Ananda Farm Internship 2023
About Us and The Internship
We have space available for 3 joyful souls to join us in the summer of 2023 and be a part of our community.
Ananda farm is a 25 acre yoga ashram, homestead, and natural farm on Camano Island. We are a dynamic community of about 15 yogi-farmers, living an integrated, holistic lifestyle with nature and spirit. Our aspiration as a homestead is to create all of our own needs as a growing community: food, medicine, carpentry, arts, and beyond.
Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book “The One Straw Revolution,” we are a no-till farm, emphasizing plant diversity and the use of universal and natural farming techniques. Simple living, high thinking is our model for life.
We follow the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who in 1920 brought the teachings of yoga, or self-realization, to the west. Yoga gives each of us practical ways to improve ourselves; to live less from our egos, and more in service to the greater good. We can serve each other in our own little community by doing even the simplest of things, like washing dishes and sweeping in the herb shop kitchen; and, we also love to serve the larger community by participating in our local farmer’s markets, and hosting hundreds of guests every summer at the farm.
Every morning, Monday-Saturday, we gather together for sadhana (chanting and meditation), and have two public yoga sadhanas every week in the summers, that everyone is welcome to attend.
You do not need to have any prior knowledge about farming, yoga, or holistic living to apply for this. Fukuoka said the best natural farmers are actually people who don’t know anything at all about farming. It’s really about showing up everyday with joy, wanting to participate and contribute positively, with a willingness to learn.
For each person we aspire to find the dynamic balance of individual inspiration as well as joyful team-oriented cooperation. Certain activities we all share in, like harvest and hosting guests on the farm; other things, like creative arts and building, are specialized and specific to the gifts and interests of each person. As a community, we aspire to find that dynamic balance for each person.
Recommended reading:
“How to be happy and blissful all the time”, a talk on brotherhood colonies by Yogananda.
“Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda
“The One Straw Revolution” by Masanobu Fukuoka,
Details and How to Apply
The 2023 season’s internship program is from May 1 – Sept 30, 2023, and represents a full season commitment to life in our Yoga Ashram.
This timeline allows you to jump into a complete farm flow, just as the season shifts from spring to summer, and also to finish before the fall rains and wind are reaching their peak bluster. It also allows you time to participate in a well-rounded rhythm of natural farming: from seeding, to planting, to harvest and market.
The only cost would be a monthly bulk food contribution of $50/month. Since this is an experience of full immersion and integration with our farmers, we will be eating and cooking together in our main farm kitchens in a fluid flow. We are asking our interns to be tenting but it is possible that a bungalow might be available, both options will use outhouses and outdoor showers. We are looking for candidates who can be fully committed to being here from May 1 – Sept 30. Also, we are a drug and alcohol free and vegetarian community.
Application for 2023 summer season is CLOSED. If you’re interested, please check back for next year!
Thanks for reading!
(Copy and paste this section into your email.)
Application Closed for Summer 2023.
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Farm application questions
What is your inspiration for applying for this internship?
Do you have any experience working with plants?
Do you have any background or interest in living in community? If yes, please share briefly about your experiences.
Would you describe yourself being spiritual? This is a space to share about your current spiritual practice, interests, etc.
Do you have any existing connections to or experience with Ananda’s path? Please tell us about it.
What do you like doing for fun? What brings you joy?
Are you ok eating a vegetarian diet while you are living here? (Cheese and eggs are ok here too)
This is a space to share any other information you think we’d like to know about you
Additional learning opportunities and activities on the farm
No Till Farming – We use timeless and natural agrarian techniques, with simple hand tools, and mulch. Lots of mulch.
Companion Planting – We grow many different kinds of vegetables together in our garden beds, alongside mixed trees, herbs and flowers.
Plant Nursery – Learn different ways to seed plants, create potting soil, propagate, transplant, and share!
Harvesting – Learn how to harvest and steward the best crops in the PNW to keep them healthy, vibrant and producing abundantly throughout the season
Farmer’s Markets – Be on the market team at one of our farmer’s markets. We are a vendor at the Stanwood and Everett farmer’s markets on Friday and Sunday. And we also run Prana Café, a farm store, and offer farm tours at the farm on Saturdays during the growing season.
Café and bakery– Help run a fun, little, farm-to-table café, Saturdays on the farm.
Natural Farming – how to build soil fertility naturally, build terrace berms (bermaculture), use a scythe and hand sickle, mulch with wood chips and other plant matter, chop and drop, sow seeds, limb trees, thin fruit, and more.
Tree care – how to plant and care for trees to keep them happy and healthy; donut mulching.
Herbs – how to manage perennial herb patches, harvest, dry, and process.
Herbalism– Learn how to turn plants into medicine; make oil infusions, tinctures, soaps, herbal salts, and much more.
Food preservation – pickling, dehydrating, canning, saucing, juicing, jammin’, etc.
Animal care/management– we have chickens, alpacas, dogs, cats, pigs, and goats that receive daily care. Some examples of daily activities are goat milking, egg collecting, cleaning out living quarters, shepherding the alpacas through different pastures.
Daily morning meditation/sadhana– We meet together every morning 6:30-8am to chant and meditate
Yoga classes– we have two public yoga classes per week in the summer that everyone is welcome to attend
Music/theatre– we rehearse every week for choir and have opportunities to share music and theatre at our public events throughout the summer.
Raja Yoga – join the farmers for weekly satsangs of Raja Yoga – the Art and Science of Living Yoga.
Kitchen – Learn how to eat from the nature around you: get familiar with the best foods that grow well in this area, and learn how to prepare them, with love!
Building– We have many ongoing building projects around the farm at all times. Some recent past examples include building a shed from natural timbers from the forest, a cob pizza oven, wood sheds, a cottage, fence gates, etc.
Art– Be a part of the new joyful arts studio where you can participate in pottery making, stained glass, painting, among other things.