Volunteer Application
Open Source Ecology at Factor E Farm has many opportunities for participation. For those of you interested in a hands-on experiential approach, a long-term (one month or more) stay may be a good option for you. We want this to be the "right" experience for you, so read the blurb below to get a feel of what life might be like on the farm and then fill out the application and email it to:
opensourceecology [at] gmail.com
Introduction:
We collect rainwater from the roof. A composting system is our toilet. Chickens and goats provide us with eggs and milk. The car is converted to run on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from Restaurants. And our electrical power is generated from the same WVO.
Sounds simple and idyllic, doesn't it? Ecological living at its pinnacle.
But what happends when the water system sprouts a leak; you're ready for a hot shower that isn't working; the humanure bucket needs to be emptied; the chickens stopped laying due to a heat wave; the car breaks down- twice- because the WVO clogged and snapped the injection pump; and the power generator (the Lister) busts during a winter cold spell.
All of these events have happened at Factor E. Sometimes, more than one at a time. We say this not to scare you, but to prepare you. Life is beautiful, but not always easy. As inconvenient as these upsets are, I wouldn't trade them in for city water or store bought eggs. These experiences teach us fundamentals, like the value of water and the reality of raising food.
When a difficulty does arise, we expect people to take responsibility for their own needs. If the water is down and you need to have a hot shower, we expect you to share in the responsibility of making it happen. That is what creates a progressively more beautiful Factor E Farm.
Because of the diversity of our activites, we believe a Factor E experience can be exceptional and life-changing. But that doesn't mean its for everyone. There are countless opportunities abailable in the realm of sustainability and justice (ie. wiserearth; idealist; organicvolunteers; WWOOF; growing growers )Missouri based farmer's training)...) Browse through our website; email or call us with questions. When you feel prepared, fill out an application.
What would I do at the farm?
1-2 hours: Personal development and meditation time. We strongly encourage volunteers to take time to meditate, pray, do yoga, journal...
2-8 hours: Pursue research and development. Factor E Farm is intrinsically linked to the non-profit work of Open Source Ecology (OSE). The goal of OSE is creating "Just Tools for Life" for a "Global Village Construction Set." For those with motivation and/or skills, this type of work might be the major part of your day: Designing, Modeling, Networking, Studying, Writing, Building, Testing...
.5-2 hours: Chores: from cooking to cleaning to brewing biodiesel, everyone pitches in.
1-4 hours: Agricultural activities. Everyone participates in food life on the farm. This may include planting, harvesting, weeding, fertility building...
1-4 hours: Main physical work. This depends on what our current goals are. For example, we might be building with Compressed Earth Blocks, fixing the shower system, or processing food.
Where will I stay?
1. Camping is the main option available. Bring your own supplies.
2. If all goes well, we may be able to retrofit a silo into a basic sleeping quarters and dry storage space.
3.