I think SOIL's greatest virtue is the flexibility it offers applicants in creating an apprenticeship that's right for them. However, the program's lack of structure can leave the first-time applicant a little clueless about what to expect. Below is the exact arrangement Vaness and I had with our hosts/teachers, to give applicants one example of how an apprenticeship might be structured:
Type of Farm: Family farm; produced organic beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, field crops, berries
Apprenticeship Duration: I arrived April 2, but Vaness couldn't make it until June 15. We left together on October 24.
Hours/week: On a typical weekday we worked from 7:00 am until 6 or 7 pm, with at least 2, and often 3 to 4 hours worth of breaks during the day. On Saturdays we were up at 6 am and helped run a market booth, which ended at 1 pm. Generally we took it easy after that. Sundays were usually days off.
Accommodations: lived in house with family of four. Shared all meals. See blog entry on accommodations.
Stipend: $25/week each, plus a $250 bonus (each) at year's end (plus room and generous board).
Other benefits: we were given 3/4 acre of land on which to grow our own food. We were free to sell this food at our own booth at the local market. We were also allowed to borrow a vehicle most times we needed it, including for the odd weekend trip out of town.
Typical Day: There was no typical day, but our farm had lots of animals, thus every day began and ended with chores--feeding and cleaning up after animals.
Type of learning: hands-on/informal. We had no classroom time, did no projects, experiments, or reports, and mainly used informal conversation to answer our many questions.
That about sums up the conditions of our apprenticeship. Remember, apprenticeships vary drastically!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sleeping and Living arrangements on the farm
On the farm we chose, Vaness and I lived in a bedroom in the house of the family hosting us, a family of four including two young children. This was okay for the majority of our time on the farm, but by the sixth month I think the family was ready to have their privacy again, and so were we. We also had the occasional conflict over kitchen use. Thus, I have concluded that the ideal situation is for an apprentice or apprentices to sleep in a separate residence, if not cook and live there; after working with your hosts all day, it's nice to have complete privacy in the evening. This isn't always possible, however, so here are a few questions to keep in mind when you're faced with the possibility of sharing your accomodations with your host family.
Where is your bedroom located in relation to other rooms in the house?
Our bedroom was on the same floor as the others, and right next to one of the kids. Thus we rarely felt comfortable having private conversations in our bedroom, or on the phone--inevitably an apprentice will have calls from friends who will ask them about their experience. Being candid can be difficult when you're worried about who else is listening.
How often is the house empty?
If you can expect occasional opportunities to have the house to yourself, than can go a long way to meeting your need for your own space. In seven months Vaness and I had the house to ourselves no more than a few times, each time never more than a few hours.
How big is the kitchen, how much is it used, and how warm are they to the idea of other people using it regularly?
The kitchen on our farm was the source of the most conflicts for us, even though we ate all of our meals with the family. The problem was that the kitchen was small, and used a lot. Vaness and I both like to cook, bake, and preserve, and so did the family. Plus, the family's main kitchen user had a hard time dealing with strangers in the kitchen who used the equipment differently and put things away in the wrong place. If you expect full access to the kitchen for your apprenticeship, talk out the details with the family ahead of time.
Are you being realistic about your ability to tolerate certain conditions of the house?
Our family was very clear with us that they kept a very messy house. We told them, and ourselves, that that was okay with us, that we could tolerate it. In the end it bothered us a bit--a period of months can be a long time to tolerate something you find difficult. Thus I suggest would-be apprentices be very honest with themselves about their expectations and needs. Don't commit yourself to living conditions you're not completely sure you can handle.
Where is your bedroom located in relation to other rooms in the house?
Our bedroom was on the same floor as the others, and right next to one of the kids. Thus we rarely felt comfortable having private conversations in our bedroom, or on the phone--inevitably an apprentice will have calls from friends who will ask them about their experience. Being candid can be difficult when you're worried about who else is listening.
How often is the house empty?
If you can expect occasional opportunities to have the house to yourself, than can go a long way to meeting your need for your own space. In seven months Vaness and I had the house to ourselves no more than a few times, each time never more than a few hours.
How big is the kitchen, how much is it used, and how warm are they to the idea of other people using it regularly?
The kitchen on our farm was the source of the most conflicts for us, even though we ate all of our meals with the family. The problem was that the kitchen was small, and used a lot. Vaness and I both like to cook, bake, and preserve, and so did the family. Plus, the family's main kitchen user had a hard time dealing with strangers in the kitchen who used the equipment differently and put things away in the wrong place. If you expect full access to the kitchen for your apprenticeship, talk out the details with the family ahead of time.
Are you being realistic about your ability to tolerate certain conditions of the house?
Our family was very clear with us that they kept a very messy house. We told them, and ourselves, that that was okay with us, that we could tolerate it. In the end it bothered us a bit--a period of months can be a long time to tolerate something you find difficult. Thus I suggest would-be apprentices be very honest with themselves about their expectations and needs. Don't commit yourself to living conditions you're not completely sure you can handle.
How, and why, the SOIL program works
On SOIL's website, anyone can view brief descriptions of participating farms from around Canada by clicking on the region of Canada they are interested in. Once you have paid your $30 administration fee, SOIL then sends you detailed profiles of your top five choices, plus some advice on what to look for in an apprenticeship, questions to ask during the interview, how to arrange the "contract," etc. From there, applicants are left to contact their top choices for interviews. Should none of your top five choices result in an apprenticeship, SOIL will send you the profiles of your next five choices, and so on until you have secured an apprenticeship.
SOIL worked well for my girlfriend and me because of its simplicity, and its flexibility in letting us determine the structure of the apprenticeship. Our requirements, like most people's, were quite unique: we wanted to be on a mixed-operation family farm, preferably on a large acreage; didn't want to engage in a research project or write reports, wanted more emphasis on hands-on rather than classroom instruction, didn't want or need educational credit, and wanted to be on a farm in the maritimes. SOIL has many participating farms, so it wasn't hard to find farms that met our needs. Of our top five choices, four gave us interviews, and three of those offered us an apprenticeship.
I have since visited a number of other SOIL-linked farms, and am convinced that there is a farm listed for every type of apprenticeship.
SOIL worked well for my girlfriend and me because of its simplicity, and its flexibility in letting us determine the structure of the apprenticeship. Our requirements, like most people's, were quite unique: we wanted to be on a mixed-operation family farm, preferably on a large acreage; didn't want to engage in a research project or write reports, wanted more emphasis on hands-on rather than classroom instruction, didn't want or need educational credit, and wanted to be on a farm in the maritimes. SOIL has many participating farms, so it wasn't hard to find farms that met our needs. Of our top five choices, four gave us interviews, and three of those offered us an apprenticeship.
I have since visited a number of other SOIL-linked farms, and am convinced that there is a farm listed for every type of apprenticeship.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
