We invite you to come live and work at Emerald Earth during our upcoming 2012 work trade season. We are a rural intentional community focused on living sustainably on the land, through the use of consensus process, permaculture and natural building. Our work trade season runs from mid-April through September.

As work trade you will become a part of our community, involved in land based work, including gardening, livestock care, building, food processing, general maintenance, childcare, chores, and meal preparation and clean up. We are interested in folks who are able to be here most of the season, and we request a minimum of a two month commitment.

Wholesome, delicious, organic meals will be prepared at least twice a day and shared by the entire community. Accommodations will be tent camping, with a couple of trailers available for early arrivals.

We welcome a diverse group of people to live and work together in a mutually respectful and affirmative environment, using consensus process and open, direct communication.

There are several traits we look for in potential Work Traders. The nature of the work we do here requires participants be fully present and able to put this experience at the top of their priority list. Those who are often drawn away from the community by other commitments will not get as much out of this experience as those who are able to focus their energy here. A person's inconsistent presence also disrupts the community as a whole.

We also seek individuals who are prepared for the personal and physical challenges that will arise during such an intensive experience. If you do not feel physically, mentally and emotionally well, the reverberations will be felt throughout the community. The participants that tend to get the most out of this experience are those who have the energy to engage in all aspects of community life. We encourage a fun and easy going attitude and a love of physical endeavors.

If you join us for the Summer, you will share meals, work, and common spaces with the other Work Traders and our Resident community of 9 adults and 4 children. Although our Summer schedule is busy, there are many opportunities to share a walk, a game, or a talk with other Residents, especially around meal times and on days off work. Off-hours social events are not an organized part of the program; if you have high social needs, you will find them best met by being proactive. However, be forewarned that Resident members have many commitments both on and off-site, and tend to be less available for social interaction than some Work Traders might wish.

Emerald Earth also hosts a variety of events throughout the Summer, including weekend work parties and longer workshops. Work-traders will be requested to support the work parties and will be given the opportunity to participate in the work shops.

In addition, members of the community are excited to offer instruction on various skills as interest is shown. Instruction may include: local botany; permaculture design; natural building; general carpentry; native plant ID; sustainable timber harvesting; watershed restoration; oak woodland management; bread baking; ferments; massage; yoga; and meditation.

We understand that the rest of the world does not operate on our schedule and that other important responsibilities and emergencies come up now and then. We know that it may be necessary to miss scheduled work from time to time, however we ask that Work Traders make up this time during their scheduled time off.

Gardens
When working in the gardens you will spend a majority of your time participating in producing food on a small scale by working in our annual and perennial gardens and nursery, processing and preparing food that we have grown, gleaned or purchased.

Time in the garden will be spent preparing and amending garden beds, composting, weeding, installing watering systems, cover cropping, and planting. We have been cultivating raised beds and planting a permaculture garden for over eight years. Time in the nursery will be spent propagating annual and perennial vegetables, as well as other useful perennials (NFT's, insectiary species, bee forage, etc). Time in the kitchen will include various aspects of food processing including canning, pickling, drying, fermentation, making cheese and yogurt, baking bread, and nixtamalizing corn to make masa. We will also work to create a seasonal garden based menu for the community of15 to 25 people.

Livestock
When working with livestock, you will spend a majority of your time in the humane and healthy production of animal-based foods on a small scale. This will include care of our goats, chickens, pigs, barn and coop cleaning, milking, slaughtering, butchering, processing and preparing meat and milk.

During the dry season our goats are maintained outside on browse of fir, oak, and other wild species. To maintain them on adequate forage we will be rotating their electric fence enclosure every six to ten weeks. We also supplement the milkers with some hay and grain. In addition, we will be beginning a new cycle of laying chickens as well as raising at least one generation of meat birds.

Building
We have a number of small building projects across the land that we would like to see complete. We are taking a break from our new Common House project to work out the details of next steps and to focus on other areas of the community.

Ideally we are looking for people who have some previous experience either in conventional or natural building. But what we really need are individuals who are are open to learn, take instruction well, and have the patience to do the job right. It's not just about getting it done, it's also about getting it done well.

Kitchen
In the kitchen, you will spend a majority of your time participating in creating wholesome, delicious, organic, seasonal meals for the entire community of 15-20 people. You will also be creating menus for larger events such as workshops and work parties. You will work closely with the garden and livestock to utilize the bounty of this farm as well as many of the local farms around us. You will help to manage the flow of food through our pantries and cold storage, and help to organize the preserving of surplus through canning, drying, pickling, fermenting, making cheese and yogurt, baking bread and nixtamalizing corn to make masa.

Childcare
We currently have 4 Resident children at Emerald Earth, ranging in age from 2 to 6. They are smart, curious and creative kids. Spending time with them is a gift to them as well as to you. To allow the parents of these of these children to commit to the organization and instruction of the great team of people we are gathering for the season, we are looking for help with childcare.

We hope to share the responsibility and joys of childcare with as many members and Work Traders as are interested in building a relationship with these two kids. We are currently working out a structure, but it is likely to include shifts of 2-4 hours, available throughout the week.

Application Process
To apply, please email us and request an application form ... community@emeraldearth.org

Answer the questions in detail, including those not in your preferred focus area; we'd like to know a lot about you. We also strongly encourage a visit so that you can get to know the community.