We will be taking on an Intern at the TSP Homestead for both Permaculture and Business mentorship beginning on or about August 1st of 2013, the internship will be a 4-6 month commitment.  There has been a ton of interest in this position but I do want to be sure we set reasonable expectations for our intern.  Our hope is to provide an incredible growth experience, lots of project based learning and empower individuals to run their own businesses if they so desire, when they feel the time is right for that.

Starting out, the agricultural/permaculture aspects will be a large part of what you are doing but it is important to understand this site is in establishment phase.  Some of the larger areas are not going to be put into much management until the Geoff Lawton workshop.  That workshop now appears to be one long one in the spring vs. a fall and spring two event program.  This is due to Geoff’s schedule limits, not our unwillingness to do two events.

Given this internship will run either from August 1st – December 1st or August 1st to Feb 1st (depending on the interns goals) likely Geoff will not be here during that rotation.  That said the selected intern will be granted a free seat at the workshop as partial compensation for the internship.

My real point here is if you want something akin to a “working operational farm”, we can’t offer that and you are better off WWOOFING.  There will be a LOT of exciting stuff to do though, have a look at the project list for more on that.  And while the position begins in the dog days of summer it goes though the fall and that is some of our best growing season in Texas.

Next up on the business side of things.  Based on the interns desires there will be opportunity to assist with the production and promotion of TSP .  The level of involvement will be dependent on the desires and goals of the intern.

The intern will be expected to maintain a blog with daily entries, which we will fund hosting for 2 years.  The intern will own the hosting account we will just pay for it and the domain for 24 months in advance.  This will insure you retain the site for life.  Additionally the intern will get several hours a week of Jack’s tine to discuss business ideas and goals.

Here is a list of some of the projects we have planned for the time frame in question….

• Run a group of about 2 dozen meat birds though to harvest with a tractor or paddock system
• Building a rain catchment system (multiple)
• Building an all grain brewing system
• Building and designing an aquaponics system
• Maintain gardens
• Provide daily care of 16 chickens and 8 geese
• Manage entire homestead during owner’s vacations
• Assist in planning events
• Assist with the design of and initial implementation of an urban forest garden showcase
• Build and install multiple in ground worm composting bins
• Convert a deep freezer into a multi keg micro-brew distribution system
• Develop and maintain a blog chronicling daily intern experiences
• Screen calls for the Friday episode of The Survival Podcast
• Provide research assistance for The Survival Podcast
• Assist with social media promotion of TSP, 13skills.com and WalkingToFreedom.com
• Build back up power and solar systems
• Build a moveable green house and a moveable screen house
• Develop your own projects for our  homestead and present them for approval

Here is a list of the provisions provided as compensation to the intern…

• Queen size bed
• Private bathroom
• Separate air conditioner (keep your room the temp you want)
• Dinner provided daily
• Lunch available (make your own)
• Breakfast available (if you want more then coffee make your own most days)
• Flexible work schedule
• 2-4 hours of consulting weekly with Jack (minimum)
• $100 a week stipend (cash or silver or 50-50)
• Paid hosting and domains fees for 24 months
• Free seat at the Geoff Lawton earthworks workshop, will be after your internship is over
• Possible teaching opportunities in the future

We do want to point out a few more things.  If some time off is needed we expect that and have no issues with it but the entire point here is a hands on live in internship.  Frankly if there is a family emergency we would make you go see to it but we want you on site most days.

Thanksgiving and Christmas occur during this time, we DO NOT expect you to stay on site unless you choose to during those and we WILL PAY your stiffen in full during that time off.

Given Thanksgiving is Nov. 28th if you do 4 months it will represent the end of your internship.  But for those that would like to do say 5 months and end at new years, that is an option too, just note in on your form.  The key with all this is simply that we want you here long enough to learn a lot but want to make it open to others at some point.

We also expect that this intern will take part in training the next intern so we need to have the rotations planned with a week or so of overlap.  We actually plan to offer 3 month options in the future but with our travel planned this fall we want a person up and running and in place for it, hence a 4 month minimum.

My greatest concern here is for the well being of the intern and his/her family.  I am going to want to know how the economics effect you and if you have children how they will be supported during your time here.   I will consider taking on a couple, but one will be “the intern” and the other will not be paid.  The non paid partner would be welcome to pitch in as they see fit and would be provided with meals.

If you have questions ask in the comments so I can answer them once, if you have a question read the comments before asking to see if it was already answered.

Deadline for submission is July 5th and the intern will be selected no later then July 15th, we will try to do so earlier if we can to allow for proper time for prep on the interns side of things.

We will interview finalists by phone, if you are not selected this time you will have a leg up on the next rotation.   It says so many times in the application but please be 100% honest with your responses, DO NOT tell us what you think we want to hear, if this isn’t right for you it is best that you yourself discover that and wait for another opportunity.  Again our first concern is the happiness, well being and goal achievement of the selected intern.

To apply download this form by right clicking and selecting save as, email it once completed to both Dorothy and I, full instructions are in the application.  You will need MS Word for editing this document.