Goal: 10 years from now, someone will write a book on the top 25
sustainable small farms in the US – I want to be listed in that book by creating a silviopastoral farm mixing pigs, poultry, and ruminants (goats->sheep-> cows as pasture allows) with a wide spaced polycultural nut and fruit orchard. Last year I completed a
PDC course with Mark Shepherd and 6 months ago, my family (wife, son age 5 and daughter age 3) purchased 20 steep south facing acres in Los Gatos, CA (San Francisco Bay Area just outside San Jose, CA). Since then we have been slowing reclaiming the
land. We currently have 4 goats to 2 pigs, 35 young hens, and 2 Perone style bee hives. The pigs and goats (and soon
chickens) are rotated bi-weekly using portable electric fencing and housing. We recently made some hugelbeds on contour and began planting fruit and nut
trees. These are all experiments and we still have a lot to learn, but I have learned one thing – building this dream will be a LOT of work. Both my wife and I work full time in “cube farms” down in silicon valley, limiting what I can do to a few chores in the morning and evening and whatever I can get done on the weekends. I am a bit impatient and I want to get this land producing so I am looking for some help.
About You:
I’m not looking for an intern, per se, more a farm manager or business partner – ideally with a lot of
experience, practical skills, and self-motivation. I have the land, some money to invest in capital equipment, but I don’t have the time needed to make it happen on the scale or speed I want. I want to help you create a paying job, while I get my land converted into a
permaculture paradise. Getting some good quality help would be key. Can I find someone interested in raising pork, goat
milk, pastured eggs, and/or broilers to
sell the nearby “well to do” market while improving the land at the same time?
Useful skills include (but not required):
- Experience with Animals - Goat milking
-
Food Preservation – Canning, salting, dehydrating
- Handy around the farm
- Manual labor
- Operate machinery –
golf cart, chain saw
- Set up electric fencing
- Good w\
local markets – talk to chefs, etc
-
Gardening
-
Aquaculture
There is a second opportunity here for a part-time Nanny as well. We are looking for someone who can watch our kids after school. This would be a straight $/hr position.
I think this would be a great opportunity for a couple (young or old), but there are a lot of other ways we could make this work.
Please send me a purple moose message to discuss further. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Patrick
