2025 Young Adult Apprentice Program

Are you interested in learning about land stewardship and regenerative agriculture through hands-on cultivation of vegetables, herbs, and flowers?

Then apply for our 2025 Young Adult Apprentice Program at Dharma’s Garden!

The 2025 Young Adult Apprentice Program aims to empower youth, ages 14 to 30, in the Boulder area by providing them with the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to become leaders in sustainable, biodynamic agriculture and environmental stewardship. Participants will spend the summer (and/or summer plus fall) immersed in both educational opportunities and hands-on experiential learning through active land stewardship of our small farm.

Apprentices will:

  • Learn and practice processes of biodynamic, sustainable, regenerative agriculture through educational workshops / classes specifically tailored to the apprentice team.

  • Grow, harvest, and process healthy vegetables for the community under the supervision of the farm manager.

  • Learn and practice land stewardship principles to care for the wild ecology of the landscape.

  • Gain clear experiential knowledge of how to produce healthy food and engage with the local community.

  • Help organize and lead community events, engaging with others in tending the earth.

By the end of this project, we envision the apprentices will be equipped with marketable skills, have expanded employment opportunities, and have tools to actively contribute to the local food system.

WHO IS THIS PROGRAM FOR?
This program is for teens and young adults ages 14 to 30 interested in: 

  • Working with the earth

  • Spending time outdoors

  • Learning about biodynamic, regenerative agriculture

  • Receiving a $2,000 stipend for completion of Apprentice Program

This is a FLEXIBLE program designed to fit into the lives of the apprentices, and apprentices can choose DIFFERENT SHIFTS throughout the program to enable them to also keep other commitments such as other jobs or schooling.

APPRENTICESHIP OPTIONS 

(both options have the same requirements but offer different timelines for completion. Note that ORIENTATION for all apprentices is May 27th - 30th, 2025).

**SUMMER APPRENTICE** 

June 2 - August 8, 2025

Orientation: May 27 - May 30, 2025

~ 12 hours per week (10 weeks) with flexible morning  and evening shifts available

TOTAL 120 Hours

**SUMMER PLUS FALL APPRENTICE**

June 2 - October 31, 2025

Orientation: May 27 - May 30, 2025

4 - 8 hours per week (22 weeks) with flexible morning and evening shifts available

TOTAL 120 Hours

DESIRED SKILLS of APPRENTICES

  • No farming experience necessary

  • Enthusiasm to learn about regenerative agriculture and the earth

  • Enthusiasm to work with varying age groups of apprentices and volunteers from the community

  • Communication skills to work well with others

  • Interest in exchanges of skills, time, and labor to co-create a better world

  • Physical stamina and flexibility

  • Willingness to be outside in various weather conditions

APPRENTICE REQUIREMENTS - Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

  • Contribute to team atmosphere with patience, curiosity, and empathy for others.

  • Under guidance of farm manager, execute garden plan to plant, grow, care for, harvest, and process vegetables, herbs and flowers to create high-quality, beautiful produce for the community.

  • Help care for and maintain spaces for Dharma’s Garden’s animals: sheep, ducks, and donkeys.

  • Choose weekly shifts to complete 4-12 hours per week, depending on individual agreement with Farm Manager.

  • Show a willingness to work outside in a variety of weather conditions including very sunny and hot temperatures.

  • Have the ability to do repetitive physical activities including crouching, lifting, bending, walking and heavy lifting for long periods of time.

COST of the PROGRAM

The program costs $2,500 per participant, due at the time of enrollment.

However, (thanks to a generous grant), we are able to offer 10 FREE spots to applicants who live in certain under-resourced areas.   

ALL apprentices who complete the requirements of the program (see above) will receive a $2,000 stipend at the end of the program, regardless of what they/their family was able to pay at the start.

We may also be able to accommodate a discount on the cost for apprentices who do not qualify for the FREE spots.

Each Applicant, over the course of the season will:

  • Complete minimum 120 hours of Farm Work over the course of the apprenticeship.

  • Attend 8 Skill-Building Workshops / Classes focused on nature / ecology / regenerative agriculture both within the apprentice team and with the larger Dharma’s Garden community.

  • Lead / Participate in 3 Community Engagement Events

  • Lead 1 Project of choice over the course of the season

  • Help Harvest and Set Up for 3 onsite markets

  • Create a Farmer Journal over the course of the program to track skills learned and seasonal changes.

  • Attend a provided, shared, Lunch & Mini-Lesson on Thursdays with farm fresh vegetables with the full apprentice team.

  • Receive a $2,000 stipend at the end of the program if all requirements are completed.