Another world is possible!  How do we create it, grow it, preserve it, share it?  How do we come into relation with ourselves and the land, nourishing our bodies, minds and spirits with the food and wisdom we create together?

These are the questions (and answers!) explored by TLC Farm's Community Sustainability Immersion Program - a dynamic experience of community learning and sharing.

Located at TLC Farm's unique seven-acre community farm in Portland, Oregon,  this program immerses participants in a wholistic approach to  sustainability and permaculture systems.  The program combines theory, practice, innovation and adventure to introduce participants to the principles of permaculture, natural building, community process and organic gardening, with a focus on local food and plant medicine. 

TLC Farm's immersion program consists of a three-week summer session, from July 31 to August 1, which will immerse ten participants, 18 and older, in a hands-on, holistic approach to sustainable living and community.  Read about last year's program in their awesome blog: www.tryoninternship09.blogspot.com 

Interns will tend, harvest and preserve food from the animals and garden, learn to make medicine from wild and cultivated plants, visit urban & rural sustainable farms, and much more! Tuition, room & board: $1,600. ($1,500 if signed up by June 15). Courses will be taught by TLC Farm teachers and local experts.

Each program participant will come away from this program with a set of skills which will be increasingly useful in our changing climate and economy and will a personalized action plan, supported by community mentors. A limited number of work-trade scholarships are available. Please contact intern@tryonfarm.org or call 503-245-3847 for more information about the program and registration. Application instructions are available at http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/687.

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More Details about TLC Farm's Sustainable Community Immersion Program

1. Community living: Program participants will experience communal life on two levels. You will create a community and be responsible for collective decision-making, meal preparation, conflict resolution, etc. In addition, the community of interns will interact with, and be supported by, Cedar Moon, the intentional community at TLC Farm.

2. Outdoor living: The program is an immersive, outdoor experience. You will live in tents, wash in outdoor showers, cook in a outdoor kitchen, and have most classes and work experience outdoors. There will be an indoor space for reading, research and chill time with computers and a library. While Portland has a well deserved reputation for rain, summers are often quite dry especially from July through September.

3. Hands-on work and Theory:  The program includes a balance of lectures & discussions with hands-on experiential learning and field trips. Over time, the hands-on work will become increasingly self-directed.

4. Food preparation and sharing:  You will be provided with ingredients and suggestions as needed, and will collaboratively create and implement a cooking and cleaning schedule. TLC Farm is primarily a vegetarian community: we have chickens and dairy goats for eggs and milk and grow much of our own food.

5. TLC Farm location & history : A unique seven-acre farm surrounded by a 700-acre state park in Portland, Oregon, TLC Farm demonstrates how sustainable living techniques can further goals often perceived as contradictory: urban density of human habitat inside the growth boundary, combined with not only conservation of natural resources and public greenspace, but actual enhancement of native ecosystems. TLC Farm was born out of a community effort to save the land from development and turn it into a community space for sustainability education. This land now functions as a gathering place, sustainability education facility, community center and retreat – all within a bike ride from downtown Portland.

6. Work Study positions:  There are four work-study positions provided for the program. Food coordinators will help the  create menus for each week based on food available at the farm, coordinate cooking and cleaning schedules, and manage the community kitchen. Scribes will take notes and photographs of all aspects of the program and use these to create a blog during the program. Work trade positions will require approximately 10 hours of work per week.

Keywords: permaculture, sustainability, sustainable, garden, food, plant spirit medicine, summer internship, summer internship, camping, Oregon, PNW, NW, Portland, farm, forest.

Father Sky Boys camps July 6-10 (ages 10-11) and 20-24 (ages 12-13)

Earth Song Girls camps July 13-17 (ages 10-11) and 27-31 (ages 12-13)

As children begin to develop a stronger sense of who they are as individuals in the world, many questions naturally arise. They begin to discover the uniqueness of their personal relationship with their surroundings and can be fraught with confusion and feelings of disconnection if they aren't fully realizing their capabilities. Our rite of passage work honors pre-teenagers by challenging them with skills that are deeply satisfying and empowering. By building respect and trust for each other and our surroundings, a reserve of strength is established which can be drawn upon later in life.

Participants are grouped by gender during rites of passage since they are becoming aware of and sometimes self-conscious of their differences (and similarities!). Our goal is to create safe and sacred space for asking questions and sharing ideas and stories. Examples of activities in this age group are shelter building, animal tracking, gardening, fire by friction, rope making, drumming, silent meditation, leadership and trust-building games, cooking, sewing, etc. The children in the rite of passage programs will sleep over at the farm on Friday night and may participate in a sauna. Camp will end on Saturday morning at 10am with a farm-fresh brunch that the children prepare for their families.

Registration opens March 1, 2010.
For more information, please visit the Mother Earth School website at www.motherearthschool.

Summer Sustainable Communities Immersion Program at TLC Farm - dive into sustainable living!

Located at TLC Farm's unique seven-acre community farm in Portland, Oregon, this internship program will inspire dynamic leaders in the sustainability movement who will be able to use their new skills and knowledge to benefit their home communities.

TLC Farm's immersion program consists of a three-week summer session which will immerse ten interns, 18 and older, in a hands-on, holistic approach to sustainable living and community.

July 31-Aug. 20, 2009

Three-week Community Sustainability Internship will introduce participants to the principles of permaculture, natural building, community process and organic gardenong, with a focus on local food and plant medicine. Interns will tend, harvest and preserve food from the animals and garden, learn to make medicine from wild and cultivated plants, and visit urban & rural sustainable farms. Tuition, room & board: $1,600. ($1,500 if signed up by June 15).

The internship program will combine theory, practice, innovation and adventure. From learning how to grow and preserve food, to how to make decisions in community, to integrating social and environmental justice, each intern will come away from this program with a set of skills which will be increasingly useful in our changing climate and economy.

Courses will be taught by TLC Farm teachers and local expert. Each intern session will culminate in a personalized action plan, supported by intern mentors.

A limited number of work-trade scholarships are available. Please contact intern@tryonfarm.org or call 503-245-3847 for more information about the program and registration.

Application instructions are available at http://tryonfarm.org/share/node/687.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
More Details about TLC Farm's Sustainable Community Immersion Program
1. Community living
Interns will experience communal life on two levels. The interns
themselves will create a community and be responsible for collective
decision-making, meal preparation, conflict resolution, etc. In addition,
the community of interns will interact with, and be supported by, Cedar
Moon, the intentional community at TLC Farm.

2. Outdoor living
The internship is an immersive, outdoor experience. Interns will live in
tents, wash in outdoor showers, cook in a outdoor kitchen, and have most
classes and work experience outdoors. There will be an intern yurt for
reading, research and chill time with a woodstove, library, and
electricity. While Portland has a well deserved reputation for rain,
summers are often quite dry especially from July through September.

3. Hands-on work and Theory
The program includes a balance of lectures & discussions with hands-on
experiential learning and field trips. Over time, the hands-on work will
become increasingly intern-directed.

4. Food preparation and sharing
Interns will be provided with ingredients and suggestions as needed, and
will collaboratively create and implement a cooking and cleaning
schedule. TLC Farm is primarily a vegetarian community: we have chickens
and dairy goats for eggs and milk and grow much of our own food.

5. TLC Farm location & history
A unique seven-acre farm surrounded by a 700-acre state park in Portland,
Oregon, TLC Farm demonstrates how sustainable living techniques can
further goals often perceived as contradictory: urban density of human
habitat inside the growth boundary, combined with not only conservation of
natural resources and public greenspace, but actual enhancement of native
ecosystems. TLC Farm was born out of a community effort to save the land
from development and turn it into a community space for sustainability
education. This land now functions as a gathering place, sustainability
education facility, community center and retreat – all within a bike ride
from downtown Portland.

6. Work Study positions
Most of the work-trade positions have been filled for our 2009 program. However, there are still some available. Please inquire with Laura or Matt at intern@tryonfarm.org to find out what positions are left, and specifics on fee reduction, etc.

There are four work-study positions provided for each intern session.
Food coordinators will help the interns create menus for each week based on food available
at the farm, coordinate cooking and cleaning schedules for the interns and
manage the community kitchen. Scribes will take notes and photographs of
all aspects of the program and use these to create a booklet at the end of
the program. Work trade positions will require approximately 10 hours of
work per week.

Keywords: permaculture, sustainability, sustainable, garden, food, plant spirit medicine, summer internship, summer internship, camping, Oregon, PNW, NW, Portland, farm, forest.

Mother Earth School is a Waldorf-inspired bioimmersion program for kindergarten and preschool. It uses various parts of the land Tuesday-Thursday except during breaks. For more information, contact kelly@tryonfarm.org.