Happy Farm Recruitment processWhat is The Happy Farm?The Happy Farm is a small organic vegetable farm located within the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village.We have around 1 acre of land in cultivation comprising !" beds which are #$m long and 1."m wide.%n addition we have a new polytunnel with a further & beds which are "'m long.We grow almost all the common vegetables including potatoes tomatoes peppers courgettes garlic pump(ins and many more.The food we grow is all offered to the Plum Village community.The three main aims of the farm are)1. To grow healthy organic produce to offer to Plum Village. ". To be a training ground in applying the principles of mindfulness into a wor(ing environment.#. To offer education in organic growing sustainability and mindfulness practice.The pro*ect is currently in its third year.The farm continues to grow and flourish in beautiful and une+pected ways.%n brief last year we grew over ,---(g of organic produce a figure which loo(s li(ely to rise this year.%n .une we hosted our first Happy Farm sustainability retreat.The retreat which was attended by around "-- people from all over the world watered many beautiful seeds in everyone. Finally we offered *oyful educational sessions to hundreds of children during the summer and trained # interns and several shorter/term volunteers in the basics of mindfulness practice and organic farming.0t the farm we grow using classical organic methods similar to those described in the boo(s by 1harles 2owding .ohn .eavons and 3liot 1oleman.We do not use many permaculture techni4ues and while there are small areas for innovation this coming year the farm will continue to use the methods which are serving us so well.This year we are offering 6 internships.We regret to share that currently the internships are only available to men.This is because the farm is based in Upper Hamlet where mon(s and male guests are housed.5uns and female guests are hosted at 6ower and 5ew Hamlet.For any women interested in mindful farming please contact the sisters of 6ower Hamlet who are considering starting their own Happy Farm.What does the internship look like?The internship is 1 year long and starts on the "-th of 5ovember "-1$.2uring the first three monthsPlum Village will be in its yearly Winter 7etreat.2uring this time there will not be so much farm wor( and so it will be a chance for us to deepen our practice and to settle into the community.The bul( of the wor( will begin in 8arch when we begin seeding.%n general we will wor( around #- hours per wee( doing a wide variety of tas(s.The main duties of the farm include seeding bed preparation transplanting weeding and harvesting.2uring the year we will also get the chance to host childrens groups on the farm and to facilitate groups of adults visiting the farm to wor(.0 standard day on the Happy Farm5.3amWake !p6.am"itting #editation$.am%reakfast&.am#indful farming'(.3pm)unch3.pm#indful farming6.pm*inner+.pm"itting #editationWe do our best to apply the principles of mindfulness and wor(ing meditation on the farm.This includes amongst other things wor(ing a bit slower than normal using the breath to anchor ourselves in the present moment stopping to listen to the bell at times throughout the day and having regular team sharings.%n addition to this we normally begin each session with a brief sittingmeditation.Happy Farmers en*oy two days off per wee(.9ne is la:y day typically 8onday where the whole community en*oys a day of rest.The other is a 2ay of 8indfulness where we listen to a 2harma tal( and have a day of practice together.0s the above schedule shows we also have the opportunity to *oin in with many of the Upper Hamlet activities such as morning and evening sitting meditation community meals as well as some of the activities during the big retreats.0ccommodation will be in shared rooms where we get to practice with the *oys and difficulties of community life.9ur e+perience is that living communally in this way leads to great friendships andaccelerated spiritual growth.2uring the summer months we all camp to ma(e space for the many short term guests who come for the big retreats. 9ur wor( and practice is supported by living and wor(ing within a monastery setting.We have regular contact with monastics and lay practitioners and benefit from the practice energy present here.We are invited to support this practice energy by living in accordance with the $ mindfulness trainings and by attending the schedule. Things to ,onsider9ur aim is to farm in a way that leads to less suffering than commercial methods.34ually we are committed to continually refining our own methods in order to gradually reduce the harm that occurs on our farm.%n e+tremely rare occasions however we may use organic pesticides or herbicides to protect our crops.0dditionally the needs of the farm are constant and e+tensive.The wor( can be tiring and hard at times.Furthermore for the pro*ect to succeed we bring a degree of professionality to this wor(.0s a result the demands of wor(ing on the farm mean life as a farm intern has a different rhythm to thatof a retreatant in Plum Village. Finally it is our aim to train our interns to a point where they can ta(e responsibility and ma(e informed decisions on the farm.However in the early months we as( that interns be willing to e+pand their (nowledge by receiving instruction and feedbac( in order to fully understand our system and the conte+t in which we wor(.%nitially decisions that concern the farm are made by the farm co/ordinator with support from the farm committee made up of all those who have spent at least one year on the farm and the monastic farm mentors. What we offerWe will provide training in all aspects of wor(ing on an organic farm.We will also provide trainingin mindfulness practice and how to facilitate the basic Plum Village practices.We are confident thatafter a year on the farm our interns will have learned the basics of large/scale organic growing and how to implement and facilitate the basic Plum Village practices.0 year wor(ing on the farm while living in Plum Village offers many invaluable benefits includingincreased self awareness deeper *oy increased confidence and a better ability to ta(e care of suffering.8any of our interns shared that a year on the farm was the best year of their life.We also receive feedbac( that it can be a life/changing e+perience for many.8ore practically interns will be offered two wee(s of holiday during their time on the farm.0ll e4uipment needed to carry out farm wor( will be provided but please bring a set of old wor(ingclothes.We will also provide a reference on completion of the year.How to applyWe are inviting applications from those interested in learning about organic growing within a mindfulness setting.0s the wor( can be hard we encourage applicants to be reliable self motivating and capable of living and wor(ing harmoniously with others. 3+perience is not essential.%t is more important to us that applicants demonstrate a willingness and enthusiasm to learn as well as an enthusiastic approach to the farm wor(.We as( that all applicantshave attended at least one retreat in this tradition and because the wor( can be physically demanding we as( that only those in good physical condition apply.We recommend that all interns provide their own health insurance.To make a formal application for ne-t year please send us0 letter of aspiration sharing why you want to live and practice in Plum Village for a year and specifically what inspires you to wor( at the Happy farm.2etails of your e+perience with the Plum Village community or any relevant e+perience you may have of living in community or practicing in other traditions.0 1V highlighting any growing or farming e+perience you may have as well as any practical s(illswhich would be useful in this conte+t.2etails of language s(illsPlease be available for a brief s(ype call in the days after 1!th of ;eptember.The deadline for applications is the 1!th of ;eptember and we will contact you by the "-th of ;eptember to let you (now whether or not your application was successful.Please email applications to ) happyfarm