2023
Youth Internship Program
The Youth Community Farming Internship employs local high school students in real paying summer/ seasonal jobs! Interns learn all aspects of organic farming, including planning, seeding, growing, tending, and harvesting. They also learn life skills on how to work with a team, accomplish goals, follow instructions, and follow through with assigned tasks.
Working with our farm-mentors, the Interns grow food for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, the Salads for Seniors program which makes fresh salads for the Meals on Wheels Program of the Ravalli County Council on Aging, community events and more.
Call for High School Students - This is Your Moment!
Cultivating Connections accepts applications for its Youth Farm Internship program starting the first of the year. This PAID internship will teach you to:
* Be a Change-Leader!
* Be part of a team focused on food, farming, and community resilience
* Learn how to grow organic vegetables
* Learn Community Building skills
* Make salads for senior citizens in our community
* Be a counselor/buddy for kids with special needs at Special Abilities Camp
* Design and plant a demonstration garden to highlight important aspects of organic gardening and farming such as companion planting, pollinator plants and beneficial insects, trap crops, and composting
* Learn about herbs, herbalism, and natural remedies
* Grow, harvest, and make weekly [CSA] boxes of produce for families in our community.
No previous job experience is necessary.
14-18 year-old students invited to apply.
Starts April 1-May 1 and ends September 1st
4-8 hours/week in spring and fall, 16-24 hours per week in summer.
$11/hour for new interns
$12/hour for returning interns
Volunteers
There are many opportunities for adults and youth to volunteer with Cultivating Connections programs, workdays, fundraisers, and events. Light to moderate farm work activities include seeding, weeding, planting, harvesting, and other various farm chores. Be sure to bring weather protection (rain gear, sun hat, long sleeves), long pants, close-toed shoes, a refillable water bottle, and work gloves.
VOLUNTEER YOUTH INTERN - No experience necessary. Must be 11-18 years of age. Bring home a free bag of veggies each week that you volunteer for at least one whole ‘shift’ with the Youth Farm Intern crew. Lunch and snacks provided.
ADULT OR PARENT-CHILD VOLUNTEER TEAMS - No experience necessary. Sign up to learn and work with our inspiring team. Eat lunch with us and receive a free bag of veggies each week that you volunteer for at least 3 hours.
KITCHEN VOLUNTEER- Previous cooking experience requested. Sign up to learn and teach kitchen and cooking skills to our team of youth. Eat lunch with us and receive a free bag of veggies each week that you volunteer for at least 3 hours
To sign up, fill out the application below or contact us for more information.
Job, housing, meal, and location descriptions
Dreaming about farming in Montana? Join Cultivating Connections Montana, a non-profit educational organization, for a season to remember. Expand your knowledge and skills in organic small-scale vegetable, seed, and poultry growing. Mentor Youth and others in the field and at the market. Spend time in the commercial kitchen cooking lunches or learning to make value-added, ready-to-eat salads and meals for sale and donation within the community. Collaborate on creating and hosting community and skill building workshops. Contribute to the weekly CSA newsletter and share the Cultivating Connections Montana story. Lead youth to give back on Fridays with rotating activities: visits to the community garden, field help for other small growers, and monthly ‘Special Abilities Camp’ for kids on the autism spectrum.
2023 Cultivating Connections Montana program schedule:
TBD
Eat Lunch together Monday-Friday. Bulk Montana grown grains and lentils, as well as farm produce available for dinners. Two shared dinners each week, prepared on a rotating schedule. Breakfast and weekends on your own.
Housing options and priority may vary by the position applied for and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Locations include a tipi, camper trailer, large canvas wall tent, or a shared bedroom in a communal house. In the communal house, there is a full kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and common room that are available to those living in all housing locations. In the main Farm House there is a commercial kitchen, a poultry processing room, attached greenhouse annex, the FarmStand, walk-in cooler, and additional hang-out space with internet connectivity.
Homestead Organics Farm is the farm-classroom and campus for the non-profit Cultivating Connections Montana. The Homestead Organics Farm campus is an established farm with 14 acres total, approximately 2 acres in active field vegetable production, an orchard, 4 large and 3 small hoop houses, tons of trees and little habitats, a herd of goats, lots of potbellied pigs, ducks, geese, turkeys, and a pond for boating or cold plunging. The Cultivating Connections Montana team manages, sells, or value-adds all vegetable and greenhouse crops on the farm.
With a set schedule you'll have lots of free time to enjoy the natural wonders in the area, including trailheads as close as a 10 minute drive away, the Bitterroot River that is a 10 minute walk away, amazing Lake Como only a 15 minute drive away, and a bike path connecting us to the lovely small town of Hamilton that is only 3 miles away.
Learn more, share what you already know, lead youth, cook, meet and impact the community, and make a real and lasting difference in the world! Join the Cultivating Connections Montana team for the 2023 season.