Manitoulin Permaculture is looking for 3 – 5 dedicated individuals who would like to invest their energy into 2012′s full growing season of hands-on living and learning permaculture. This co-learning adventure will run from roughly April until October.

Priorities for this season include:

WATER

• install a 1000′, solar pumped seasonal water line
• build irrigation systems for new and existing gardens
• greywater system for outdoor kitchen

FOOD

• deer fence in the production garden
• finish clearing land and establishing the production garden with the intention to eat as local and organic as possible
• design and plant the beginnings of a food forest
• preserving as much food as possible (canning, dehydrating, smoking)

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

• build outdoor kitchen – including cob oven & biochar stoves
• build compost toilets
• bonus: solar showers
• super bonus: intern pallet house(s)

EARTHWORKS – AKA: KUBOTA THERAPY

• continue fixing drainage
• continue building soil

SUSTAINABLE $$$

I’m interested in exploring ways to generate farm revenue to help fund some of the projects above as well as give all of us a chance to increase our skillfulness in preparing food to sell. Intentions are to directly support Paul & Heather’s Loonsong Farm which supplies us with biodynamic grains from just down the road. Some possibilities include:

• local, cob oven baked bread
• local, cob oven baked bran muffins & spelt cake
• local pizza take out
• expand our flock of laying hens up to the allowable max of 99 birds
• raise some chickens and turkeys for meat
• on site vermi-composting system
• mushroom cultivation
• aquaponics

Cost for participants is $400/month and includes: a seat in the season-long PDC (if enough paying participants register to make the course viable – approximately 12), food, shelter, Internet (somewhat limited), access to all amenities (canoe, bikes, limited car use). Indoor accommodation will be provided for the cooler months (April & October), with camping May through September.

Work expectations are approximately 30 hours per week. The work here is generally flexible and can often flow in and around other callings: hiking, biking, swimming, reading, downtime, etc. We won’t have a dedicated cook this year so we will all have to rotate through this responsibility as well as a few other chores (feeding chickens, collecting eggs, compost toilet maintenance, etc). This will allow all of us to stay nourished and generally keep life flowing well.

If the above sounds like something you would be interested in, please complete the Intern Application Form.