3-month internship Program

Lost Valley is a community land trust and bioregional education center that seeks to provide learning opportunities that support people in transitioning toward community-focused and ecologically oriented livelihoods. As a rural community that is actively practicing a way of living that prioritizes personal, community, and ecological health, we aim to support people in re-skilling to ultimately make sustainable living more accessible. We also recognize that many face financial barriers and lack access to affordable learning opportunities, and so the internship seeks to increase accessibility to those who may not otherwise have access.

The Lost Valley Internship

Lost Valley’s Internship is a 3-month immersive learning opportunity designed to provide participants with skills and experience in the practices of permaculture, equitable community governance, and cooperative living. The most common internship that we offer is the Permaculture Internship, in which participants spend half of their time learning from Lost Valley Land Steward, Brian Byers, through hands-on practice in ecological restoration, agroforestry, and wildfire mitigation. The other half of their time is spent with Lost Valley Garden Steward, Kelson Gorman, growing/processing food and learning about regenerative gardening for community food sovereignty. We also offer internships in marketing & administration and building & maintenance, which offer the opportunity to learn through guided practice for career development in social media management, outreach, nonprofit administration, construction, and maintenance. Interns spend 20 hours per week gaining experience in the area of their choosing while receiving meals and accommodation.

This educational experience also provides interns with the opportunity to observe the processes, procedures, and governance systems that have allowed our community land trust to flourish for over 35 years.

This is a great option for you if you are in a transitional or learning period and are looking to:

• Learn about ecological stewardship, wildfire mitigation, food sovereignty, and regenerative agriculture

• Gain marketable skills for career development

• Develop social skills to engage in conflict resolution, nonviolent communication, meeting facilitation, inclusive group decision making, and non-heirarchical governance

• Practice mutual aid and cooperative living while learning from a 36-year-old ecovillage

Interns are temporarily joining our Meadowsong Ecovillage community. This provides education through immersion into an intentional community, an understanding of our sociocracy-inspired governance system, practice in Non-Violent Communication, and an opportunity to study how the principles of Permaculture permeate all processes and procedures within the community. You will have a chance to participate in educational offerings and join community meetings so you can learn about our decision-making processes. Together, we will cultivate the knowledge, skills and experience to help you successfully navigate community living while contributing to the creation of a socially and ecologically regenerative future. Minimum age to participate is 21.

Meals, lodging and educational classes are provided in exchange for 20 hrs per week in your chosen circle with a 3-month commitment.

If you have questions before submitting an application, please reach out to: internshipcoordinator@lostvalley.org.

Please familiarize yourself with our community before applying.

Community Living Agreements, Non-Violent Communication, Consent Culture, Sociocracy-Inspired Governance

Our community values safety, and we hope it gives you a sense of safety as well that we require a background check for all interns and residents. The total fee is $57 and is to be paid prior to application submission.

A $300 refundable Security Deposit is required after acceptance. This deposit will be returned within 30 days of completion of the program, with consideration of any deductions for damages or fees.