Phone Number
714310 4466
I'm Seeking
Apprenticeship
Best Time to be Reached
Anytime
Age
29
Available for Fall Harvest
Yes
Gender
Male
Room & Board
Room
Are you a vegetarian?
Yes
Available for Winter Work
Yes
Will you eat meat raised at your host farm?
Yes
Time Period for Work
Flexible. I am currently exploring options - Preferably, I would travel with my family to Vermont for an extended stay - a season or more - perhaps on a regular basis (i.e. each summer and harvest, etc).
Why are you seeking an apprenticeship or work opportunity on an organic farm in Vermont?
I am extremely interested in organic farming as a way to help shape the world in a positive way that runs counter to destructive tendencies of the world economies and especially the food industries. I value physical work and the outdoors and I have a strong desire to learn how to nurture and care for the land in sustainable ways from people with hands-on experience. I believe that organic farming methods can have a rehabilitative effect on everyone involved, from the workers to the consumers, the land, and even the community and the nation as a whole.
I can visit farms to interview for apprentice / farm worker position
Yes
Physical Labor
I am fairly in shape and strong for my size. I commute to work by bike several times a week (16 miles round trip), and living on the 5th floor of a walk-up, I regularly carry my 2-year old, groceries, my bike, etc. up and down the stairs and through the city. As an electrician in California, I regularly dug holes and trenches, carried heavy tools and equipment, worked outdoors for long hours, and worked in physically demanding spaces such as attics, crawl-spaces, rooftops, and high building exteriors. I enjoy physical work with a practical purpose over gyms and other training programs, so I try to work physical activity into my daily routines. I also have handyman experience working for relatives and at my current workshop, installing light fixtures, installing ground sprinklers, building basic tables and shelves, operating large machinery and hand tools, etc.
Do You Have Transportation?
No
How did you hear about the program?
Google searching on the internet
Medical Issues
No.
Three Interesting Things About Me
1. As mentioned before, I am a puppet builder, currently working for Sesame Street and the Muppets.
2. I played the drums in my high school marching band.
3. My wife and I met in high school and have been married for almost 8 years.
2. I played the drums in my high school marching band.
3. My wife and I met in high school and have been married for almost 8 years.
Are you a smoker?
No
3 Things People Should Know About Living with Me
1. I am particular and neat. I try to keep everything clean and in it's place.
2. I rise fairly early - between 5 and 6 AM - and go to bed around 10PM.
3. I often like solitude, peace, and quiet, and I prefer reading quietly by myself to having a raucous party.
2. I rise fairly early - between 5 and 6 AM - and go to bed around 10PM.
3. I often like solitude, peace, and quiet, and I prefer reading quietly by myself to having a raucous party.
Name an experience that changed the course of your life
About a year after getting married, my wife and I travelled to New York City for a vacation. We had such a great experience, we decided to move so that I could try and intern with the Jim Henson Company. We cut expenses and saved for almost a year, then packed up our cats and as much as we could fit into our car and drove across the country. Moving across the country has had a major impact on our lives. In some ways it has been difficult, living so far from our families and the place where we grew up. In other ways, though, it has encouraged us to form values, build relationships, and acquire skills on our own. Looking back over our time in New York, we have changed and developed so much as individuals and as a family. We have learned a lot about being self-motivated and self-reliant, and we have learned how to communicate and support each other, even during stressful times (like having an infant in a 5-floor walk-up). We
Experience Level
Novice
References
Randy Miller
Father and Previous Employer at Miller Electric of Orange
[email protected]
Melissa Creighton
Production Coordinator, The Jim Henson Company
[email protected]
Paul Andrejco
Owner, Puppet Heap, LLC
[email protected]
Natalie Miller
Spouse
[email protected]
Father and Previous Employer at Miller Electric of Orange
[email protected]
Melissa Creighton
Production Coordinator, The Jim Henson Company
[email protected]
Paul Andrejco
Owner, Puppet Heap, LLC
[email protected]
Natalie Miller
Spouse
[email protected]
Can You Drive Manual Transmission?
Yes
Apprentice Goals
To become acquainted with the daily operations of a biodynamic/organic farm and the associated skills, with the long-term goal of working full-time on a farm or starting my own small-scale operation. I am also interested in learning how to bring farm-produced goods to market, and to tap trees for syrup.
Work Experience
Assistant Electrician - Miller Electric of Orange (Orange, CA) 2010-2012
Advanced 3D Design Teacher - Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)2011-2012
Freelance puppet builder and designer - The Jim Henson Company (Queens, NYC) 2013-Present
Freelance puppet builder and designer - Puppet Heap (Hoboken, NJ) 2013 - Present
Advanced 3D Design Teacher - Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)2011-2012
Freelance puppet builder and designer - The Jim Henson Company (Queens, NYC) 2013-Present
Freelance puppet builder and designer - Puppet Heap (Hoboken, NJ) 2013 - Present
3 Skills
Nurturing
I am a very nurturing person. I make strong bonds with the people, creatures, and environments in my life and seek to understand and serve them to help them flourish. This has been a lifelong learning process, starting at a young age with pets and relatives and continuing to this day with my wife and young son. Because of this, I love to learn about the things in my care (including people, plants, animals, and my environment) and work to learn and develop skills that can best serve their needs. Part of what draws me to farming is my understanding that this is the primary function of a farmer, to which I feel well suited.
Learning/teaching
I have a strength for taking in information and processing it in a way that allows me to break it down and present it to others in a clear and helpful way. Again, this has been a lifelong process, strengthened by my time as a middle-school art teacher, an after-school science program instructor, and now as a parent of a young child, as well as in training positions at various jobs. This is applicable to this apprenticeship in that I am quick to learn and internalize processes. I am good at seeing the overall picture and the end goal, and understanding how the individual components of an operation serve the overall function.
Discipline
I have a strong commitment to finishing what I started and to putting work before play. This is something I began learning in elementary school when I aim to finish projects early so as to ensure ample buffer time. This way, I could make sure that the job was done properly. I continue this ethic today - as an independent contractor, I am largely responsible for setting my own schedule and managing my time wisely. In addition, within my household I am the first person to rise and the last to go to bed to ensure that we stay on top of our household chores and maintenance. I constantly strive to improve my skills to better accomplish my goals. On a farm, I recognize that there are numerous, labor-intensive and interlocking processing going on at once that require a disciplined approach to time-management and hard work.
I am a very nurturing person. I make strong bonds with the people, creatures, and environments in my life and seek to understand and serve them to help them flourish. This has been a lifelong learning process, starting at a young age with pets and relatives and continuing to this day with my wife and young son. Because of this, I love to learn about the things in my care (including people, plants, animals, and my environment) and work to learn and develop skills that can best serve their needs. Part of what draws me to farming is my understanding that this is the primary function of a farmer, to which I feel well suited.
Learning/teaching
I have a strength for taking in information and processing it in a way that allows me to break it down and present it to others in a clear and helpful way. Again, this has been a lifelong process, strengthened by my time as a middle-school art teacher, an after-school science program instructor, and now as a parent of a young child, as well as in training positions at various jobs. This is applicable to this apprenticeship in that I am quick to learn and internalize processes. I am good at seeing the overall picture and the end goal, and understanding how the individual components of an operation serve the overall function.
Discipline
I have a strong commitment to finishing what I started and to putting work before play. This is something I began learning in elementary school when I aim to finish projects early so as to ensure ample buffer time. This way, I could make sure that the job was done properly. I continue this ethic today - as an independent contractor, I am largely responsible for setting my own schedule and managing my time wisely. In addition, within my household I am the first person to rise and the last to go to bed to ensure that we stay on top of our household chores and maintenance. I constantly strive to improve my skills to better accomplish my goals. On a farm, I recognize that there are numerous, labor-intensive and interlocking processing going on at once that require a disciplined approach to time-management and hard work.
What do you hope to take away from an experience working on an organic farm?
1. I hope to learn the overall operating structure of a farm, and how it interlocks - including the annual cycle
2. I hope to learn about compost, crop rotation, and other means of building up and maintaining healthy soil
3. I hope to learn if possible, about preserving food - jams and jellys, fermentation, root storage, etc.
4. I am also interested in learning to tend and sheer sheep, and to spin wool.
5. I am interested in growing and caring for an orchard, and I am interested in tapping trees and maple syrup prouction.
2. I hope to learn about compost, crop rotation, and other means of building up and maintaining healthy soil
3. I hope to learn if possible, about preserving food - jams and jellys, fermentation, root storage, etc.
4. I am also interested in learning to tend and sheer sheep, and to spin wool.
5. I am interested in growing and caring for an orchard, and I am interested in tapping trees and maple syrup prouction.
Education
I have no training in farming specifically. My area of study is Sculpture, and my current field is puppetry. I graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a BA in studio art and currently work as a puppet builder and character designer for the Jim Henson Company. While this work is not directly related, I have a strong work ethic and experience with manual labor (as an industrial electrician and as a puppet builder).
What do you perceive will be your reaction to living and learning with new and unknown people in a rural area?
I expect that it will be thrilling, envigorating, and engaging. My family and I travel regularly to Vermont and are always astounded by the change of pace and the natural beauty of the environment. My wife and I have both been increasingly drawn to the rural lifestyle as the years progress, and we both see it as an opportunity to challenge the consumerism of our culture and of the less attractive tendencies of our society and even in ourselves.
Status
Active