[Hannah Weller]

Hannah Weller

15/11/2022 at 9:30 am #75810

Lovebrook is an ecological community wellbeing project, based in the beautiful South Downs village of Kingston. This ambitious, non-profit project includes market garden, orchard, farm shop, veg box scheme, volunteer days, therapeutic work, laying hens and seasonal camping.
http://www.lovebrook.org
The market garden is a thriving part of the project. We farm regeneratively, with no dig beds, zero chemical inputs, and we incorporate low impact and permaculture principles throughout. Over the past year we have successfully run regular weekly community volunteer days. During this time, we identified a need for a more formalised opportunity to learn, so from 2023 we will also be offering a traineeship for participants who wish to undertake a full year on the land, learning from our head growers, in preparation to make the next step into employment in regenerative agriculture. We will be following the Future Farmers framework issued by The Landworkers Alliance, to inform our curriculum and guide our training.

Outline of traineeship:

Weekly Fridays 9am-4.30pm. March 3rd – Oct 27th 2023
Optional once-monthly winter extension Nov, Dec 2023, Jan, Feb 2024
Location: Lovebrook, Kingsbrook Farm, The Street, Kingston, BN7 3NT
5 trainee places available
The training will be a blend of hands-on practical training, group discussion and trainer-led sessions, along with some visiting experts, neighbouring farm visits, and signposts to home study reading, podcasts and other extended learning opportunities.
General topics we aim to cover, specific to our site are:

Site selection and suitability – Soil health and fertility building – Crop rotation – Cultivation – Propagation – Crop production – Green manures – Record keeping – Weeds – Business management – Pests and diseases – Harvesting/packing – Cropping plan

Applicants should have some degree of knowledge or experience of growing already. Perhaps you have done some Woofing or community volunteering, maybe you are a keen home grower, or have an allotment. Most importantly, you want to take the next step into working in the regenerative agriculture sphere. You are enthusiastic to be part of a movement that cares about our food, our planet, our community, and the interconnection of all these systems.

This is a free to access course. We have generously received some funding from The Enjoolata Foundation, to help us deliver it. We hope this model allows access to the training for people who may not otherwise be able to attend such a course.

Participants will be responsible for their own travel to and from site

On completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate of completion, and a letter of recommendation, outlining what they have covered during the year
Application form available on request – closing date for applications 9th December
For more info, and to request an application form, contact Hannah Weller on hannah@lovebrook.org