Help Wanted
15 June 2008
Kona coffee farm, 13 acres, family owned with two kids and pets. This
is not a hobby farm, it is a working, productive coffee farm. Work
includes planting, pruning, weeding, fertilizing, light construction,
equipment maintenance and whatever other jobs need to be done. We are
only partially organic but farm as responsibly as possible. We ask for
30 hours of work per week in exchange for lodging and food. Contact us
for more details and visit KonaEarth.com
for lots of pictures and stories about life on the farm.
Volunteer as a coffee farm intern.
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I recently gave a farm tour for a workshop about coffee farming. The
class was attended by several Kona coffee farmers, some with quite a bit of
farming experience. They didn't believe me when I said I do all the
work myself and they unanimously decided that I need some full-time help.
Growing 13 acres of Kona coffee is just too much work for one person.
I tried to explain that I don't do ALL the work myself, I hire out all
the picking. Our coffee is picked by hand and that is very labor
intensive. The average picker can pick about 200 pounds of coffee
cherry in a day. A really good picker can pick up to 500 pounds in
a day. I tried picking once. I picked as much as I could in
a day but only got 40 pounds. So I don't even try to pick coffee
any more, hiring a crew of professionals is really my only choice.
In addition to hiring pickers, I also hire help for some of the really
large jobs like pruning. I do about half the pruning myself and hire
a crew for the other half. I've hired temporary crews for things like
pouring concrete and other large jobs that can't be done by one person.
For the most part though, I do everything myself and that's way too much.
The most obvious solution for us is to hire a full-time farm hand. I'm
not sure we can afford it and I don't think I need quite that much help.
I'd like to start with a part-time person and see if that's enough.
Many farmers have had good luck advertising in the local newspaper for
part-time help. Trading living space for labor is fairly common.
That certainly would be easier on our pocket book but we don't really have
room for a permanent resident on our property.
Another option is interns and other "unpaid" workers. There are
several programs that help willing workers find host farms.
Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF)
is a popular program. Despite the name, the farm isn't required to be
certified organic. That's good because there are a lot of farms that
practice responsible farming but aren't certified organic.
There are plenty of applicants willing to work on a Kona coffee farm in
Hawaii. Typically the WWOOFers will live on the farm for anywhere
from a couple weeks to several months. No prior farm experience is
required, only a willingness to work and learn.
There are nearly 100 hosts on this island. Many of the hosts are small
organic farms advertising things like "holistic living," "excellent vibes,"
"tent provided," and "shaminism welcome." One host is actually an
"international collective of circus performers" located one mile from a
clothing optional beach.
We may seem like hard-nosed workaholics compared to some of the hosts.
When looking for workers I will certainly point out that we are not a
hobby farm but a full-time working farm. I think it's important that
applicants know what they're getting into. I don't expect experienced
workers but I do expect individuals that are willing to get their hands
dirty and learn about farming. I can't teach much about "ecological
mysticism" or "edible landscaping" but I can promise exposure to things like
diesel tractor maintenance, barn construction and all aspects of commercial
coffee farming.
We'll probably ask for about 30 hours of work per week in exchange for
a place to stay and food. I was afraid that's too harsh but other
farmers assured me that there are plenty of applicants willing to live
in a tent and shower under a hose in exchange for working on a coffee
farm in Hawaii. We'll offer a room with lights, a flushing toilet,
a hot shower and even a little kitchen area (once construction is
completed). Is that a fair trade for lots of hard work? I'm
hoping someone will think so because I could really use the help.
If you know anybody that might be interested, let us know and we'll see
if we can work something out. Send them a link to our website where
they can find out more about
volunteering as a coffee farm intern.
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