Permaculture Program

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Recruiting Organization: Unadilla Community Farm

Applications are now open and will be accepted on a rolling basis. The 2022 season will run from May 1-October 2, 2022, with a 1-month minimum stay (flexible start & end dates throughout the season).

2022 will be our 9th season welcoming participants at Unadilla Community Farm for our permaculture program. We host people with all levels of experience, with a commitment to sustainability and a desire to learn together how we can forge a new life independent of mainstream consumer culture. We host a cohort of 30-40 participants each season from May to early October. The program consists of 24 hands-on hours/week plus 10-12 classroom hours/week, with a 1 month minimum stay. As a 501(c)3 non-profit education center, we rely on the generous support of individual donors, foundations, and grants to cover all expenses including room & board, trainings, classes, and certifications, ensuring that the program is available at no cost to participants.

Our permaculture program is more than just a beginning farmer training program. It is an immersion into a rural, off-grid sustainable way of life. Participants gain hands-on experience in no-till organic farming, regenerative agroforestry, permaculture design, natural building, foraging, plant-based cooking, food preservation, and more. Participants assist in all aspects of the farm’s free and sliding-scale veggie box program to address food insecurity in Central New York State. Through classes with staff and guest instructors, participants learn concepts such as: food safety, crop rotation, farm planning, food forest design, herbalism, native plants, fundraising, and more. NEW in 2022: We are partnering with the National Young Farmers Coalition Food Safety Fellows to offer FSMA certification, a federally-recognized food safety training that is required by law for many farms, to equip participants with the skills they need to manage a farm or start up their own.

Beyond providing hands-on training in sustainable farming and natural building to prepare participants for careers in food and farming or self-sufficient homesteading, our program is also an opportunity to learn and improve upon skills such as communal living, communication, time management, organization, leadership, and teamwork. NEW in 2022: We are partnering with trainer Miles Sherts to offer conscious communication classes as part of our program. Conscious communication focuses on listening without judgement, voicing strong feelings without blame or attack, establishing healthy boundaries that enable mutual respect, and caring for yourself while also caring for others. These critical communication skills can be applied to any type of workplace or community living, helping participants thrive in whatever path they choose.

Our permaculture program is about divesting from mainstream consumer culture, and learning to support ourselves by growing our own produce, utilizing natural building methods to construct our infrastructure, making our own household products like soap and lotion, reviving traditional agricultural and lifestyle practices, and living in community. We equip participants with the skills to become more sustainable and self-sufficient and replicate permaculture models in their communities.

Our accredited permaculture program has attracted students from North & South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and New Zealand. College and university students in both the U.S. & abroad have earned course credits for our program. Ask your advisor if you are eligible to earn credit too!

COVID Update: We were able to safely carry out our program for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, hosting 60 people throughout the pandemic, by implementing a COVID safety plan. Participants are required to quarantine for 14 days, OR quarantine for 10 days prior to arrival + show proof of a negative COVID test after day 7. This quarantine is essential because, once on-site, we all live as a "family unit" or "pod" and no masking/social distancing is required (vs. the new CDC 5-day quarantine, which requires 5 days of masking afterwards. Masking/social distancing on-site during the program is not feasible due to our close living quarters).

Stipend ProvidedFalse

Training Provided

Housing Available

Language/Cultral Support AvailableFalse

Wheelchair AccessibleFalse

Fee RequiredFalse

Fee Amount: None

This opportunity is recurring