organic lunch-time talk with farmers

OPIRG McMaster hosted a lunch-time discussion with special guests Chris Krucker of ManoRun Organic Farm (centre)in Ancaster and Ann Lanigan of Simpler Thyme (right) in Flamborough, ably moderated by OPIRG McMaster's Amina Suhrwardy (pictured left).

Below is a call-out for interns at Simpler Thyme. Eat your heart out!

Simpler Thyme Organic Farm
1749 Hwy #6, RR#2, Hamilton, On, L8N 2Z7
Simpler_thyme@hotmail.com

Introduction

• 50 acre property just north of Hamilton.
• 25 acres of forest where we do maple syrup starting in March
• 8 acres of vegetables, fruit trees
• Animals - ducks, peacocks, chickens, rabbits, goats, cats, dogs, cows, a horse & a donkey.
• We run a CSA & weekly farm markets.
• Accommodation is in a trailer, outdoor bunkies or in the house.
• Hearty, healthy, LOCAL, organic meals provided, prepared from scratch.
• We can easily accommodate vegetarians or vegans; we however eat vegetables and meat.
• All the buildings on the farm are smoke-free.
• We accept WWOOFers from March 1st to October 30.

Who are we?

• Ann Lanigan – Farmer full time. Caregiver full time of her brother Dan
• Mike Lanigan – VON nurse, works off-farm
• Bill Orosz – Farmer full time and overtime. Lives on farm
• Charles Aubin – Volontaire extraordinaire, works off-farm, spends all the rest of his time on farm
• Dan Reynolds – half owner of the property. Needs total care(acquired brain injury)
• Patrick Lanigan – Farrier and blacksmith, 4th child of Ann and Mike but only one living at home

General

• Our 2010 goals are vermiculture, mycology, permaculture, seed saving, milking cows, rebuilding a small glass greenhouse.
• Each community member makes one meal for the community each week
• Regular farm duties - making maple syrup, gathering wood, taking care of animals (cows, chickens, horse, donkey, birds), starting plants in hothouse, outside - seeding, planting, weeding, hoeing, mulching, harvesting, packing, marketing, composting, tree care, customer communication, maintenance and repair, book keeping, self education, setting regular goals and meeting those goals, preserving food (freezing, fermentation, storing, canning, drying...), making food (bread, noodles, soup broths, kombucha, kvass, etc),

What can an intern expect from us?

• home grown, home made food, local organic food.
• 3 meals a day 7 days a week plus snacks
• a room
• internet access
• a small weekly stipend (if you stay for 5 months you receive a $500 bonus)
• we will share knowledge and experience about everything under “regular farm duties” above share our home, the community we live in, our way of life
• have a once a week private sharing about your victories and/or concerns, etc

What we expect from an intern?

• a person with great attitude
• a person really interested in learning about organic farming
• a person who will also share their skills and knowledge
• a person who is able to receive and give contructive feedback
• a person who is willing to be a team leader and team member
• a person who is a self starter, can work independantly on projects
• a person who is willing to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day
• a person who is able to make a 4-5 month commitment