Camas Swale
3 APPRENTICESHIPS
FULL TIME (26-40 hours/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: May - October
$15/HR
LOCATION: Eugene (Willamette Valley Chapter)
YEARS IN PRODUCTION: 16
YEARS HOSTING: 1
PRACTICES: Certified Organic
ACRES IN CULTIVATION: 14 acres
Vegetables
ON-FARM HOUSING? No
VEHICLE REQUIRED? Yes
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, some staff competency in Spanish Women owned/operated
We focus on healthy soil, high quality crops, and staff wellness. We keep a close eye on soil organic matter percentages– we use reduced tillage practices and return plants to the soil through cover cropping, working past crops into the field, and through applying compost. We are certified organic with Oregon Tilth and have always grown with awareness of organic because we value and enjoy the use of natural materials. We also grow habitat for beneficials– on the farm you’ll find hundreds of perennials in our hedges. Synthetic chemicals and GMOS are never used on our farm. Crops are grown using a mix of human power and tractor power. We use four specialized tractors to get the work done, for hauling, pallet lifting, spading, harvesting roots crops and more. However, most of the harvest work is done by hand, with hoes, knives, wheelbarrows etc. Come work out with us!
FARM OVERVIEW
Camas Swale is owned by Amber and Jonah and located in Oregon’s Southern Willamette Valley Our farm grows vegetables, culinary herbs and some fruit for wholesale (grocers, restaurants, food hubs, distributors) and for our Community Supported Agriculture (250-300 CSA families per year) program. With about 14 acres in rotation– about 10 acres are producing food at any time during the main season.
We are grateful to be located just 1 mile north of Coburg and 15 minutes from the university town of Eugene. On both sides of our farm are other small farms selling produce, nursery crops and/or flowers. You can see the Coburg hills from our fields and a big open sky. Migratory birds and birds of prey frequent the farm as well as small animals– some friend, some foe of the vegetable crops. We are a few miles from swim spots on the Mckenzie River. Owners Jonah and Amber along with their two children live on the farm, staff commute (sometimes together) from Eugene or Springfield.
Jonah and Amber started farming on a small-scale farm, following bio-intensive methods of production yielding a high value per acre but it was intense on our bodies. Utilizing a mix of human power and tractor power has worked better for our staff and our bodies over the last ten years, while also meeting soil health goals. We keep a close eye on soil organic matter percentages, using our tillage implement minimally and returning plants to the soil through cover cropping, working past crops into the field, and through applying compost.
During the work week six to ten employees work on the farm from 8:00 - 5:00. In addition, about four volunteers are on the farm two mornings per week. The farm has a family friendly environment while also maintaining work efficiency to meet our production goals. There tends to be common interests amongst staff including appreciation for music and outdoor sports, and always a respect for one another regardless of race or gender identity. Diverse skills and people are very welcome. We often find that passionate workers have super strengths in at least one important area and we match skills with the task as possible – such as seeding or CSA packing.
Camas Swale Farm sprouted in 2009. The farm has operated from this location since 2015. Jonah and Amber both started farming about 20 years ago, as employees for other organic produce farms.
TRAINING AND EXPECTATIONS
Everyone learns planting, cultivation, harvesting, washing/packing, and use of relevant tools. Rogue Farm Corps Apprentices will also get exposure to seeding. Depending on strengths and interests of the Apprentice and the farm’s needs, staff often have the opportunity to take on special duties once adapted to the farm.
We prefer full -time employees over part -time, but there is a place for part-time work. For this Apprenticeship we think that our typical full time schedule would best meet the needs of the program. Our full time employee schedule during the months of May - October is M-F, 8am - 5:00 with a 30 min- one hour lunch break daily. Training will be woven into the work day and we will make a schedule for dedicated training check-ins and trainings with specific experienced staff.
We will provide mentorship and training by teaching core concepts/skills, working alongside participant(s), demonstration, opportunities to gain independence, offering time for questions or field walks, regular check-ins/meetings, and two evaluation sessions. Apprentices will also be given the opportunity to log what they learn via a weekly form that we provide to assist with integrating on and off-farm learning.
Training will be coordinated by co-owner Amber and multi-year employee Miranda. Some elements are best taught by owners Jonah (field management and maintenance lead) or Amber (business management and harvest lead). Others will be delegated to one of two experienced staff, Miranda (4th season) and Jason (12th season). The mentor team approach collectively offers a well rounded experience for an Apprentice while not pulling any one person away from their regular duties on the farm. We look forward to meeting you.
QUALIFICATIONS
We expect all employees to come to work on time and be a good listener during morning meetings and during training, to ask questions as needed and to stay focused on the goals of the day. Respect, kindness and good communication are very important as are the ability to learn and do the job efficiently. Our product is certified organic local produce that looks and tastes good and is very fresh. Providing this product requires good attention to detail balanced with efficient methods of production and harvest. If you take pride in doing a good job and love working on a team outside – this could be a good place for you. There is often an acclimation period, that's understood - and we are extra supportive during the onboarding time. But, we expect to see progress and to see that there is an interest in being an effective employee and apprentice.
As for experience, we know that experienced employees come in the door with more dexterity in their hands and more understanding of what a good bunch of turnips looks like. Experience in related jobs or personal experience with vegetables should also be valued and expressed. We’ve had employees demonstrate plenty of transferable skills from working in restaurants and produce stores, for example.
COMPENSATION / ACCOMMODATIONS
The wage for a first yearApprentice will be $15/hr. There is a potential for an increase in pay over the course of the season. Our benefits include a gear stipend of $200, PTO, reimbursement of half of the RFC Apprenticeship fee amount if/when they complete the season, any farm-produced food). Scheduled time off is allowed and encouraged to promote a healthy balance of work and play but we define what is reasonable in our work agreement. Time off should be requested well in advance and approved and added to the staff calendar once approved. A reasonable amount would be 1-2 occasions of taking 1-2 days off per occasion in a coordinated fashion so that vacations do not overlap with other staff.
No housing is offered. We are 10 minutes from Eugene and Springfield. Seasonal workers in the past have had good luck with finding housing via the traveling nurses portal and finding rooms in houses in Eugene where there are college students coming and going.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
We make our policies known in a document called Employee Work Agreement, this document includes how evaluations are done, time off policies and benefits and our process for making wage adjustments and hazardous work environment procedures and more. Job roles are presented to all staff in a document called the Command Tree and via job descriptions.
Staff and owners are welcoming to each other every day at work. As owners we try to model communication that is kind, necessary and true. On the farm we foster community among workers including Wednesday staff lunches and occasional events. We aim to keep our produce accessible to all income levels – including weekly donations to Burrito Brigade, a non-profit that makes thousands of burritos per week for the houseless in Eugene and Springfield; taking SNAP benefits for CSA payment; providing a scholarship fund for low-income; and via our Working CSA Member program.
PAST APPRENTICE TESTIMONIALS
“The environment at Camas Swale is so welcoming, and the roles are ever moving, so you get a taste of all [the] pieces of the farming operation. “ - 2024
Amber and Jonah.