All farm personnel share in the day-to-day operation of the farm, which includes animal chores, planting, cultivating, weeding, harvesting, compost-building, participating in meetings, instructing visiting students in farm activities, and performing group cooking and cleaning duties. In addition, apprentices share responsibility for starting seedlings in the glasshouse, crop irrigation, animal care, harvesting of forage crops and grains, and orientation and training of farm stewards (short-term volunteer helpers) and visitors to the farm.
During the growing season, we work long hours, usually from dawn to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, and until lunch on Saturdays. Breakfast occurs after morning chores (for about an hour), and lunch is at 1:00 p.m. (also for about an hour), except during the heat of summer, when we usually take some additional time off after lunch. In addition, weekend animal and garden chores are shared on a rotational basis by all, the farm family and apprentices alike. Unexpected duties may occasionally arise at inopportune times, such as evening transplants on a very hot day. We hope to attract apprentices who have a strong sense of responsibility and a sincere willingness to explore fully all aspects of farming, and who understand that we are caretakers of the farm’s well-being and are responsible for feeding 160 families each week.
All apprentices and farm stewards are provided with room and board throughout their course of study and receive a small monthly stipend. Most apprentices describe life and work at Live Power Community
Farm as tremendously rewarding on many levels. The experience, however, is clearly not for everyone. The farm’s rural setting in Covelo in Round Valley (200 miles north of San Francisco) could be described as somewhat rustic and isolated. This, combined with the rigors of operating a diverse 4-acre vegetable garden, caring for many animals, and living communally, makes for a truly demanding experience, one which doesn’t allow much time to one’s self.
