Potential Member Information 2012
Our Intention: Tweefontein Herb Farm is a community living project that focuses on sustainable agriculture, sustainable living, and sustainable education. We seek to improve our quality of life by growing our own food and herbs, by increasing our self-sufficiency, and by simplifying life in an environment that facilitates learning and growth. By choosing to live as we do, we hope to build a stronger connection to the land and to decrease our negative impacts. We intend to spread our experiences and ideas to help inspire others to further their own sustainability and to challenge societal norms.
Recent Past: Over the last three years since our community formed, Tweefontein has been and is still continuously evolving. Community members have worked to develop a flourishing herb farm that has focused primarily on creating value added herb products that are sold at the Union Square Green Market in New York City and to carry on the original owner’s legacy. These products include pesto, hot and cold herbal tea, herbal sorbet, healing salve, and herbal soap. The farm is Certified Naturally Grown and all products aim to use homegrown produce. Nearly everything is handmade in our on-site facilities which include a Certified Kitchen.
Community: Our lifestyle is communal in many ways. We purchase bulk food together and we eat dinner together almost every night. Our goal is to cover the cost of rent, utilities, and food with the farms income during the market season which runs from May through December. We meet on a weekly basis and make decisions collectively and unanimously. Each person’s roll is equally valued. We work closely together in order to support each other. There are a number of sustainability projects that we have collaborated on. These include but are not limited to growing our own produce, raising animals, preserving food, constructing a solar dehydrator and shower, building a composting toilet, developing sound composting practices, running grease cars, constructing and maintaining a greenhouse.
Goals: Our goal this coming season is to be more involved in the local community. We would like to create other avenues to distribute our culinary and medicinal herbs as well as our value added products. This entails selling our products at local stores, restaurants, fairs, and festivals. More importantly we would like to have weekly hours to bring more people to visit the farm and offer educational programs and workshops for children and adults. Furthermore, we would like to encourage members to focus on their own projects of interest.
Member Expectations: Living at the farm is a unique and sometimes challenging situation in that we all live and work in the same environment. Therefore, we are seeking a confident person that can balance ones personal life and interests with farm responsibilities. We are looking for someone to join our community that strong heartedly supports what we are doing and feels that they can contribute and personally grow by living here. We need people that are self-motivated and hard-working. Personal development and the desire to utilize the farm to further your own pursuits is important, as is, contributing those skills and talents to the community.
This is an opportunity not just to live and work on a small herb farm, but also to help it evolve and be a part of its continual creation.We are asking for a minimum commitment of one year starting in April or May of 2012. All members are required to sign the lease. Rent is $435 a month per person and an additional deposit of $435 is required. Currently all member are required to work two full days a week and to attend two markets in NYC a month from May to December.
There are some responsibilities that may require more irregular hours (ex. caring for the chickens, making salve, making tea for markets, etc.). Therefore, the work is not full-time but it is intended to cover the cost of bulk food and rent during our months of operation. The coverage of these expenses is not guaranteed and is dependent on the farms income (this has worked out in the last few years with only a few exceptions). Most of us need other part-time work in order to have a personal savings, pay personal expenses and cover food and rent during winter months, but time for outside full-time employment does not exist.
Beneficial skills for potential new members include but are not limited to or required; farming or gardening experience, herbalist, computer skills including website design, good interpersonal and communication skills, a sense of humor, flexibility, culinary or food preparation experience, desire to attend markets, mechanic experience, ability to cook large meals, enjoy doing large quantities of dishes and maintaining household cleanliness.
If you are interested in joining us we have a few questions that we would like you to answer that are listed below. Please send us an email or document with your responses, as well as a list of references and related experience/resume to [email protected].
1. What is your intention in wanting to join Tweefontein Herb Farm’s Community?
2. What are your short or long term life goals and how does Tweefontein potentially fit in to those goals?
3. Do you have any pets or farm animals that you would like to bring to the farm?
4. Do you have any dietary preferences or allergies?5. If you could be any herb, what would it be and why?
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