Definition of Internship: An internship is an opportunity to experience a career by working within a successful business that is similar to your own interests.  It’s a time to observe, listen, actively experience, ask questions, and most importantly to learn.  Internships are hard work with long hours and little pay, but offer the invaluable benefit of observing and taking part in the inner workings of a company from an inside perspective.  The experience and knowledge gained from an internship provides you with valuable tools needed to take that next step towards pursuing your goal.   What to expect:  As an intern you can expect many things.  You can count on hard work with long days in the field.  You can count on blazing hot days in the sun with a hoe in your hand.  You can count on cool rainy days harvesting or weeding.  You can count on doing repetitive tasks day in and day out.  You can count on getting dirty almost every day.  You can count on having sore muscles and a sore back.  You will get to eat some of the most amazing and tasty organic produce ever.  You can expect to do things you never thought you could do, pushing yourself on many levels.  You can expect to work together with others to accomplish goals as a group.  There will also be times when you will be expected to take individual responsibility to complete tasks.   Farm description: Flying Cloud Farm produces vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers for direct sale to our customers.  The land has been certified organic in the past, but was discontinued due to the high cost and our personal relationship with our customers through the CSA and tailgate markets.  We have families that sign up for the season, receiving a box of produce every week for 21 weeks, some with an additional flower bouquet, which make up our Community Supported Agriculture group, otherwise known as CSA.  Our farming practices rely on cover cropping, amending the soil by annual testing, crop rotation, and careful planning for insect and weed issues in order to consistently produce food for our customers. Isaiah and Annie Louise manage the farm, but there are many other members of the family who live on the farm.  We have two girls, Sidney and Ivy.  Annie’s parents live on the farm and keep a full house of young people to help out.  A summer camp, featuring art, drama, and horseback riding takes place on the farm for two months in the summer.  There is close access to hiking and biking trails. We sell at three farmer’s markets each week, prepare 100 CSA shares, stock a self-serve stand at the farm, sell to Trout Lily Market in Fairview, and offer u-pick blueberries.  The farm is located 12 miles outside Asheville on 74A East in the last valley before the road climbs the mountain to Henderson County.  The farm’s name is inspired by the name of the stagecoach that traveled Drover’s Road (route 74A) in the mid-1800’s.  The Flying Cloud made a stop at the historic Sherrill’s Inn, which was purchased in 1916 by Annie’s great-grandparents and named Hickory Nut Gap Farm.   Intern Program: The focus of the intern program is education through experience.  Flying Cloud Farm is a great place for learning how to successfully operate an organic farm.  Our farm is well organized and we have a few years experience growing a wide variety of products and utilizing a diverse marketing strategy.  This combination creates an environment of knowledge for those who want to become produce growers. The season runs mid April through October.  We have two positions starting in mid-April through October.  We have two additional positions available for the summer months, June, July, and August.  With the four positions we can be flexible with starting and ending dates. The typical schedule is 5 days per week, usually 10 hours per day, sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the harvest schedule.  One of these days the interns accompany Annie or Isaiah to market.  This gives you a chance to meet and interact with other area farmers as well as a chance to work off the farm for a day.  It’s a lot of fun and provides a break for your workweek.  The remaining time will be spent doing the following activities: -         Field work: harvesting, transplanting, weeding, pruning, thinning, etc -         Greenhouse operations: seeding, irrigation, soil mix, pest control, etc -         Packing shed: washing, grading, sorting, packing, and storing of crops -         Marketing: tailgate market, CSA  Compensation: Housing: We will provide room and board as long as you’re employed on the farm.  There are various housing options available.  We have a converted school bus, a small cabin, and an airstream camper.  An outhouse is available for these abodes, as well as a shared kitchen in the airstream.  There are also rooms available in Annie’s parents house.  Showers and bathrooms are available there as well.  You will be expected to cook dinner one night per week.  Lunches will be cooked in pairs using as much of our own food as possible. Stipend:  You will receive a monthly stipend, paid every 2 weeks. We try to be straightforward in our description of the farm and intern program.  We ask that you be clear in presenting yourself as well as be clear of your future goals.  A phone interview will follow as well as a farm visit. Please contact us via email or telephone if you are interested in working on the farm.