Thomas and Ali plant garlic in the garden
UPDATE (2/21/11): We have fulfilled our work exchange needs for the 2011 season. Thanks to all applicants!
The Wabi-sabi sub-community (Ziggy, April, Thomas, and Ali) at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is seeking individuals to help with expanding and maintaining our organic gardens, increasing our local food production, and building our cooperative kitchen for the summer of 2011. Read ahead to learn more!
Organic Gardening and Food Production Work Exchange Opportunity for 2011
Our 2010 garlic haul
Are you interested in growing organic food?
Do you have organic gardening, livestock, or food preservation experience?
Would you like to experience community life in an off-the-grid, sustainable ecovillage?
If you answer yes to these questions, then you should be interested in this work exchange opportunity.
Wabi-sabi wants to host motivated work exchangers during April to October 2011 to help with expanding our organic gardens, maintaining a new food forest, raising chickens, and helping with our food preservation efforts.
To apply or for more information, please contact Ziggy (evacindustry @ gmail dot com)!
Gardening Internship Details:
The Wabi-sabi sub-community maintains several cooperative gardens, and plans to expand our efforts in
April displays some homemade bread
2011 with the addition of more land. Individuals will have the opportunity to build new garden beds,
maintain current gardens, and enjoy cooking and preserving (canning, dehydrating, fermenting) homegrown produce. In addition, individuals will help maintain a newly established food forest, raise chickens, and practice organic beekeeping. Above all, you’ll be able to enjoy eating fresh homegrown produce throughout the summer and fall!
We are seeking individuals with gardening experience.
The ideal candidate would have previous gardening and food preservation experience, a love for homegrown foods and cooking with whole foods. Ultimately, we are seeking an individual excited and enthusiastic about growing delicious organic food!
Work exchangers will also have the opportunity to work on Wabi-sabi’s other projects, such as beekeeping, making cheese and butter, and building our new cooperative kitchen.
Your Living Situation At Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage:
Other than gaining valuable gardening experience, you will have the opportunity to experience community life here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.
Ziggy rolls out pizza dough
You’ll be able to live closely with four Dancing Rabbit members as a temporary part of the Wabi-sabi sub-community, a group of friends that value simple rustic living, cooperation, communication, and living the good life. Wabi-sabi has a shared outdoor kitchen, and we use wood heat and solar ovens exclusively for cooking meals. Our sub-community is also building a new cooperative kitchen from the ground up.
You’ll be able to partake in wider community events and activities (potlucks, ultimate Frisbee games, dance parties, swimming in the pond, and celebrations), eat seasonal and organic meals (mostly simple vegetarian meals) in the Wabi-sabi food co-op, and enjoy a summer in rural Missouri.
As a temporary resident of the community, you will also be expected to partake in community responsibilities, such as weekly cook shifts and cleaning. There may also be some opportunity to help with building projects and other tasks.
Your Qualifications and Experience:
Prospective work exchangers should have previous experience in some of the following areas:
Some of our homemade tomato sauce
- Organic gardening
- Food preservation
- Whole foods cooking
- Livestock.
If you are responsible, proactive, and have a strong work ethic, you will be fit for this role. As a work exchanger, your cost of living here at Dancing Rabbit will be covered in exchange for approximately 4-5 days of labor per week. Non-gardening labor responsibilities will include cook shifts as part of a food co-op, and occasional cleaning shifts.
Summary of What You’ll Get From Your Work Exchange:
April working with the bees
- Food: All meals provided. You will be part of a largely vegetarian food co-op during your stay.
- Accommodations: Tenting platform space provided and shared facilities available for use (Common House, outdoor kitchen, showers, composting toilets)
- Fees: Payment of all residency fees
- Transportation: No coverage provided
- Education and skills: Hands-on experience growing organic food, maintaining a food forest, raising chickens, beekeeping, food preservation, and more!
Summary of Your Building Responsibilities and Qualifications:
- Your work load: 4-5 days of labor per week
- Other: the ideal applicant will have experience with organic gardening and food preservation, a strong work ethic, a proactive personality, responsibility, attention to detail, desire to learn, enthusiasm, good sense of humor, and a good spirit. As a temporary resident of the community, you will also partake in community responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning and other chores.
To apply or for more information, please contact Ziggy (evacindustry @ gmail dot com)!
Garlic beds in front of our outdoor kitchen
About Wabi-sabi
Ziggy Liloia says: Way back when I lived in New Jersey and graduated from The College of New Jersey, I set out to realize my dream job: to be retired. I’ve been working hard on just that here at Dancing Rabbit. The question of, “So, what do you do?” comes up pretty frequently and I’m left at a loss trying to come up with a way of saying, “Um, I just live.” I keep plenty busy building with cob, keeping bees, churning butter, making candles, writing, and making cheese to put on pizza…which is maybe one of the things I’m most passionate about in life; good homemade food.
April Morales says: Once, when asked what I wanted to do with my life I answered, “I want to live in a hut and shit in a hole.” I’ve certainly realized that dream, although you might be surprised how much other stuff I’ve done as well since I tend to be kind of quiet. These days my time is occupied with teaching art for Dancing Rabbit’s Education Co-op, sewing, keeping bees, making candles, managing a lot of Wabi-sabi’s food processing, gardening, running, and counting my gray hairs (I have exactly 12). Can you tell I like intricate and tedious tasks? I do.
Thomas Kortkamp says: I’m a Wookie, devotee of the plant kingdom and a hand-woodworking aficionado. I’ve been rooting around at Dancing Rabbit for about 8 years and pleased to be digging in with the fine company of Wabi-sabi. For 2011, I’m most excited about diversifying the plantings in the Other Shore Food Forest, getting to work on the cantilevered balcony of the Wabi-sabi kitchen, and doing little dances for the Pumpkin Truck (a.k.a. Ali).
Ali Brown says: I’m a native Carolinian who finally gave in to the irresistible rolling hills of northeast Missouri two years ago, after residing at Twin Oaks Community in VA and teaching preschool in West Philly. My activities of choice include growing vegetables, making music, and having adventures with the neighborhood kids.
Oooo, now I do have a bit of experience in this one. Not much gardening, but as the innkeeper at the ETC on The Farm this last summer I dipped my toes into food preservation, did a ton o’ vegetarian cooking, and even a bit of chicken care. If my schedule and finances allow, I may just throw my hat in for a stint.