Internships at DELC
Dragon’s Eye * Hawaii * permaculture * aquaponics * natural farming * CSA * school for children * wood mill * Weston Price
Dragon’s Eye is a homestead/small intentional community/organic farm/learning center located on the eastern most point of the Big Island of Hawaii. The permaculture practices include Natural Farming (propogation of indigenous micro-organisms), a large aquaponics system (a merging of aquaculture and hydroponics), a CSA, and fairly extensive orchards and animal pastures. The learning center offers an internship program for adults. It also hosts programs for students ages 4 -18 modeled after the Sudbury Valley School. A salvage milling operation and woodworking facilities are a part of the homestead. We are affiliated with the Weston Price Foundation.
The Homestead The 40 acre, lush, rural environment is off the grid, but does have a phone line and high speed internet service. Intern cabins and a community kitchen are available. We operate with solar electricity and solar hot water for sinks and showers. Pheonix composting toilets are used. Islandwide bus service is free and connects nearby. Within 5 miles are tidepools, thermal ponds, and several other permaculture farms.
The Learning Center supports children’s programming, ages 4 – 18, modeled after the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts. The Sudbury School puts students 100% in charge of running the school, including the handling of staff hires, student enrollment, finances, rule making, rule enforcement, and ultimately, setting the course of their own education. Weekly meetings, using Robert’s Rules of Order, and a student run judicial committee are the framework of this democratically run learning environment. The center is closely affiliated with Hawaii 4H.
The organic farm offers diversity. We practice Natural Farming, which is the use of indigenous micro-organisms to promote the health of our environment. A large aquaponics system (which is a merging of aquaculture and hydroponics) is the backbone of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in which we pre-sell shares of what the farm produces throughout the community, and make deliveries to customers several times each week. Our pastured animals include chickens, ducks, rabbits, sheep, horses, and milk cows. Orchards include many tropical fruits. There is both hand and machine work on the farm.
The Weston Price Foundation most closely represents our beliefs and guides our practices in and around human nutrition. Weston Price was a dentist who, along with his wife, traveled the world over in the early 1900’s, searching for an explanation as to why his Cleveland practice was so thriving. He documented his findings which show basic commonalities among the healthiest of peoples and the most degenerated of peoples. Commonalites of healthy peoples: they tended to eat lots of fish, animal fats, organ meat, raw dairy, ferments, and bone broths. Commonalities of unhealthy peoples: consumption of processed foods, high carbohydrate intake, and a crossover to cheaply produced sources of cooking oils. (Understand, interns are free to choose their own diet.) We make cheese and other cultured dairy products. We butcher regularly, and look to expand into making our own beer, wine, baked sour-dough bread, and also mushroom cultivation.
Milling and Woodworking We operate a salvage milling operation, mostly from trees felled in the neighborhood, using a Lucas Mill. Our woodworking shop is fully equipped. We produce mostly slab tables, and are moving into other fine furniture pieces.
An Adult Internship Program is offered. We can accommodate up to 4 interns at one time.
Program Guidelines for Adult internships and Apprenticeships:
Dragon’s Eye is a homestead/small intentional community/organic farm/learning center located on the eastern most point of the Big Island of Hawaii. The permaculture practices include Natural Farming (propogation of indigenous micro-organisms), a large aquaponics system (a merging of aquaculture and hydroponics), a CSA, and fairly extensive orchards and animal pastures. The learning center offers an internship program for adults. It also hosts programs for students ages 4 -18 modeled after the Sudbury Valley School. A salvage milling operation and woodworking facilities are a part of the homestead. We are affiliated with the Weston Price Foundation.
Responsibilities. Guests will be required to complete an application, made available upon request. Interns and apprentices are welcome to join any of the above mentioned activities. Responsibilities will include gardening, work with the aquaponics system, orcharding, and work with the CSA. While our educational component will include information about Sudbury schooling, animal husbandry, milling and woodworking, these are not required work areas. Rather, opportunites in these fields are available by request and negotiation. Interns are responsible for preparing their own meals and the general upkeep of intern facilities. Some group meals are planned, prepared on a rotating basis by interns.
Interns and apprentices are required to pay $300 per month for educational programs.
Fee is pre-paid each month, non-refundable.
25 hours per week of in-field coursework are required.
Room and board is free.
There are no stipends.
Long term apprenticeships are available after a 3 months trial run internship and offer profit sharing opportunities.
No drug use.
No tobacoo smoking.
No pets.
Children are welcome; however, their stay needs to be negotiated.
We reserve the right to ask anyone to move at any time with one week’s notice, except in cases of violence or threats of violence, which can result in immediate expulsion.
We provide regularly scheduled outings.
Three hours of coursework discussion per week are offered.
No cars or trucks are available for interns to drive.
Bicycles are available for intern use.
Food is provided with occasional meat, eggs, and dairy.
Special food needs are to be provided by interns.
Transportation is available once per week for use of laundry facilities in nearby Pahoa.
Dragon’s Eye Learning Center is now accepting interns! Read the below description of our program to find out more. If you are seriously interested, contact us by email for an application form. More information on similar programs can be found at the Organic Volunteers website.