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We are no longer accepting applications for the 2013 apprenticeship. The 2014 application process will begin in June at which time the application will be posted. If you have any questions, please contact the coordinator at farmapprentice@sfzc.org.
History of Green Gulch Farm In 1972 Green Gulch Farm became part of the San Francisco Zen Center, a non-profit religious organization dedicated to the practice and study of Zen Buddhism in the Soto Zen lineage as conveyed by its founding teacher, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Situated on the coast of Marin, on an inholding of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Green Gulch includes seven acres of certified organic mixed vegetable fields, fruit trees, and flower gardens, all of which are open to visitors year-round. Tended by Zen students for 40 years, the deep, fertile clay loam soil, combined with mild summers and coastal fog, create the ideal conditions for many cool weather crops and ornamentals. Each spring since the Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Program’s founding, in 1994, new farm and garden apprentices join our community and experience a unique opportunity to study themselves and the natural world through meditation practice and working directly with the land in the Green Gulch watershed. Other members of Green Gulch’s residential community (totaling around 70 people) have the opportunity to practice while working in the kitchen, the guest program, or maintaining the physical plant. Formal Zen meditation and training is the foundation of community life at Green Gulch and is an integral part of the Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Programs. All residents, including farm and garden apprentices, follow a daily meditation schedule, meet regularly with teachers, attend temple events – including weekly classes on Buddhism, Dharma lectures, and special ceremonies – and participate in three full-day meditation retreats over the course of the six-month growing season. The Farm
Farm apprentices receive training in a wide range of practices, including the sowing, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, and marketing of a wide variety of cool weather vegetable crops. They also learn, through practicums and hands-on experience, about organic soil, pest and disease management through composting and cover crops, water/irrigation management, and promotion of biological diversity. The Garden
Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Application [Word] [PDF] Other information: Daily Schedule [Word] [PDF] Weekly Routine on the Farm [Word] [PDF] Weekly Routine in the Garden [Word] [PDF] Class and Fieldtrip Schedule-2012 version [Word] [PDF] IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Read profiles of six former farm apprentices. |
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