Corrina Cohen

FruitwoodNursery/Rolling River Farm:  We are looking for 1-2 dynamic, diligent and hard working people to come live and work with us at our robust homestead and thriving family-run online nursery business, Fruitwood Nursery. As a member of a small team, this position is multi-faceted. You would be integral to the stewardship of our exceptionally diverse collection of fruiting trees, bushes, vines and native plants, our large subsistence gardens, as well as to the operation of our online nursery business. The nature of this work is seasonal and flexible, and the workload and responsibilities reflect that seasonality. Full time work is available November- June and more part time (25-30 hours per week) July-October.  Position starts in Sept./October and must be willing to make at least a year commitment.

Roles & Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Field Work - March-Sept:
Cultivating with heavy hoe, fertilizing and harvesting 3 acres of perennial fruit trees, bushes and vines.
Planting, cultivating and harvesting large subsistence annual vegetable gardens
Pruning - Nov-Jan:
Dormant season pruning of all deciduous perennial plants in a 3 acre mixed orchard
This includes over several hundred  fruit trees ranging from full size to more intensively planted compact trees. Requiring working on 8-10 ft. orchard ladders in cool-cold weather.
Nursery Work - Jan-April:
Collecting scions and rooted plugs for customer orders.
Packing customer orders to prepare for shipment.
Propagating plants for nursery via cuttings and seed
Cutting prunings to size for sale as scion wood
*All nursery work done outside and in open-air sheds, often in cold and wet weather conditions*
Homestead work - seasonal and ongoing as needed
Brush piling, chipping, fencing, irrigation and general maintenance
Mucking animal pens
Mowing and vegetation management
Care for large subsistence annual gardens

Housing Rent exchange and Caretaking
In exchange for 8 hours of work per person per week, we offer a 12X18  naturally built two story, two bedroom home with 2 covered porches, propane stove, wood heated outdoor shower, indoor heating via wood cook stove, washing machine and detached composting privy, as well as a generous portion of farm vegetables, fruit, and various products.

Animal chores 1 day a week per person about 30 min -1 hour, morning and evening. Includes caring for mixed poultry flock, and 10-20 head goat herd. On chore days you keep the animal products you collect such as eggs and milk
Caretaking responsibilities when we’re gone-generally no more than a month spread out for the year shared with another caretaker.

Experience and Expectations:
At least 1 year related gardening, agriculture, nursery or field work experience
Preferably some Pruning experience
Is comfortable with and enjoys the challenges of working physically in the outdoors
Availability to work outside in cold winter and hot summer conditions.
Availability to work up to 40 hours a week generally during our busiest season December-April..
Ability to lift 50 lbs.
Ability to comfortably and safely work from 8-10 ft orchard ladders for pruning and harvesting.
Experience with rustic and remote living conditions. Orleans is a small, remote community surrounded by clean water and beautiful wildernesses., .

Compensation
We offer compensation starting at $15.00/hour depending on experience,with a potential for a raise within 3 months.

Please email: Corrinaandmarc@fruitwoodnursey.com for an application.  

Our homestead is a 20 year old dynamic permaculture forest garden which Includes a wide diversity of temperate and subtropical fruit trees, bushes and vines as well as many medicinal and culinary herbs and flowers . We also care for 10-15 goats, 30 chickens, 10-20 ducks, 5-10 turkeys, and honey bees. We own and operate www.fruitwoodnursery.com where we sell propagation wood from our diverse collection of over 1,000 varieties of fruiting plants that we have planted on our homestead.  We also contract out to grow native plants locally and we supply our former online nursery Rollingrivernursery.com with all their propagation wood.  We have intensively planted about 2 ½  acres to pomegranates apples pears persimmons, paw paws, peaches plums citrus, cherries, figs olives and jujubes, table (and a few wine) grapes, kiwis and berries, as well as perennial vegetables such as asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, artichokes, and a large homestead annual garden. Due to our generous Mediterranean climate we are able to grow and reproduce both the classic northern temperate fruiting plants as wells as many sub-tropical fruits.  We are very passionate about preserving plant diversity and our homestead reflects that passion

Our location is paradisaical, a southwest facing slope right above the Klamath River. We use minimal tilling and make extensive use of perennial cover crops and rotational animal grazing throughout our orchard and gardens. Marc has been a homesteader, market farmer and orchardist nurseryman for the last forty  years with extensive knowledge in the area of agriculture and horticulture. He also has extensive carpentry experience, knowledge of alternative building and solar power systems. Corrina has been a full partner in managing our homestead, annual and perennial plantings and on-line businesses for the past 20 years. Together we are working to create a loving, low input, productive and self-sustaining homestead that can also serve as a model for others. We have 2 children, 23 and 12. We are passionate about our family, homesteading and home schooling, the outdoors, simple sustainable living, plants, eating healthy and a TV free environment. In our leisure time we enjoy doing fun things with our kids, hiking in the mountains, making music, swimming in the river and working on craft projects. The spirit of the farm is one of hard work and good family fun. We eat a diet of fresh ground grains, legumes, goat dairy, eggs, and some meat (mostly raised at our farm) for protein.

We are asking for 8-12 hours of work per week depending on the season, and 1-2 days a week on chores + occasional care taking.We are looking for people who are emotionally mature, easy going and good communicators as well as physically fit.  Related experience is preferred.  A good fit for us would be someone who loves to garden and enjoys spending time working with animals and appreciates animal products and a place to live near the wilderness.  In exchange for work, we are providing  a rustic cabin with electricity and running hot water, learning opportunities as well as goat milk, eggs vegetables and fruit from the garden.  We do not at present supply meat products.  Longer commitment is most desirable.

Please contact for an application and more information about us.

Caretaking/homesteading position at 20 year old permaculture fruit and nut tree homestead with former owners of the online organic nursery https://www.rollingrivernursery.com.  Come help us caretake one of the most biodiverse perennial plantings in North America:  70 varieties of grapevines 50 varieties of figs, 50 varieties of pomegranates, cold hardy grafted Avocadoes 100+ varieties apples…and so much more!

We recently sold our thriving online nursery business to the Non Profit, Planting Justice in Oakland CA.  They are an organization that does work in social, environmental and food justice.  One of their main focuses is creating living wage jobs for formerly incarcerated people. We are thrilled to pass our business on to an organization that has such a commitment and vision, as well as excited to see our vast and diverse plant collection be in an area of greater exposure and easier access.   We still have a local nursery here and we are producing grafted trees and native plants for local restoration work.  Due to our generous Mediterranean climate we are able to grow and reproduce both the classic northern temperate fruiting plants as wells as many sub-tropical fruits.  We are very passionate about preserving plant diversity and our homestead reflects that passion.  In the coming months Marc hopes to start his book on plant propagation and we are developing a website to sell propagation wood this year.

Our homestead is a dynamic permaculture forest garden which Includes a wide diversity of temperate and subtropical fruit trees, bushes and vines as well as many medicinal and culinary herbs and flowers . We also care for 10-15 goats, 30 chickens, 10-20 ducks, 5-10 turkeys, and Honey Bees.  We have intensively planted about 2 ½  acres to pomegranates apples pears persimmons, paw paws, peaches plums citrus, cherries, figs olives and jujubes, table (and a few wine) grapes, kiwis and berries, as well as perennial vegetables such as asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, artichokes and a large homestead annual garden.

Our location is paradisaical, a southwest facing slope right above the Klamath River. We use minimal tilling and make extensive use of perennial cover crops and rotational animal grazing throughout our orchard and gardens. Marc has been a homesteader, market farmer and orchardist for the last thirty years. He also has carpentry experience, knowledge of alternative building and solar power systems. Corrina has been farming and growing medicinal herbs and flowers for the past 15 years. Together we are continuously working to create a loving, low input, productive and self-sustaining homestead that can also serve as a model for others. We have 2 children, 22 and 11. We are passionate about our family, homesteading and home schooling, the outdoors, simple sustainable living, plants, eating healthy and a TV free environment. In our leisure time we enjoy doing fun things with our kids, hiking in the mountains, making music, swimming in the river and working on craft projects. The spirit of the farm is one of hard work and good family fun. We eat a mostly vegetarian diet of fresh ground grains, legumes, goat dairy, eggs, and some meat (mostly raised at our farm) for protein.

We are asking for 16 hours of work per week and depending on how many people are here 1 day a week on chores + occasional care taking.  In exchange, we are providing a place to live in a rustic cabin, many learning opportunities as well as goat milk, eggs, vegetables and fruit from the garden

We are looking for people who are emotionally mature, very responsible, easy going and good communicators as well as physically fit.  Related experience is preferred.  A good fit for us would be someone who loves to garden and enjoys spending time caring for animals, appreciates animal products and a place to live near the wilderness.   Longer commitment is most desireable.

Please contact us for an application and more information.

We have a 5 acre permaculture homestead and Organic local nursery in rural Northern California. Our place offers a unique opportunity for people to learn about and experience a mature and dynamic fruit/food forest filled with an immense diversity of plants that also integrates animals into its system.  We are looking for 1-2 people to join us to care-take this land.  We are asking 8 hours a  week + 3 days a week of chores and occasional caretaking, in exchange for a place to live , a share in a large vegetable garden, fruit orchards and fresh milk and Eggs.  The available Cabin is a small rustic natural building with electricity full kitchen, wood heat 2 bedrooms and out door shower.

There is an opportunity to learn plant propagation and other skills but would be a separate agreement.

We are looking for people with some country living skills, experience caring for animals and rural living experience.  We would like a 1 year commitment after a short trial period to see if both parties feel we are a good fit.  We would love to find someone who wanted to stay long term.

If you are interested please email corrinaandmarc1@gmail.com