Farmers in residence and sanctuary stewards sought at Starseed

We are seeking resident farmers and sanctuary stewards - a couple would be ideal - for the 2018 growing season: April 2018-October 2018. If at the end of the season, it has been a good fit, we hope you will consider becoming long-term community members and social enterprise partners.

For more information about Starseed, please visit www.starseedsanctuary.org
If interested, please send cover letter and resume to: starseedsanctuary@gmail.com
Details bellow:

We are seeking community members and social enterprise partners who would like to live in intentional community at Starseed and share the work of the holistic retreat center and interfaith healing sanctuary.

Starseed is an earth-based spiritual healing sanctuary and holistic retreat center where people have been coming for 30 years to deepen in personal and planetary transformation. Its co-founder, Satyena Ananda having served for 31 years is looking for partners to continue the mission for the next 30 years, offering programs and caring for the 150 acres, numerous buildings, resident community, and people who come to visit.

Growing food has always been a part of the Starseed experience, co-creating this nourishment with the land so that healthy food can be medicine. We are looking for farmers in residence to run the organic vegetable gardens this season. In the month of July, Starseed will be hosting a Restorative Culture gathering. There will be a group of 12-15 people at Starseed for the entire month, with up to 30 more people coming for shorter periods of time during the month and we would like for as much food as possible to be grown right here on the land. We are hoping this year’s resident farmers will help with not only growing food for the gathering but also be a central part of the program.

We are also looking for sanctuary stewards to help with groundskeeping, cleaning and cooking.

Resident farmer responsibilities:
- Ideally arrive in March to help with starting seeds inside, rebuilding hoop house, planting low tunnels and making biochar.
- April and May: prepare and plant existing vegetable garden beds, consider expanding cultivation beyond existing garden beds, permaculture techniques are encouraged
- June, July, August, and September: manage rotational plantings, weed and harvest
- October: harvest and put the gardens to sleep for the winter
- Throughout the season - manage WOOFers and other volunteers, care for perennial fruit trees and berry bushes, and ideally care for resident beehives

Sanctuary steward responsibilities:
- mowing, flower gardening and other groundskeeping
- light building maintenance
- cleaning and preparing buildings for retreat guests
- preparing food for community meals
- assisting with programs and hosting retreat guests

A note about intentional community:
Starseed is a developing intentional community. As an interfaith, earth-based healing sanctuary, numerous spiritual paths are embraced with the commonality of honoring life. People on an active spiritual path are welcomed to this community. Optional morning spiritual practices are co-created to start the day.
Another essential part of the Starseed community is being on a path of personal transformation and supporting other community members on their respective paths and together co-creating planetary transformation.

A note about the July Restorative Culture Gathering:
The July 2018 Restorative Culture gathering at Starseed will be an intimate and intensive community gathering within which to imagine, cultivate, and practice restorative and regenerative culture. This month-long gathering will provide a model of an adaptive and collaborative space of learning, sharing, growth, and transformation. During our time together we will draw inspiration and practices from the Work That Reconnects, anti-racist and decolonization work, ancestral healing practices, deep ecology, prefigurative politics, contemplative practices, from nature and other personal and group practices intended to build resilience, inspire harmonious relationship with land and community, and move toward Collective Liberation.

Compensation/exchange:
An off-grid cabin is offered as private living quarters with access to a shared kitchen and bathroom in the main retreat house as well as a stipend of $75-$200 per week based on skills, experience, and number of hours worked (this position could work for someone who has a minimal number (less than 10 hours per week) of paid outside work).