WE'RE NOW SEEKING FUNDING
FOR 2009 SUSTAINABLE AND
ORGANIC GROWING INTERNSHIPS
Dear Reader:
For the coming 2009 growing season we again plan to offer a "food
growing service" offering produce shares to working families in central
Wisconsin in the area of Stevens Point, Wausau, Wisconsin Rapids, and
Marshfield. To be assured of being able to get an early start
on planting, and to have ample produce for all who sign up for these
shares, we rented an irrigated, 3-1/3 acre plot that has been
certified organic.
Working with that much ground and growing vegetables will require a
great deal more help than we had in 2008. At the same time,
we want our growing operation to be an important part of the local food
"movement" in the central Wisconsin area. Additionally, we
want to be part of mentoring and involving younger people in the larger
movement toward sustainable society.
If
you are interested in working as an intern this year, or in future
years, please write to us and describe your interest, to the address at
bottom.
We hope to provide some young
people with the tools to tackle the crucial problems they will inherit
from the present generations: the unsustainability of
agriculture as it's now practiced, the peak of global oil
production ("peak oil"), the climate change problem, and the economic
weakness that is now spreading throughout the global economy.
For all these reasons we will be offering at least one paid internship for the 2009
growing season and possibly beyond. It is important to us
that we be able to pay interns adequately, so we are beginning a
fundraising drive to fund a separate account set aside for an intern
program. At
the end of this short narrative are several ways you can contribute if
you find yourself agreeing with our paid internship plans.
(We've
realized quickly that to really do fund-raising, you must organize as a
recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This spring and
summer we'll be working on the formation of such an organization.
If you would like to be a founding board member of this
not-for-profit organization, please write us at the address below.)
To provide a valuable learning experience and an experience worth
adding to an intern's resume, we will be searching out the very best
curriculum materials, together with offering interns the opportunity to
spend time with other organic growers in the region--exchange students
with other farms who agree in advance to participate.
Our
larger goal is to create a collective/worker's cooperative for
producing and distributing food in this area. Hopefully people
involved as interns can progress to being organizing members of such a
collective or co-operative--in other words, to be owners of the co-op.
Interns in our program will have plenty of opportunity to participate
in off-farm activities that further the local foods and overall
sustainability movements in this region. This may include
regular meetings, special seminars, "Chautaquas" or task forces that
may be ongoing during the time of the internships. This will
provide a wider context for learning about local, organic growing, and
we hope may also lead interns to possible future employment or career
paths.
Core learning will involve:
* Growing organic vegetables, herbs, fruits and other foods for the
local market. Comparing many schools of thought and techniques. What
works? What doesn't seem to work?
* Learning about the organic certification process.
* Learning how to conduct Community-Supported Agriculture, getting the
product from garden to member households.
* Further aspects of marketing: farmers' markets, growing for
stores, special niche markets and other opportunities. Conducting basic market surveys.
* Processing and preserving food for year-round markets; advanced
marketing to various outlets; enlarging the "local food space." Interns
may participate in any learning opportunities available on this topic.
*
Working with local, state, and national government agencies and
representatives in areas of food safety, licensing, and other issues impacting local food.
* The local and global farm economy, local food economy. New ideas and
models for how to feed people and run an economy when cheap energy and cheap money are
gone.
If you think you might want to contribute funds (not tax-deductible) to help this project along, here are...
Two ways to contribute:
If you live in the central Wisconsin area, near one of the towns
mentioned above, you may contribute $375 toward these internships, and
in exchange receive a weekly package of produce for 12 weeks. This is
slightly more per-week than the regular CSA shares we'll be offering.
We want to put in place a solid base of funds to be assured
we'll be able to
pay interns throughout the whole season.
To donate to this fund, and receive in return a 12-weeks share of
weekly produce packages, click the button just below:
Or...
If you don't live in the area, or you just want to make a donation
without receiving produce packages, you may donate any amount.
In return we will recognize you on the website and in
literature as being a contributor, unless you prefer being anonymous.
Please note: because we are set up as a Limited Liability Corporation,
not a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, these donations are NOT tax
deductible.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, you may use US Mail to
517 Fieldcrest Ave.
Stevens Point, WI 54481
If you have questions about this program, please feel free to call us at
715-344-2939.
If you have questions that only email can answer, please email us
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