details of "the plan"
the major part of my plan for the rest of the year is my internship/apprenticeship (i've been using the terms interchangably) with al and liz of indian line farm in egremont, ma. http://www.indianlinefarm.com/
i'll move in the weekend of 1 april (happy bday!) and start farming the following monday. stipend is $500/month, plus $100 food allowance, plus insurance, plus housing. i'll work for them until 15 november. when i got the phone call i was in the process of finding other farms to apply to, but this internship suits me because a) it's in the berkshires b) i'll learn SO MUCH about veggie production, which i don't know anything about as of now c) the internship basically covers one entire growing season. many other places don't start their interns until may or june, and the programs only continue through september or october. by working for a longer period of time i'll learn about field preparation and planting and not just harvesting and weeding. plus, i loved the interview i had with al and liz in december. liz told me that they loved my enthusiasm and the fact that i have some experience with farming (i know that it's dirty and hard work, for example) and that my references gave me really good recommendations. they spent a lot of time talking about how they farm and what they expect of themselves and their apprentices, which i really appreciate, and they also place emphasis on education. 5-6 times throughout the season we'll sit down to discuss topics of particular interest that might not be covered while working in the fields, and i'll also participate in a program called CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training). several area farms cooperate to provide monthly educational trips to each other's farms for their interns. this way i'll get to see how other farms operate and i'll be exposed to the production of things other than veggies (dairying and orchards, for example). and, back on indian line farm, i'll have a fellow apprentice... actually, i'm about to call al and liz to see if i can get in touch with this person before we *gulp* move in together and spend the summer in very close quarters.
i'll basically be on the farm all the time this summer, especially because i have no car. i get two personal days, a week off, and partial weekends (saturday mornings we go to the great barrington farmers' market). if i want to go anywhere i'll be riding my bike a lot. i'm going to be in such great shape this summer... and i'm so excited about working outside in the sun! i can have short-term visitors though, especially if you come prepared to get your hands (and feet and clothes and...) dirty.
the rest of the plan...
after my apprenticeship ends, i'll go with my family to arizona/the grand canyon for about two weeks. a few summers ago my family did a three-week road trip to various "out west" places, but they didn't go as far south as az. also, i didn't go with them because i had a job that i couldn't skip out of for three weeks. i'm probably going to gripe about being a tourist and i'm probably going to moan and groan about living with my siblings in a car for two weeks, but overall i think the experience will be a good one (we'll have tday with my great-uncle harold, for example) and it'll be a good transition for me after all that farming.
then, and this is where the plan starts to become tentative, i'll probably live with my family for december and part of january and i'm thinking about going back to school in january 07. right now i'm looking for schools with programs in sustainable agriculture, and another part of the plan is that i'll go college shopping with my mom over the next few months before my internship starts (because obviously i won't be able to go anywhere after that). also, i'll be at my parents' house the weekend before my internship starts for the annual Birthday Party (erica, grandpa, family friend zack, me, mom) and then my parents will come with me to gb and help me move from apartment to farm.
and all this got figured out within a matter of hours yesterday. whoo, so weird to go from nothing to having a plan so quickly! and i am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED!!!!!!!!
i'll move in the weekend of 1 april (happy bday!) and start farming the following monday. stipend is $500/month, plus $100 food allowance, plus insurance, plus housing. i'll work for them until 15 november. when i got the phone call i was in the process of finding other farms to apply to, but this internship suits me because a) it's in the berkshires b) i'll learn SO MUCH about veggie production, which i don't know anything about as of now c) the internship basically covers one entire growing season. many other places don't start their interns until may or june, and the programs only continue through september or october. by working for a longer period of time i'll learn about field preparation and planting and not just harvesting and weeding. plus, i loved the interview i had with al and liz in december. liz told me that they loved my enthusiasm and the fact that i have some experience with farming (i know that it's dirty and hard work, for example) and that my references gave me really good recommendations. they spent a lot of time talking about how they farm and what they expect of themselves and their apprentices, which i really appreciate, and they also place emphasis on education. 5-6 times throughout the season we'll sit down to discuss topics of particular interest that might not be covered while working in the fields, and i'll also participate in a program called CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training). several area farms cooperate to provide monthly educational trips to each other's farms for their interns. this way i'll get to see how other farms operate and i'll be exposed to the production of things other than veggies (dairying and orchards, for example). and, back on indian line farm, i'll have a fellow apprentice... actually, i'm about to call al and liz to see if i can get in touch with this person before we *gulp* move in together and spend the summer in very close quarters.
i'll basically be on the farm all the time this summer, especially because i have no car. i get two personal days, a week off, and partial weekends (saturday mornings we go to the great barrington farmers' market). if i want to go anywhere i'll be riding my bike a lot. i'm going to be in such great shape this summer... and i'm so excited about working outside in the sun! i can have short-term visitors though, especially if you come prepared to get your hands (and feet and clothes and...) dirty.
the rest of the plan...
after my apprenticeship ends, i'll go with my family to arizona/the grand canyon for about two weeks. a few summers ago my family did a three-week road trip to various "out west" places, but they didn't go as far south as az. also, i didn't go with them because i had a job that i couldn't skip out of for three weeks. i'm probably going to gripe about being a tourist and i'm probably going to moan and groan about living with my siblings in a car for two weeks, but overall i think the experience will be a good one (we'll have tday with my great-uncle harold, for example) and it'll be a good transition for me after all that farming.
then, and this is where the plan starts to become tentative, i'll probably live with my family for december and part of january and i'm thinking about going back to school in january 07. right now i'm looking for schools with programs in sustainable agriculture, and another part of the plan is that i'll go college shopping with my mom over the next few months before my internship starts (because obviously i won't be able to go anywhere after that). also, i'll be at my parents' house the weekend before my internship starts for the annual Birthday Party (erica, grandpa, family friend zack, me, mom) and then my parents will come with me to gb and help me move from apartment to farm.
and all this got figured out within a matter of hours yesterday. whoo, so weird to go from nothing to having a plan so quickly! and i am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED!!!!!!!!