Singing and Cheese Making Internship in Vermont

This is a unique opportunity!

If you love to sing and you’re interested in learning how to make cheese, here’s an interesting way to combine the two.

Josh Karp and Maria Schumann are living the “back-to-basics” way at Cate Hill Orchard, a small farm (100 acres) in scenic upstate Vermont, near Sterling College. (They do not consider themselves isolated because there is a general store 5 miles away!) The nearest big city is Hardwick (population 3000).

They make and sell their own organic apple cider vinegar, elderberry-hone apple cider vinegar, infused vinegars, apples, bear far salve and lamb (seasonal).

Recently, we heard from them about an upcoming program they are planning:

Singing and Cheese Making Internship

Cate Hill Orchard is offering our first ever Sing and Farm Internship this spring, from May 28- June 19th 2012.

We-Josh Karp and Maria Schumann, the owners of Cate Hill Orchard-met each other through our love of singing, and in particular, our love of songs from the country of Georgia. But since we started farming we scarcely have time to sing anymore, and as our farm has expanded we’re finding we need help to get our spring farm work done. So, we are inviting 6-10 people to join us for three weeks of singing and farming.

Many traditional folk songs are agricultural-songs to ask for rain or sun; harvest and planting songs; milking and plowing songs-and we think singing traditional songs in an agricultural setting will bring a whole new level of appreciation for and joy in both the music and the work.

We’ll mostly sing ancient 3 part songs from the country of Georgia, and will also sing some rounds, Shape Note hymns, and folk songs from Russia and England.

We are a small diverse farm, inspired by permaculture. We grow apples and other fruits and berries in our 5 acre orchard; raise Icelandic sheep for meat, milk, and fiber; and keep honeybees. We are working towards a low input, perennial based agriculture, modeled after nature’s complexity, and where all enterprises are multi-purposed and connected.

Interns will help us with all aspects of farming and homesteading, including haying, wood stacking, sheep shearing, gardening, apple tree mulching, and beekeeping. We’ll be milking 4-5 sheep (for homestead use only) and will use the milk to make our own yogurt, kefir, fresh chevre-style cheese, feta, and a manchego style hard cheese. Maria worked for 2 summers as a cheesemaker at Bonnieview Sheep Dairy in Albany, VT (4 miles down the road), and is excited to do cheesemaking on a much smaller scale.

Participants will live with us and our 2 kids in our farmhouse in shared bedrooms, or may tent on our land. No experience with farming or singing is required: just a good ear, a love of music and a willingness to get dirty and work!