We are hiring an intern!
Cicada Calling
Purpose of Program
The purpose of this internship program and partnership with SPROUT NOLA is to provide new and beginning farmers from the Gulf South with paid opportunities to learn about and work on small scale sustainable farming operations. Priority will be placed on young farmers, new & beginning farmers, BIPOC farmers, and farmers from the Gulf South region. This program is working to build collective knowledge and experience around sustainable farming practices in our region as a tool to mitigate climate change and help build alternative economies and structures for supporting our community with fresh, healthy, and clean food. We also hope to connect with other young and aspiring farmers in the Gulf South to share this experience and knowledge with one another.
About Cicada Calling Farm
Cicada Calling is a 2-acre diversified vegetable and cut flower farm in Southeast, Louisiana run by Becks Hilliard & Sierra Torres. As two young farmers from Louisiana we believe farming in the Gulf South is an act of resistance towards a disappearing community that has been ravaged by climate change and the petrochemical industry. With climate change threatening our community’s ability to be food sovereign, we hope to invest in and help develop better farming practices for our area as well as support our community with fresh, healthy foods grown without synthetic chemicals or fertilizers. For us, this is not just a business, it’s an intentional decision to invest in a future for Louisiana and create alternative economies, structures, and systems to support, heal, and nourish our community. Young people in Louisiana are told their whole lives that this land won’t exist in 50 years (if your from here, the“Louisiana loses a football field of wetlands per hour” is likely engraved in your brain) and that the only way to make money in our State is to go into the oil and gas industry. Although confronting and working to develop strategies to handle the displacement that will ultimately come due to climate change and coastal erosion, we also believe that it is equally important to flip these narratives and ask ourselves, what could Louisiana look like if we did not rely on these destructive industries and instead invested in our community? What would it look like for there to be equitable jobs that help build up our environment? What would it look like for people to have access to fresh healthy food grown in ways that supported the beautiful biodiversity of this land vs destroying it? That’s what Cicada Calling means to us. We all deserve to have a joyful and prosperous future in Louisiana— today and 50 years from now. For us farming is a calling: an act of self care and an act of community care.
Our farm is a low to no-till farm focused on regenerative farming practices such as:
investment in soil through intensive cover cropping
growing without synthetic herbicides and pesticides
fostering microbial community in the soil through bioinoculants, composting, biochar, and more
minimizing use of plastic by soil blocking, mulching with organic matter, and tarping
interplanting and integrating vegetable and cut flower production to provide best farm ecosystem for pollinators and soil food web
Job Description
We are looking for a curious, self-motivated, inspired farm intern to join us once a week for an 8 hour shift for a total of three months! We require the intern to have reliable transportation to and from the farm (located in Independence, LA), and to be on time for their work day. We typically start work in the morning, take one 15 minute snack/water break when needed and a 45 minute lunch/reset depending on when the current task at hand comes to a good stopping point.
Desired Qualifications
Genuine interest in growing with a desire to develop skills and knowledge
Enjoy and able to do physically demanding work – comfortable over varied terrain; lift and carry 50 lbs., bend and kneel; work outside for long hours sometimes in inclement weather (heat, rain, etc.)
Ability to hustle and working efficiently
Ability to focus on quality with attention-to-detail while performing repetitive tasks
Upbeat and positive attitude with strong communication skills
Ability to work both independently and with others
Willingness to be flexible, apply oneself where needed, and take direction and feedback well
Ability to be punctual with reliable transportation
Fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19
Willingness to commit to the duration of the 3-month internship
Tasks and responsibilities we will share, and learn:
Field prep (broadforking, applying amendments, mulching, and planting)
Seed starting and greenhouse management (including watering and fertilizer management of seedlings
Irrigation set up and break down (overhead wobblers and drip irrigation)
Harvest, sanitation, and prep of flowers and produce to bring to market
Use of small farm equipment such as a BCS*
*the use and training of interns on farm equipment will be evaluated on a case by case basis. all equipment work will be supervised.
Compensation & Time
This internship is a contract position for 3 months. Intern will be asked to work roughly eight hours a day once a week, with flexibility week to week based on the weather or nature of the work. Compensation is $1300 stipend for the 3 months. Intern will be responsible for all taxes (need to say more about this) and will be required to fill out a W-9. Feel free to reach out if you have questions about this. Days start around 8 am. Interns will be required to provide their own transportation to and from the farm which is located in Independence, LA.
Note from Becks and Sierra:
We are so excited to welcome another team member into this beautiful land project we have embarked on. We're essentially looking for someone highly interested in a restorative and regenerative future in agriculture within the South. As kids, we know the dichotomy that our lives in SE Louisiana are time stamped and limited, and that the future is bleak on the front lines of climate change. We're prioritizing applications from folks who are from Louisiana, and the South because paid opportunities are extremely rare to come by down here. As both Sierra and I are from SE Louisiana, we're hoping to get more people to STAY in Louisiana, especially those interested in growing a future for Louisiana. Although everyone is encouraged to apply and connect with us, we want to be transparent about who and what we're looking for. We are still in our early stages of figuring out our best systems and practices and welcome individual own ideas and feedback about the farm.