The Farm Setting
The Farm School for Women is located on Genesis Farm, a twenty-acre market and educational farm located in Orange County, near Chapel Hill, NC. The farm includes open pasture, gardens, woods and a 1 1/2 acre pond overlooking the pastures. The farm is teeming with wildlife as well as domestic animals. It is a rural landscape, yet we are only seven miles from the flagship campus of the University of North Carolina.
Work and Study
Classroom
For 10-12 hours each week, students will engage in formal classes, on-farm workshops, and field trips. Students will be assigned readings, essays and independent research in addition to developing a personal farm business and marketing plan. Seasonal evaluations monitor the student’s performance, knowledge and acquisition of skills.
Fieldwork
The students will spend approximately 22 hours a week working on the farm, growing the vegetables, caring for barnyard animals and learning practical skills. We believe that the best learning is learning by doing, and the experiential component of the program allows students to apply the knowledge they receive from the seminars, workshops and discussions. The hands-on aspect turns “ideas into experiences”.
We focus on collaboration, interaction and communication skills, working together in the gardens, with our barnyard animals, and with our CSA members, customers and neighbors. Our goal is to provide a productive and positive learning environment intermingled with whimsey and fun.
Sample Weekly Schedule
Typical Weekly Schedule:
Monday-Friday, 8 am – 5 pm, Saturday: 8 am – 1 pm.
Classes and fieldwork hours subject to change based on weather and seasonal adjustments for optimal instruction and working conditions.
- MondayMorning: Classroom instruction
Afternoon: Farm Fieldwork - TuesdayMorning: Classroom instruction
Afternoon: Workshop or Farm Visit (2x/month) - Wednesday — CSA planning and prep
- ThursdayMorning: Fieldwork
Afternoon: Fieldwork/Independent project - FridayMorning: Fieldwork
Afternoon: Discussion of readings/projects
Group supper - SaturdayMorning: Fieldwork and/or on-farm market
Afternoon: free time - Sunday — free time
Each day begins and ends with students feeding animals on a rotation basis. Lunch is usually an hour, including rest and renewal before afternoon work.
Faculty
The Triangle region of North Carolina teems with agricultural resources. Classes and workshops are taught by top-notch professionals drawn from a wealth of minds and experiences sporting outstanding credentials: experienced farmers/teachers; college faculty; cooperative extension personnel; small business leaders; veterinarians and experienced livestock managers. A farm manager guides and directs all farm fieldwork.
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