Homegrown Liberty is offering a new educational opportunity:

A FULL-TIME ONE YEAR HOMEGROWN LIBERTY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
Open to one hand-picked applicant (choice not based on gender)

Application Process:

• Email us with “Apprentice” in the subject line at: nick@homegrownliberty.com from September 6 to September 16th with your full name, a little about yourself and ask for the Homegrown Liberty Stewardship Questionnaire/Application.
• Fill out the questionnaire and email it back to us by September 26th. The application will require you to submit a less-than-two minute video answer to one of the questions.
• We read all questionnaires and then contact our picks (by or on November 15) to schedule the two-day checkout date (during the week of December 1-8, 2023, no alternate dates, exceptions made for prior approval).

*Applications not accepted at any other time during the year.*

Please read over the following information very carefully before sending your email.

Homegrown Liberty Apprenticeship

Spend a year with us and leave years ahead, or stay on to move up in the Homegrown Liberty team.

January 6 start and end dates 

Over the year you will learn the consulting business of Homegrown Liberty inside and out from Permaculture Design, to Earthworks, Function Stacking, and much more. Perks include:

Attending on farm workshops for free

Travel with Nick on all domestic consulting tours and trips (barring flights)

Attendance possible on trips including flights and international consults

Attendance possible at conferences and workshops where Nick teaches

Real world experience consulting and designing properties

Hands on experience with earthworks

Completion of a provided PDC, Earthworks Course, and Food Forestry/Orchard Course, Plant Propagation Course

Movement, care and husbandry of: Layers, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, ducks, cows, rabbits, livestock guardian dogs, and more. (subject to livestock on site)

Training in construction, fence building and maintenance, equipment operation and maintenance, plumbing, forestry management, plant propagation, nursery work, gardening, landscaping, harvesting and preservation.

Homegrown Liberty is looking for a motivated and ambitious apprentice! If you are looking to take a giant leap above an ordinary PDC and learn how to actually make a living teaching and designing properties, or just master most of the basics of homesteading then spending a year at Homegrown Liberty is the place for you.

• We are looking for an individual that is willing to serve, full of ambition, self-starting, eager to learn and work, situationally aware, sweat all day, teachable, positive, non-complaining, grateful, rejoicing, dependable, faithful, perseverant, take-responsibility, well groomed, good hygiene man or woman, of sound character. This is not for the faint of heart. You will be needing little to no screen time or skill. This is hands on, in the dirt, blood, and mud, real life stuff.
• These folks become like family- you’ll be pushed, challenged to the brink, as well as loved to the end of the earth. With access to the Ferguson family for years to come for advice, meet leaders in the field of permaculture and sustainable design and be cheered on for years to come.
• Must be at least 18 years of age at the start of apprenticeship.
• Requires a 2 day checkout prior to acceptance. Only exception is if Nick has met and worked with you in the past, and you have passed muster already.
• Required time on site is January 6 start and end.
• 5 work days per week, off two days except on consulting tours. Saturdays are usually chores only and Sundays are chores and minimal work. Our normal mode is to get everything done before Saturday to rest and play that day.
• While on consulting tours, the schedule is grueling and exhausting. Camping is normal, and we spend hours behind a windshield traveling to client locations. *Some clients require non-disclosure agreements due to privacy concerns.
• Room and most board provided and you can eat, within reason, from the Homegrown Liberty larder. Prepare and clean up after your own breakfast and lunch. Evening meals provided communally with the Fergusons. Accommodations include a full kitchen, private room, and private bathroom in the main house with the Ferguson family, and use of the laundry room and living room of the main house. Camping is available if you prefer.
• Internet is provided but not high-speed as we are in the countryside, phone is not included.
• Stipend of $100 per month. Homegrown Liberty invests heavily in the physical, emotional, and mental needs of this opportunity; it’s the best education for the money you’ll ever receive.
• Warning: you will be sore, ache, dead tired, and might even be sick for 3 days in your first two weeks. Once you get acclimated, you’ll be more physically fit than you’ve ever been in your life. You will be pushed to your limits mentally with education, if you are unwilling to devote evening time to study, you will not get nearly as much out of this experience as possible.

• Limitations:
• 1 apprentice due to accommodation and work limitations.
• This learning opportunity is not suited for families with children. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any families/couples to live or work together on farm. Married individuals are welcome to apply, but their spouse and children will need to find accommodations elsewhere.
• No guests on farm
• No pets are allowed
• No tobacco products are permitted on the property
• No illicit drugs are permitted on the property
• Vaping is permitted outdoors only
• Due to immigration regulatory hurdles, we regret that we cannot extend this opportunity to non-US citizens.
• Applicants must commit to a 12-month stay (holidays are excused for travel home to be with family details provided)
• Choice will be made based on performance, attitude and Homegrown Liberty’s best interest, not on gender, ethnicity, religious belief, or sexual orientation

Beyond

Depending on needs and opportunities, Homegrown Liberty offers numerous team spots for, subcontracting or symbiotic entrepreneurship. Graduates are expected to go on to build their own business, as self-employed entrepreneurs, with the certification and endorsement of Homegrown Liberty.

Although the opportunities continue to evolve, they all start with completion of the apprenticeship program. Faithfulness there creates ongoing opportunities.