Gardens Manager 18th Apr-17th Oct 2015

Åsen 20Västra ÄmtervikSunneSweden686 95

Farming, innovating & educating for the benefit of all...

www.ridgedalepermaculture.com

Each Season we have roles for dynamic, committed, team orientated & self motivated people dedicated to regenerative design for the benefit of all.   Positions are 6 month minimum volunteer positions where we provide food and simple accomodation. In exchange for your hard work and dedication you also will learn a huge amount!   You will be work-ing in a small and dynamic core team in a bustling learning environment . You will be responsible for day to day plan-ning & management of our fresh vegetable & herb production in our gardens & polytunnel as well as field crops and coordinating with the Farm Chefs to plan harvesting and keep the many mouths fed with the highest quaity of food avail-able.   Fluency in English language is essential as participants from our trainings come from every corner of the globe.

Copyright ridgedale PERMACULTURE 2014/5

November brings frost and incredible low light to this amazing farm...

This is a brief overview of the design concept at ridgedale PERMACUL-TURE to orientate the reader to key considerations. The farm is situated 3 hrs drive from Oslo, 4 hrs from Stockholm & 3.5 hrs from Gothen-burg.

•Latitude: 59°50’15” N, Longitude: 13°08’34” E,•Land area of 10.6 ha (26.1 ac)•Perimeter 1892m•Elevation between 120 – 167m above sea level•Cold Temperate/Humid Continental Climate•Approx. 634 mm of rainfall per year, or 52.8 mm per month.•Average 147 days per year with more than 0.1 mm of rainfall or 12.3 days with a quantity of rain, sleet, snow etc. per month.•The driest weather is in February when an average of 31 mm of rainfall occurs.•The wettest weather is in August when an average of 73 mm of rainfall occurs.•The mean temperature is cool at 5.4 °C (41.7 °F)•Mean monthly temperatures have a variation of 20.8 °C (37.4°F) The average daily temperature range/ variation is 7.9 °C (14.3 °F).•The warmest month (July) is very mild having a mean temperature

of 16.1 ° C (60.98 °F).•February is the coldest month (slightly cold) having an average temperature of -4.7 ° C (23.54 °F).•Average 120 days frost free (1- 30 day variance)•Southerly Aspect•Swedish Climate Zone ¾•Wind, predominantly S but quite sheltered by surrounding forest•Soil: Moderate Clay loam. Depth between 10- 30 cm with both sand (upper ridge) and clay subsoils 20- 300cm+•1.5 ha 90yr+Spruce plantation•0.2 ha 25 yr Spruce/ Larch/ Birch

Contextual location of ridgedale PERMACULTURE

Site Specifics

Climate Zone map of Varmland

Local wind data

Overview of the Farm

The result of 6 months work implementing our design in our first season in 2014

ridgedale PERMACULTURE is a family owned pasture and perennial crop based beyond organic local food producer and educational hub in Värmland, Swe-den. A flagship multi- income diverse small farm, ridgedale is Scandinavia’s first Keyline designed farm and a leading Euro-pean education provider in the field of Per-maculture and Regenerative Agriculture.

ridgedale PERMACULTURE’S primary responsibility is regenerating landscapes, ecosys-tem processes and soils through replicable, scal-able and profitable symbiotic farm enterprises. Our secondary responsibility is to educate, fa-cilitate, inform and empower people into action through regenerative design, enterprise and ho-listic decision-making that fosters and stimu-lates local community, economy and resilience.

At ridgedale we believe that financially sustainable and socially beneficial livelihoods are founded on regenerat-ing the world’s biospheres. We believe these three aspects that make up our triple bottom line are totally insepara-ble and so our decision-making consistently reflects this.

To ensure our success we use testing questions to ensure our decision making at the farm is consistently aligned with our Holistic Goal. Below are 12 of the key outcomes we are managing towards related to our triple bottom line;

1. Build topsoil via intelligently integrated planting/Keyline layout & animal disturbances2. Maximize photosynthetic energy captured on site3. Restore water, carbon and nutrient cycling on site by mimicking natures processes4. Create habitats that fully support organisms physiologi-cal needs5. Increase diversity of wildlife species and natural “feed-back” loops6. Demonstrate socially just and sustainable profit with an open farm gate policy7. Support world-class education in all aspects of regenera-tive systems design and holistic decision making8. Develop local food resilience & facilitate access to be-yond organic food by connecting people to local farmers9. Prevent wasting of fiscal, human and ecosystem capital10. Utilize regenerative technologies to minimize oil de-pendence11. Create & demonstrate robust decentralized energy pro-duction12. Continually reassess our holistic objectives and man-agement process with decision makers

Context...Managing our farm holistically

Birds eye view of ridgedale PERMACULTURERead more about the design here http://www.ridgedalepermaculture.com/design-at-ridgedale.html

The role we are seeking to fill begins full time on site mid April 2014, where you will either be resident in a small & simple room in the old magazine. You will be sharing this space with the other long term core- crew. There is a chance we may be renting a small cottage next door instead, but we will not know this until the spring. We will be hosting trainings where there will be up to 40 people on site at busy times, but generally with a crew of between 6- 15 throughout the year. You will be working along with students & intern’s as we create in-credible edible kitchen gardens and plan a Jean pain compost heated sunken growing space to develop later in the year. You will be a go to person responsible for day to day maintain-anace, planting and harvesting and saving seed.

Opportunity

We want to establish a secure farm fresh food supply immediately, so the gardens will be the initial focus of the year alongside ground prep for tree planting and preparing to introduce our animals. You will be a core member of the ini-tial pioneering team at ridgedale and will also get to develop awide and diverse range of skills in other areas of design , management and site implementation. We will be meticulously re-cording & documenting everything that hap-

You will need to be very organized and pay at-tention to detail to successfully fill this challeng-ing role. Key aspects;

• You have worked with PC systems before• You have previous food gardening experience• You are familiar with cool/ cold temperate cli-mates• You are excited to make Compost Teas and use Biofertilisers• You like making good quality compost• You can plan well in advance•You are effective at documentation• You can work to a clear budget• You are familiar working with groups or in a team• You are punctual and dedicated• You are a clear communicator

We are looking for someone who will throw themselves at this with passion and flair! The kitchen gardens make up zone 1 and are central to daily life at the farm. We want to produce a lot of healthy, nutritious in a beautiful setting. We will also be experiementing with various peren-nial crops, broader scale annual cultivation and experimenting with some very unusual plants. Your work will be a clear demonstration of PC principles in action and your ability to commu-nicate and work with groups is important

Work EthicGenerally we are looking for someone who is seeking an inroad to the field of professional systems design and who has the right level of professional skills for the position we are offering. Whilst this will be a dedicated and sometimes challenging role we are excited by the mutual benefit this position offers. The position requires professional presentation in both output as well as personal conduct. You will be working as part of a dedicated team who have committed their lives to educating & demonstrating regenerative and integrated design to the highest standards. As a core member of a public venue and functioning business you are expected to reflect this at all times.

The role

A 6 month stay at ridgedale PERMACULTURE will lead you through all kinds of experiences. Living and working in close confines with a di-verse range of people will inevitably bring up a whole range of situations for you. Some prior experience living in a community setting is definate-ly a bonus, as it simply isn’t for some people. It does, however, represent an incredible learning opportunity and we will be fostering a supportive learning and working atmosphere at the farm. If you’re committed to your development personally and professionally then the experience will no doubt enrich you greatly. You can expect us to be up early and working on the farm long hourse during the week. Weekends are down time at the farm, and people will be exploring the forests and surrounding ares, continuing projects they are working on or working on personal projects.

What can you expect to gain from this experience?

You are encourgaed to keep a Learning Journal throughout your stay, as the Intern’s will be doing. This helps synthsize the intensive learning that will be happening as well as begin documenting your experience to build a portfolio. By documenting your work and the trainings you participate you can build up recorded experience that can serve you in future assign-ments, profession or study, such as the Permaculture Diploma. Intern’s will also be spending time each week working on their own design, a longer term more detailed assignment to allow regular mentoring and peer re-viewing. We welcome you to take this on yourself, you can benefit from the feedback of a professional designer and build up a clear portfolio.

Most of all you will be a core member of the pioneering team engaged with a flagship project. You will be exposed to all aspects of Permacul-ture design and gain tangible field based experience. This is invaluable if you are looking to develop a career int his field. Permaculture is really learnt by the actual implementation and monitoring of systems we can design and put together. By managing your time effectively you will have lots of opportunity to join in with what is going on at the farm. We will also have a full time Graphics Expert and so would like to showcase your work in preparing, experiementing and preserving by making regular short films and blog posts, which can help to build up a portfolio for your work. If you want to blog about your work that would be AWESOME!

We grew tons of amazing produce to feed the farm in 2014 in No Dig contour beds & our Polytunnel; instant gardens! In 2015 we will use our Plotmaster to grow field crops also...

April 2014 July 2014

Site Policy

ridgedale PERMACULTURE is a family home as well as a professional learning center. We cater to people from many cultures and nationalities so to help maintain a comfort-able stay for all, visitors are asked to follow our simple code of conduct during their visit.

For the benefit, comfort and wellbeing of all staying at the farm there is a strict no drugs policy. Transgression will result in you being asked to leave immediately, forfeiting your stay/ training, etc. Please don’t involve us.

Consumption of alcohol is also only permitted on Friday/ Saturday eve-nings. This is a working farm and we work hard everyday of the week.

We do not tolerate any form of anti-social behavior/conduct and our commitment to deep ethics and the benefit of all form the basis of our working and social relationships.

Other information you need to know for your stay at ridgedale PERMACULTUREDedicated to the benefit of all...

Accommodation & Facilities

Accomodation will be camping, and you need to bring a good quality tent. We have a shared communal loft space for reading & re-laxing as well as large yurts and other spaces. We can supply a simple mattress & duvet, but you will need to bring a sleeping bag to en-sure you are warm enough during your stay.

We have simple dry composting toilet as a means to close our nutrient cycles.

Washing facilities are a large communal sau-na/ washroom with a couple of private stalls for bucket showers. We ask people to bring purely ecological soaps as they drain into our plant systems. Please also bring a swimming costume for the sauna/ washroom. Whilst this is not exactly traditional by Swedish stan-dards we must point out that we have people from all over the world attending our train-ings from very different cultural backgrounds.

Conditions are simple here, we are es-tablishing a farm from scratch!

Catering

Our courses are fully catered from our practical farmhouse kitch-en with our full-time farm chef.

We provide as much basic fresh food from the farm as possible, vegetables, fruit, dairy, eggs, meat, etc. At some times of year we may also have wild meats, berries and mushrooms available too. All bulk products we buy in are organic and the meals we serve are of a wholesome farm menu type, which include preserved, fer-mented and dried surplus products from the farm. We offer an option of our meals without meat products for vegetarians, any variations to basic meat or vegetarian diet we are not able to cater for, so students with specialized diets need to supplement their meals with their own food purchases.

Please let us know if you have medical allergies well in advance of your visit.

We have invested into a community 1GB/Sec Fibre Optic instal so everyone can have awesome connection speed for research and staying in touch with your loved ones. You need to bring a computer or tablet to make the most of trainings & resources available.

Internet Access

Participation in Trainings

We really value what you can bring to the farm, and as part of our exchange we would like to invite you to partici-pate with as much as possible thats going on at the farm. We would like to meticulously document all aspects of the site development, and our open farm gate policy means we will share the ups and downs and ins and outs of all aspects of the farm with our course participants and interns to help support the regeneration of soils, communities and local economies ev-erywhere. Whilst this is a challang-ing role for you to take on, it is our wish that you get to participate in 2 weeks of trainings during your stay.

In order to maintain efficient run-nign of all aspects of the farm we will discuss the details of this when the Core Team have all assembled. It is likely we shall run 2x 8 Week In-ternships in 2015 so there will be ample opporunity to participate in the training you are interested in.

www.ridgedalepermaculture.com

“The experience at Ridgedale has been the biggest accomplishment of my permaculture activities, bar none. Al-though I arrived without much expectations, I quickly became exposed to and learnt a set of various skills that have already proven very useful, 3 weeks after getting back home. After being greeted around a huge fire and listening to the farm’s amazing echo, next day it started full speed. Working in a group, along a great team and an amazing coordinator, I became involved in farm and garden management (my official position) from the second day of my stay. Here I learnt and got experience with agroforestry systems, Keyline design and Holistic Management, as well as attended a PDC and practiced veg growing, bioferts, soil building etc. The theory had always been supported by the field work, and that is where real experience proves its value. Deci-sion making on the spot, confidence in the tasks, group management and communication, efficient work-flow are all abilities useful for being a farmer, and I was exposed to all of them. I also had the chance to expand my portfolio through the opportunities that the farm offers, to further pursue my design and farming endeav-ors. I’m super happy for making this choice, for Richard is a great teacher and he’s always shown his support.”

HERE’S WHAT PIONEER GARDEN MANAGER GABI HAD TO SAY...