Snakeroot Organic Farm

Apprentice Information Form

Lois Labbe & Tom Roberts, 3645 Snakeroot Road, Pittsfield ME 04967, ph. (207) 487-5056
tom@snakeroot.net · lois@snakeroot.net · http://www.snakeroot.net/farm

[Jump to Application form] · Download this form as a PDF file.

INTRODUCTION

We'd like to know a little about the folks who are applying to work at our farm for the coming season. Please feel free to add more if you think we missed asking any relevent questions.

We would like our interns to be real apprentices in the old time sense of the word, where the apprentice learns to do what we are doing from top to bottom. We are primarily interested in hosting people who have a genuine interest in adopting farming or market gardening in their lives. We are not particularly interested in just a warm body to do work. Our wish is to gain fulfillment ourselves through offering an in depth experience to people who are looking to continue on in agriculture as their life's work. We have no livestock.

You can find alot more about us by looking at our web site at www.snakeroot.net/farm. It is fairly extensive, and includes pictures of us, of the farm, and some of our farmers' markets, a farm journal, yearly work schedules, as well as literature we produce for educating the public at the markets. A copy of this application appears there, too.

We are looking for people who ideally are willing to start early in the season and stay late in the season (April thru November), but we realize that in most cases this is a dream, so we are flexible on starting and ending dates. For folks looking to stay for more than one year, see our Farmer's Retirement Plan.

Work at the farm consists of greenhouse work (starting seedlings, trellising, watering), field work (planting, transplanting, weeding, hoeing, watering, harvesting), attending farmers' markets, and generally helping out around the place. A more complete description of what we do during the year can be found at Our Work Schedule. One of the projects currently underway is the building of a three-season apprentice cabin about 1000 feet in the woods behind our house; apprentices would be expected to participate in its contruction. We accept couples, however defined.

APPRENTICE APPLICATION

You can either print this out, or hit reply and fill in the blanks.

Name:__________________________________________ Age_____ M/F________

Address:_______________________________ Phone:(____)________________

___________________________________ E-Mail:________________________

Best time to be reached:_________________________________________

How did you hear about our farm?___________________________________

Permanent Address:___________________ Permanent Phone:(___)________________

What is the time period during which you will be available to apprentice?

__________________________________________________________

Are you seeking in-depth organic agriculture training, or are you looking for an interesting summer job?

___________________________________________________________________

Describe the type of farm experience and skills in which you are most interested. Please mention at least three specific areas of interest.

___________________________________________________________________

What are your goals in becoming a farm apprentice? Afterwards?

___________________________________________________________________

What do you perceive will be your reaction to living and learning with new and unknown people in a rural area.

____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Please list any schools you have attended, degrees and/or major areas of study or training.

___________________________________________________________________

Provide a list of your work experience, both paid and volunteer.

___________________________________________________________________

Is the receipt of a modest stipend crucial to your ability to become an apprentice? Explain:

____________________________________________________________________

Will you be able to make a visit to our farm? If so, when?

___________________________________________________________________

Please comment on the following and add any other considerations that are important to you:

Smoker Non-Smoker

Diet (vegetarian? other?)___________________________________________

Will you eat meat raised locally? Yes No

Transportation?_______________________ Drive Stick Shift?___________ Tractor?__________

Medical:

Are you taking any medications? Yes No If yes, what?____________

Any physical limitations? Yes No If yes, what?__________________

Allergies? Yes No If yes, what?_____________________________________

Emotional/psychological problems? Yes No If yes, what?______________

Other considerations:_______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Special Interests:__________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Strong ideological views (political, religious, feminist, etc.):

____________________________________________________________________

Please list three interesting things about yourself:

____________________________________________________________________

Please list three things you want people to know about living with you:

____________________________________________________________________

Please return this application to us as soon as posible so we can make an appropriately early decison.

Lois Labbe & Tom Roberts, 3645 Snakeroot Road, Pittsfield ME 04967, ph. (207) 487-5056

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