Work & live on a historic farm – St. Joseph Center

Last Updated On: January 19th, 2024 at 09:46AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
6800 Camp Robinson Road
North Little Rock, Arkansas, 72118

Primary Contact: Scott Shellabarger
Secondary Contact: Michelle Shellabarger

Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 5014821908
    Email: scott@stjosephcenter.org

Secondary Phone
    Type: -----
    Number: 5014821908
    Email: michelle@stjosephcenter.org

    Email: michelle@stjosephcenter.org

Website: https://www.stjosephcenter.org/

Internship information

General Farm Description: St. Joseph Center is an independent non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and restore this historic farm through sustainable farming and food production, programs that educate and promote agritourism, and support community outreach.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: open year round
Internship Ends: open year round
Number of Internship Available: 4-6
Application Deadline: open year round
Minimum Length of Stay: 4 weeks

Internship Details:

Site Description:

We are an Urban Farm and Farm Stand located on a historic 63 acre property. We are looking for people who want to learn about sustainable farming practices, healthy living, and give back to the community. You will be working on our Certified Naturally Grown farm where we produce various fruits, vegetables, and flowers for our Farm Stand. We farm about 3 acres of land here that includes 3 high tunnels, a Pick-Your-Own Blackberry Patch, a Teaching Garden, a Flower Garden, and a small area of perennial herb beds. We are a Certified Naturally Grown farm that only uses inputs that are OMRI listed or approved for use in organic farming.  We also have 20 head of cattle for beef production, chicken and ducks for egg production, and other animals.

• Right now we are gearing up for the Spring Season and need people interested in any/all of the following projects: (updated 1.18.24)
• Getting seeds started for the spring (we start all of seeds in our greenhouse)
• Cleaning up garden areas and laying down landscape fabric
• Installing drip tape and trellising for summer crops
• Harvesting winter crops out of our High Tunnel
• Sorting produce for food pantry donations through our Carrots for Community program
• Keeping our Vegetable Pack Room clean by regularly sweeping, mopping, and washing RPC’s
• Regular garden/farm tasks such as starting seeds, harvesting, prepping beds for planting, transplanting, weeding, pruning, cleaning harvest tools, trellising, mulching, etc.
• Feed/water the livestock.

Daily/Weekly tasks would include harvesting, weeding, pruning, trellising, mulching, planting, cleaning harvest tools, and helping with the above Current Projects. Plus any other farm/garden related tasks depending on the season.

Our organization is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit in the USA. Our mission is to preserve and restore this historic property though sustainable farming and food production, programs that educate, promote agritourism, and support community outreach. Today, through the efforts of devoted volunteers, we are a thriving, active place to learn, play, and grow! Potential guests must have their own car, unless they are already in the central Arkansas area. Or you can arrange to arrive by bus. Guests from outside the United States must already be in the United States before we can approve their requests. This is due to transportation and visa complications.

Accommodations:

Accommodations are “dormitory style.” You will have a private room with shared bathroom and kitchen on the 3rd floor of the historic orphanage. The bathroom has multiple toilets and a shower. The kitchen has a sink, microwave, coffee pot, toaster and instant pot available for use. You will have access to a full fridge right across the hall in the recreation room. There are shared laundry facilities on the first floor. We do not provide personal hygiene products or laundry detergent. In order to keep everyone safe that has access to the building, we require a criminal background check before staying onsite. We cannot accommodate any pets. Part of the experience of staying here will be to get a better connection and understanding of where your food comes from and how it is made. We prefer to provide the staple ingredients (sugar, flour, beans, cereal, rice, etc.), as well as produce grown on the farm, rather than highly processed packaged meals. Part of the educational experience will be learning how to eat with the seasons and from the raw ingredients that you helped to grow. Having some cooking skills is helpful (as all of your meals will be cooked on your own) but we can help teach basic skills if needed. Foods provided will primarily be vegetarian. Accommodation can be made for special dietary restrictions/allergies.

Due to the historic nature of the building it is not ADA compliant. Access to different floors require use of stairs. Internet access available

Educational Opportunities: Learn about high tunnel production and blackberry production

Skills Desired: Farm or cattle experience required

Meals: Yes

Stipend: No

Housing: Yes

Preferred method of Contact: email