Friends of the Trees Botanicals

Last Updated On: enero 12th, 2022 at 09:03AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
124 Center Road
Chimacum, Washington, 98325

Primary Contact: Ashley Kehl
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 3602150189
    Email: FriendsoftheTreesBotanicals@gmail.com

Website: https://friendsofthetrees.net/

Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1muL48zc87em_WVe5vWIFCYb8ChgQuHHH0iO13Zu2_3M/edit?usp=sharing

Internship information

General Farm Description: We are based on the Olympic Peninsula and offer a large variety of botanicals that we personally cultivate and wildcraft. Our wildcrafted botanicals are sustainably gathered to maintain healthy plant populations. Our 1/2 acre herb farm is located at Finnriver Farm & Cidery is a complex agroforestry system, which includes a wide diversity of medicinal herbs, trees, shrubs, hedgerows, berries, vegetables and culinary herbs. We use permaculture and restorative land practices. We are in the process of getting Organic Certification this year. Currently our botanicals are not certified organic, but they are grown with NO chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We use cultural practices, natural fertilizers and lots of mulch to build soil. Our goal is healthy plants, a healthy ecosystem and good yields. We have a 25 year reputation for delivering high quality fresh and dried botanicals.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: March 1, 2022
Internship Ends: Nov 1, 2022
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: none
Minimum Length of Stay: Full season commitment required

Internship Details:

Schedule:
● 20-30 hrs per week. (up to 40 hrs during peak season) 3-4 days a week
10am – 5pm. Days to be agreed upon. Sunday, Tues, Wed and Thur are best.
● There is an unpaid 1 hour lunch break each work day.
● At times we may require crew members to work shorter or longer hours depending on weather and/ or work load.
We are looking for an apprentice to join our crew this season who has a passion for farming, medicinal herbs, wildcrafting, and with a desire to be involved in an agrarian lifestyle. Farming is hard work but also incredibly rewarding so a positive attitude and good work ethic are a must. We are seeking people who have good communication skills, who know how to ask for and receive guidance when approaching new tasks and who have experience working within a team. We will also give preference to applicants who see farming as part of their long-term life goals and want to deepen their skills and experience.
HOW TO APPLY-
Read entire google doc. (link below). Send an introduction, resume, 2 professional references, photo of yourself and answer questions. More details HERE-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1muL48zc87em_WVe5vWIFCYb8ChgQuHHH0iO13Zu2_3M/edit?usp=sharing

Educational Opportunities: FTB’s educational efforts focus on field-based hands-on immersion style learning in the context of diversified agroforestry farming practices and sustainably wildcrafting with a permaculture lens. Educational opportunities are informal and will deepen throughout the season as you become integrated into the farm. The hows and whys of our farming practices will be explained and apprentices are fully encouraged to ask questions and take on projects. Much of the learning of farming happens in the repetition of tasks day to day and and experiencing the growing season. By the end of the season apprentices will leave feeling more confident in their ability to run a small diversified herb farm. You will have access to our extensive Agricultural library with hundreds of books on Herbs, Farming and Earth Restoration. We can suggest many books and references based on your farming interests. Our farm is very small so we will be working together, side-by-side. This creates a learning environment in which you get to learn from experience and direct conversation and discussion with the farmers. Having a desire to learn and ask questions is an important aspect of the apprenticeship process, as it benefits both sides. We believe we are all students of farming and learning is a continual process. You will be working alongside very knowledgeable and experienced crew members; Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski, Ashley Kehl, and Anna Pallotta. Michael “Skeeter” has been farming organically since 1972. He wears many hats including Educator, Author, Organizer and Permaculture Instructor who has devoted his life to studying and teaching how people can live sustainably on this Earth. Since 1988 he has taught 40 permaculture design courses in the US and abroad. His specialties include earth repair, agriculture, seed collecting, nursery sales, tree planting, fruit picking, permaculture, agroforestry, forestry, ethnobotany, medicinal herb growing and wildcrafting. He has hands-on experience with over 1,000 species of plants! Ashley Kehl was raised on a permaculture homestead, playing in the dirt and loving the wild around him. As luck would have it, he still enjoys these same things, spending much of his time on the farm or out wildcrafting. These past three years have seen him working to improve our systems on the farm and administration. His greatest joys include employing regenerative farming practices to grow ever healthier herbs, soils and sharing his knowledge with apprentices and in workshops.

Skills Desired: ● Farming experience required, at least 1 year ● Must have reliable car ● Roles and Responsibilities Include: ● Farm Field Work: Mulching, Weeding, Harvesting, Bed preparation, Irrigation ● Propagation: Seeding, Planting, Transplanting ● Wildcrafting ● General Farm Maintenance ● Herb Processing and Seed Cleaning ● Shipping Orders ● Plant Identification ● Flexibility: Plans change constantly with farming based on weather, opportunities, or mishaps, and you need to be able to roll with it. Prioritizing is difficult on the farm with endless variables involved, and you will often see the decision making process play out right in front of you. ● Prior farming experience, at least 1 year ● Full season commitment ● Ability to work outside in all weather conditions ● Physically fit ○ Expect heavy physical exertion and long days spent out in the field. ○ Ability to lift 50 lbs repeatedly. ○ Capable of enduring long days of bending, lifting, shoveling, pushing wheelbarrows, etc.

Meals: No but you will have access to any food grown on the farm. We like to share food/ snacks when working together.

Stipend: $14 per hour on payroll. With opportunity for pay increase throughout the season. ● There is an unpaid 1 hour lunch break each work day.

Housing: No

Preferred method of Contact: Email