There are multiple, inter-related systems that run the farm. If you come to the farm as an intern you will learn to manage these systems by hands on experience. Some of the things you will be learning are:
Dairy goat management:
Learn whats involved in the breeding of female goats and care of new born kids. We take care to give proper nutrition to the pregnant and lactating goat. You will have first hand experience in the care of the lactating goat. You will learn milking techniques, care of milking equipment , milk processing, and cheese and yogurt making. Learn about problems that may arise in the health of the lactating goat and how to take care of them. Help to build and maintain the specific housing for adult goats, kids and billy goats. Take part in routine and emergency veterinary care such as immunizations, deparisiting and the care of the sick goat from illnesses or injury.
Chickens: Our chickens are free range. You will learn how to manage free range laying hens, what their housing needs are and how to keep them laying in the same place so their eggs can be collected. Learn about their nutrition and health maintenance with regular deparasiting techniques. We raise our own baby chicks to replenish the laying stock. You will learn how to care for the broody hen and her recently hatched chicks.
Ducks and Geese: We raise ducks and geese for sale. You will care for the adult ducks and geese with daily feedings and regular deparasite. You will learn about the special needs of the broody duck and goose and the recently hatched ducklings and goslings.
process. We have a continuous composting project going at all times. We use a method designed especially for the tropics using kitchen waste, animal manure, and sand and minerals from the nearby river. We make a manure tea that we use to fertilize the fruit trees and garden plants. We start our own young plants in our germination unit using pasteurized potting soil which we prepare ourselves. As an intern you will be involved in all aspects of the growing process.Sustainable Technologies: Many of our structures are built using sustainable materials such as bamboo or cob. It seems that there is always some structure that needs to be built or rebuilt. Often we use bamboo which grows locally and replenishes itself rapidly. There are special techniques for working with bamboo which you will learn as we create new structures or repair existing ones.
- building the cob walls of the comosting toilet
Because we are located at the bottom of a valley close to rivers we have access to an abundant source of clay which we use for making cob. Our composting toilet is made from cob.In the main house our shower is heated by the sun, we also have an out door cold water shower. On hot afternoons this is the shower of choice.
We sort all our waste. The organic waste is s food for various animals and the rest goes into the compost. The cans and bottles are separated into reusable, returnable and recyclable. The paper is burned or recycled. The human and animals waste is composted. We try to leave a small foot print and not use more resources than are necessary.
As a farm intern we provide you with living space in our tree house located in the quiet corner woods of the property.
You will share your meals with the family in the main kitchen.
Hello!
I am very interested in being a farm intern. I will be graduating with a degree in Animal Science in December and will be in Costa Rica in the middle of January. Please let me know if you have any openings!
Thank you,
Christa Darr
Hi Crista, We have space for you starting Jan 15th. How long do you want to stay? Liz
Hi, my husband and I are both teachers and free in the summers. I have experience with horses and we are both interested in farm work. We would be interested in July or August for an internship program with the horse riding and farming, but I can’t tell from your site how long you typically expect interns to stay. Could you also let me know how much experience you expect interns to have?
Thank you!
Hi Brynn, We have space for interns in July and August. Interns can stay anywhere from one week to several months. I don’t require any experience to intern on the farm but if you want to intern with the horses I would like you to have at least basic horse handling and riding skills. To exercise the horses I ride out mostly on rugged trails and the rest of the time train them on the ground and in the saddle in the ring using the Parelli method. Please let me know if you have more questions. You can contact me on my email barkinghorsefarm@gmail.com Thanks for you inquiry, Liz
Love how you run your internship. Much different than ours in the suburbs of Seattle
And the biodigester – amazing! Would love to get more information on it and if you use any other manures besides the pigs.
Keep on teaching!
Corinne
Hi there my friend and I are looking into coming to Costa Rica to live a different way and your farm looks perfect for what we want to do, I was wondering if there were any available spaces between February to end of March? We aren’t experts as we graduated high school just last year but we will work hard and learn fast!
Thanks
Jeremy
Hello Elizabeth,
Not sure where the best place to contact you is so here’s another go…
I would like to be involved with the gardening projects and sustainable technologies sector but have one question. I have originally contacted you via. WWOOF in the context that I would be with a friend-if interested in an internship position would that mean both of us would have to apply individually?
Take Care!