8-month Internship Program

Our internship programs provide a unique opportunity for enthusiastic people interested in creating a sustainable future to gain a thorough understanding of GROW BIOINTENSIVE sustainable mini-farming. Participants immerse themselves in the subject, living and working on location at one of Ecology Action's research sites, attending classes taught by our master farmers, gaining practical field experience, and working with other interns from around the world, building connections that will last a lifetime. Upon completion of the program, interns have gained the ability to apply and teach the method at a beginning and intermediate level.

Our interns are more than students; through this program, they become part of the network of farmers, gardeners, researchers, teachers and policy makers that make up the global Ecology Action team. Our interns come from many different countries and cultures, and are determined to return to their communities and work hard to create a better, more sustainable future.

These are fee-based, unpaid internships, and our resources for scholarships are extremely limited. Your support for will provide the opportunity for Ecology Action to accept more applicants who demonstrate the need for aid as well as a significant ability to use the skills they gain through an internship to benefit their communities and the planet.

$16,000 provides a 6-month full scholarship for one participant.

...and donations of all sizes add up to help someone achieve success!

(Full scholarships include tuition, room, board, fees, supplies, transportation, communication, insurance, incidental expenses and follow-up.)

2-Month Summer Internship Program

Because the world needs more skilled, educated young people working to create a sustainable future, Ecology Action provides a 2-month summer internship program aimed at college students, designed to accommodate student summer break schedules.

Though working on a compressed schedule, this 2-month program is similar to the 6-month internship in many ways, teaching participants the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method and focusing on using sustainable, small-scale, organic, non-mechanized, low-input food raising techniques to grow better lives and more sustainable communities.

This two-month internship is an opportunity to learn valuable techniques and information, to experience an alternative living style, and to make lifelong ties with other interns from different states and countries. Interns will assist Ecology Action in accomplishing important work that can help farmers, gardeners, and communities around the world to raise food, conserve resources and build fertile soil sustainably. The program is a combination of lectures, study, garden work, and living the method. The program provides a solid foundation to launch a career in sustainable agriculture; once interns have completed their stay it is hoped they will continue their education and engage in public service for food security in communities across the country and around the world.

This is a fee-based, unpaid internship, and our resources for scholarships are extremely limited. Your support will provide financially disadvantaged students with the opportunity to participate in this unique program.

A donation of $3,000 will provide a scholarship for one intern...

... and will help Ecology Action grow our network of skilled GROW BIOINTENSIVE practitioners in the next generation of farmers, teachers, policy makers and citizens.

3-Year Apprenticeship Program

Ecology Action's three-year Apprenticeship Program is an intensive, in-depth immersion program for participants who want to build a life and a career around practicing and teaching GROW BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable mini-farming. The program is designed to instill participants with the ability to understand and utilize the most effective and sustainable farming practices for a given situation, as well as the ability to train teachers, program members and project staff. This three-year commitment requires energy, responsibility and self-motivation. Apprentices live on site at Ecology Action's research sites, study and work full-time under the guidance of experienced Ecology Action staff, and participate in research and education activities in the classroom and in the field.

The apprenticeship program is essential for building a base of farmer-teachers with highly advanced skills who can set up their own GROW BIOINTENSIVE demonstration gardens and farmer-to-farmer teaching sites in their own communities. Because it requires a large commitment of time and financial resources from the participants, it can be a challenge for many to complete the program. Your contribution can help these dedicated individuals achieve success, and can help build a stronger teaching base for sustainable agriculture around the world.

Apprenticeship costs include tuition, room and board, medical insurance, tools, books, fuel and supplies, as well as incidental expenses.

$8,000 funds an apprentice for one year;
$15,000 for two years;
$22,000 covers an entire 3-year apprenticeship.

Any contribution to this program allows us to continue to train these dedicated community-builders.

Research, Publications, and Outreach

The GROW BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farm at The Jeavons Center in Willits, CA is one of the oldest continuously running sustainable agriculture research and demonstration sites in the world.
It's where we research and improve the GB method, teach interns and apprentices, and give workshops, classes and tours to the public. We have two additional research sites in Mendocino County that help us further develop the method and improve how it functions in different climates and environments.

For those that can't be with us in the person, we continuously work to create, improve, translate and update our websites, videos, books, booklets, research papers and informational material, and other publications. These resources, often provided free of charge (especially online) give people around the world ability to teach themselves how to build food security and sustainable soil fertility. For example, our website provides high-quality how-to videos, and a self-teaching manual free to the public. Our flagship publication "How to Grow More Vegetables" is now in its 8th Edition, and has been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, German and French - and we're working on getting it into more languages to make it more accessible.

Your contributions can make a significant difference in our ability to continue our research, information dissemination and public outreach activities. Some examples of the ways in which you can help us:

$300/month covers shipping to send translated publications to low-income people in other countries.

$400/year supports one research growing bed, which includes supplies, staff maintenance, and data collection. (There are 110 research bed units at the Ecology Action Headquarters facility.)

$6,000 keeps our websites updated and running smoothly for 6 months.

$15,000 helps us take a workshop to a disadvantaged community in the US.

$30,000 funds the production of another how-to video.

This is just a sample of the many projects we work on.
Donations of all amounts are greatly appreciated.

♥

Imagine the world we can grow together!

A Proposal for a African Mini-Ag Training Center Network

Ecology Action is heading a $9.05 million dollar campaign to create an African Mini-Ag Training Center Network. In conjunction with our African partner organization, the GROW BIOINTENSIVE Agriculture Center of Kenya (G-BIACK), this 4.25-year project will catalyze the training of an estimated 1.06 million African farmers at a cost of approximately $9.00 per person.

The basis of this program is the enhancement of a Mini-Ag Training Center/Soil Test Station ("Center") in Kenya, designed to train farmers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mali and Ghana (the main program participants) in Ecology Action's GROW BIOINTENSIVE method. These countries have been selected for inclusion in the program because they have significant need, and also have cultures/environments that are compatible with our program goals and methods. The program will also teach participants (to a lesser extent) from Mozambique, Uganda, Guinea Bissau, and Cape Verde, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Senegal, which can also benefit from having a group of trained farmer/teachers to lay the groundwork for an expansion of this program in the future. Program participants will learn to grow a complete diet in a small area, to produce soil-building materials to create sustainable fertility all in the same area, as well as produce a good income while honing their community-building and teaching skills.

The project will implement a farmer-to-farmer education program, in which farmers are trained at the primary Center, and then return to their own communities to establish secondary Mini-Ag Training Centers, where they will teach others what they have learned. They will encourage the people they teach to teach others in turn, creating an expanding network of food security, prosperity and community-building activities.

This program, which is based on similar smaller-scale training programs created by Ecology Action in the US, and by Ecology Action partners and associates in Kenya and Latin America, will focus on achieving several goals centered on providing tangible benefits to the small farmers and their communities in the region. These include: Improving food security, reducing chronic hunger, and improving the quality of nutrition, increasing sustainability, and empowering African farmers to create sustainable and uniquely African solutions to the challenges confronting them.

We are seeking the support of a major donor, or donors, to help us achieve success in this endeavor.

Our Existing African Partner Projects and Organizations

"If your goal is for one year, plant maize; if your goal is for ten years, plant a tree;
but if your goal is for lifetime, then invest in training."
- Peris Wanjiru Nderitu, co-founder and co-director of G-BIACK

The GROW BIOINTENSIVE Agriculture Center of Kenya (G-BIACK) is located in Thika, Kenya and was founded by husband and wife team Samuel Nderitu and Peris Wanjiru Nderitu. G-BIACK functions as a training center for people in the region, and has trained thousands of farmers to become more effective at raising food and community building. We are seeking to expand and improve the training program and facilities through the Mini-Ag Training Center Network initiative described on the previous page.

The Kilili Self Help Project is one of Ecology Action's partner organizations supporting the work of trained and certified Kenyan community workers who teach farmers the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method of organic farming and soil fertility management. Kilili provides support for graduates of Manor House Agricultural Centre in their work with farmers -- including G-BIACK founders Samuel and Peris. In 2005, with support from Kilili Self-Help Project, MHAC graduates trained more than 10,000 farmers in six-day workshops. The cost: less than $6 per farmer! Currently, through the generosity of Kilili donors, more than 116,000 families are using simple, ecological methods to achieve food security and economic self-reliance. The average cost of training for each farmer is US$3.50

For more about these and other international partner organizations and projects, click here.