anyone to be, where our differences and similarities are all open for frank discussion and mutual education through exposure to people different than ourselves. Within the context of the farm community we all have each others’ backs.

Educational Opportunities: Ask for our "curriculum" when you email. It is a good outline of the skills and knowledge available for you to pick up while you are here. We're happy to create an experience that serves your educational desires including linking you with folks off the farm in the local community. There is a non-secular mindfulness based mental health / spirituality component to the farm with daily meditation and weekly days of mindfulness. Over the years it seems that much of the training benefit comes from perspective, attitude, and confidence which ends up being of more universal benefit than the actual skills. A second year apprenticeship option is available where you will be able to develop and run your own major project on the farm. Staying on after two years and establishing yourself as a long term member of the community is a welcome outcome.

Skills Desired: We would like someone emotionally mature and able to communicate wants and needs while being able to compromise. Someone not afraid of heavy labor. Someone who has creativity and the inclination to contribute to the farm on an intellectual level while not being so attached to their ideas that they can't take instruction. Basically someone who can join a team. Self awareness, humility, and a positive attitude are all appreciated. We have taught 'Adulting' to interns with very low ability to be useful to others in the world. If this is something you need please be prepared to pay cash tuition. We have been quite successful in the past but at a respectable financial loss to the farm.

Meals: Yes we will live off the land to the extent possible and have the small budget for off farm basics. Shared meals most days with a cooking rotation set up by the interns. A limited amount of dietary restriction is accommodate but please be as flexible as possible. By focusing on food we can grow ourselves meals tend to be vegetable focused and home grown meat augmented.

Stipend: We are a gift economy / Dana / generosity based economy within the farm community. Only limited aspects of the farm are money making, most of the operation is for living well, in that sense you are very much not an employee but rather sharing a lifestyle with the land. There are some limited opportunities for making income for those who have financial obligations that need to be met. Firstly a $100 non refundable deposit is required to reserve your space and discourage no-shows. There is a $100 per month per intern to a food fund to supply basic intern needs. If the intern can not supply this then I do, no worries. This fund will be managed by the interns. Work that is directly related to making income for the farm we like to be able to pay wages for those who have income needs. If you need to make income, opportunities on the farm exist and are modest (likely less than $500/month) unless you bring your own or create your own income source while you are here. No guarantees but after you are here for a couple of weeks we can see what work we have or is in the greater community that is suited to you that can pay money. The bulk of what you will be doing here is not you working for the farm but living your life for yourself and your community including gardening, cooking, cleaning, construction (for future members of the community, just as past members built the infrastructure you are using) and we will spend time on field trips, demonstrations, and mindfulness activities.

Housing: Yes, there are a number of options available including a cabin, a travel trailer, a tiny house, and an RV hookup. IF you have your own housing or are down with tent living, we can increase the number of interns for a larger community. We will keep you warm through the winter.

Preferred method of Contact: email