2024 Farm Manager at ridgedale (Swedish/English speaking)
APPLICATION PERIOD CLOSED. SHORT-LISTED CANDIDATES CAN EXPECT TO BE CONTACTED BY FRIDAY 16TH FEB
Employment period is May 17th- Oct 5th 2024
33,000 kr/month gross + food + simple accomodation + insurance
Explanation of the role
Ridgedale has been on a pause the last year, but it's time to breathe some life back in to this incredible farm and learning hub. We pride ourselves on offering some of the leading Regenerative Agriculture training opportunities available on the planet. I'm seeking a bright-eyed and bushy tailed professional to assist me in running a year of epic learning experiences! We are running two 8 week theory/practical internships that include our 9 day Regenerative Agriculture Design training, 3 day Holistic Management training, 4 day No-Dig Market Gardening training and 4 day Pastured Poultry training. There will also be other projects going on, such as building a 750 m2 sand garden and generally having a blast!
This role would suit someone passionate about Regenerative Farming. You must speak good English, as that is the common language of the farm, and Swedish would be a great benefit! You must have a driving license. You are well presented, have a strong work-ethic, cheerful and communicative. You are sociable and enjoy receiving and greeting people. You are practical and handy with tools, carpentry, odd-jobs and are self-directed. You are creative and solutions-orientated.
I want you to quickly get an overview on all the farm enterprises, to help me manage the teams of interns and course participants. You will also be my 'right-hand' person; helping a lot during courses to give people the best experience, driving out to pick up materials and supplies, manage/oversee operations when I am away or with my family. You need to be hungry to learn, and live and breath Regenerative Agriculture. In return for your high level of flexibility and solutions orientation, I will do my best to make sure you get all the insight and experience you need on your learning pathway.
The salary is based on 160hrs/month, so about 800 hours over the 140 days the employment runs for. Thats about 5-6 hours a day in a 7 day farm week, and you need to be flexible to the fact that the farm runs 7 days a week. If you are a clock-watcher this role will not work for either of us! Farming is a lot about doing whatever needs doing whenever it needs doing, so I seek a person who can observe carefully, look out for things they see need doing on their own and be constantly proactive. During official courses (50 days out of 140) the Farm Chef may need some help chopping/washing/setting out. Sometimes I will need you to manage work processes with the interns. Regularly I will need you to go and buy supplies in town. Sometimes I'll need you to pick up and greet course participants, fix up the BBQ, run and get us a wheelbarrow of cow manure to make a soil prep, etc. Sometimes I might need help picking up my kids from school, looking through local ad's online to buy a cow, or make ice-cream for everyone out of fresh cream because its a heatwave! Maybe today I want you to clean up the toolshed or make a new monitoring spreadsheet for forest-raised pork. Sometimes I won't have time to meet to tell you what to do, but if you're the right person for this role, you'll know where to best put your energy. Flexible, responsive, up-for-it is what I'm looking for!
This role would suit someone passionate about Regenerative Farming. You must speak good English, as that is the common language of the farm, and Swedish would be a great benefit! You must have a driving license. You are well presented, have a strong work-ethic, cheerful and communicative. You are sociable and enjoy receiving and greeting people. You are practical and handy with tools, carpentry, odd-jobs and are self-directed. You are creative and solutions-orientated.
I want you to quickly get an overview on all the farm enterprises, to help me manage the teams of interns and course participants. You will also be my 'right-hand' person; helping a lot during courses to give people the best experience, driving out to pick up materials and supplies, manage/oversee operations when I am away or with my family. You need to be hungry to learn, and live and breath Regenerative Agriculture. In return for your high level of flexibility and solutions orientation, I will do my best to make sure you get all the insight and experience you need on your learning pathway.
The salary is based on 160hrs/month, so about 800 hours over the 140 days the employment runs for. Thats about 5-6 hours a day in a 7 day farm week, and you need to be flexible to the fact that the farm runs 7 days a week. If you are a clock-watcher this role will not work for either of us! Farming is a lot about doing whatever needs doing whenever it needs doing, so I seek a person who can observe carefully, look out for things they see need doing on their own and be constantly proactive. During official courses (50 days out of 140) the Farm Chef may need some help chopping/washing/setting out. Sometimes I will need you to manage work processes with the interns. Regularly I will need you to go and buy supplies in town. Sometimes I'll need you to pick up and greet course participants, fix up the BBQ, run and get us a wheelbarrow of cow manure to make a soil prep, etc. Sometimes I might need help picking up my kids from school, looking through local ad's online to buy a cow, or make ice-cream for everyone out of fresh cream because its a heatwave! Maybe today I want you to clean up the toolshed or make a new monitoring spreadsheet for forest-raised pork. Sometimes I won't have time to meet to tell you what to do, but if you're the right person for this role, you'll know where to best put your energy. Flexible, responsive, up-for-it is what I'm looking for!
Eating at the farm
The farm supplies a balanced diet of meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables and whole foods. Richard supplies farm raised/grown produce and 100% organic whole foods that we will buy in. During any courses meals are fully catered by a Farm Chef. The rest of the time, interns will prepare breakfast and cook over weekends, with the Farm Chef providing lunch and dinner on weekdays. In your role you are not expected to join the cooking rotations, except in helping the Farm Chef (about 50 days are official course days). If you want to you also can! Bear in mind Ridgedale is a meat producing farm and we also slaughter animals here on the farm. If you are not comfortable with any of this it is probably not wise to apply.
Staying at the farm
We have a very simple hut with 4 rooms that you can share with the other staff member. You will have 2 connected simple rooms as your private space, albeit in close quarters. We light the sauna and bathtub daily for washing, and have an outdoor sink with hot and cold water. We have fiber optic internet with a repeater that works in the main tipi space. You can use a washing machine. We have a shared kitchen in a cabin, as well as space for dining when it's cold. In the summer we tend to eat outside under the tipi's.
Receiving visitors during your stay
- Visitations should be discussed well ahead of time with Richard, and should not be when official trainings are being run.
- Your visitors are required to contribute 150 kr per day to cover very basic costs.
- Your visitors will need to either stay in your room or bring all they need for camping.
Vehicle
- There is a farm vehicle available for private use, everyone is responsible for maintaining the logbook and covering their costs (3 kr/km).
- If you can bring you own car then other members may appreciate it also!
Application form
If you have fully read, understand and agree to all the above information, and see it could benefit you to join us for the season, then we welcome your application. Please add a short video introducing yourself. If you are short-listed for the role we will email asking for a Zoom chat shortly after application closes.