Heartsong is a beautiful, 8 1/2-acre former retreat center nestled in a forest-ringed meadow just 20 miles northwest of Spokane, Washington. The owners are accepting applications for an apprenticeship position which will begin in April, 2017 and last through October, 2017. They seek a motivated, neophyte permaculturist willing to commit to 4 hours of work and study, five days per week. Room and board provided in exchange.
For more details and to fill out an application, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/heartsong-application
Plans for 2017: The apprentice will work and study under the guidance of Heartsong's caretaker who is a certified permaculture designer. The caretaker and apprentice will be tasked with implementing an ever-evolving work plan, including maintaining and expanding the bee-keeping operation, enhancing and maintaining the 8000 sq. ft. garden (including weekly harvests and distributions), designing and constructing rainwater catchment, building an outdoor oven, putting up raspberry trellises, establishing a blackberry patch on a folding trellis, maintaining a flock of laying hens, tending the goat herd, seed saving, food preserving, coming up with a pasture management plan and continuing with planting the food forest. In addition, other general site maintenance, upkeep and improvements will also be included in the work plan and determined from time to time.
Work/Study: The apprentice is expected to perform a minimum two hours of study per week which are included in the 20 hrs./wk. work requirement, following a lesson plan provided by the caretaker. The lesson plan will cover a broad range of topics related to permaculture with emphasis on subjects that apply to the work at hand. The apprentice will keep a journal and complete a written final project.
Who’s being sought/What’s being expected: The apprenticeship is designed to be a semi-immersion in living a lifestyle of a permaculture homesteader. Each day there is work. Some of the work is tedious and repetitive. Some of the work is physically taxing. Some of the work is a learning experience. Some of the work is fun. Some of the work is just work. At times, it feels as if there are too many tasks to accomplish, and there are. Since a person can only effectively do one task at a time, a skill to learn is how to choose the most appropriate task from all the options. Heartsong is looking for an apprentice who tends naturally to be busy and finds an outlet for creativity through work.
Life at Heartsong can seem isolated. Often it is only the Caretaker and the Apprentice on the property. The nearest town is 20 minutes away and the city of Spokane is about 40 minutes away. Some people yearn to get away from the rat race, thrive on nature and find enjoyment when there’s lots of physical space and fewer humans around. The Heartsong families are looking for a person who enjoys quiet and focus and is self-reliant in terms of putting time to its best use, on or off “the clock.”
Contact: Chrys Ostrander - PO Box 1255 Tumtum, WA 99034 Email: farmrchrys@gmail.com
