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Windward's Sustainable Community Apprenticeship

May be what you're seeking!

Apprenticeship are a 3 month full immersion experience in a land-based intentional community working side-by-side with Stewards of the Windward community gaining practical, hands-on skills with the tools needed to build a life in concert with the natural world

Apprenticeships are tailored to fit the desires and needs of Apprentices, Windward Stewards, and, if appropriate, academic advisors.

Sustainable systems are multi-faceted & diverse so Apprentices should be prepared to learn and participate in wide ranging projects and tasks while also choosing an area of focus for an in-depth learning experience. Areas of focus are co-created during the application process.

Areas of focus to explore include:

Ecological Food Systems

Permaculture Design
Dryland AgroEcology
Annual & Perennial Polycultures
Integrative Animal Husbandry
Preserving the Harvest
Forest Stewardship

Community Living

Representative Consensus
Community & Gift Economies
Histrically Relevant Communities
Radical Self Responsibility
Conscious & Sustainable Relationships

Appropriate Technology

Woody Biomass Gassification
Solar Cooking & Food Dehydration
Building an Axial-Flux Alternator
Auduino Micro Control Computers
Making Ramed Earth Bricks


Who are we Looking For?

The challenges of our time are calling for those with courageous hearts, inquiring minds, skillful hands & wild souls. Apprenticeship are self-motivated, community-minded indivudal looking for an opportunity to:

In addition to a 3-month experience, a Windward Apprenticeship is also a two-way audition; a time for existing and prospective members to explore living in community together with an eye toward long-term membership.

If, as an apprentice, you find that this life is one that you want to pursue in earnest, and Windward Stewards agree it is a good match, you can proceed directly onto the path of stakeholding membership in the cooperative, building right-livelihood with the land and the community.

More Details

Windward is an expense-sharing cooperative. Our philosophy is simple: by coming together to meet our basic needs, we each have more time, energy, and money to pursue our individual passions.

Each member contributes $400 a month to a common purse. These funds are used to cover the basic collective costs, including food, water, shelter, internet, laundry, gardens and the living infrastructure of the land, and the improvement of community resources.

Like the long-term members, Apprentices are dues-contributing participants in the community/cooperative and contribute $400 a month to the common pool of funds used to cover basic costs of living.

Scholarships

Windward offers apprenticeship-scholarships to those individuals who manifest a strong desire to explore sustainable living and a commitment to use their time at Windward constructively.

If creating a life with Windward is something you deeply desire, we will try and work together to develop a win-win situation surrounding the context and payment of an apprenticeship. whether that be a full-ride scholarship or a partial financial-contribution as an apprentice.

Like a scholarship at a University, apprenticeship-scholarships come with more expectations than an ordinary apprenticeship. In general, our expectations of those on an intern-scholarship include:

If, during the three months we decide to move forward together on a membership track, Windward's Stewards will consider extending the intern-scholarship for up to a year so that we can mutually explore and develop funding options suited to your interests and skill set.

Resources About Windward

To help folks orient to life at Windward, we've put together some writings on the website:

We encourage you to weave your thoughts, feelings and impressions into your email conversations with us.

What Past Participant are Saying


“My time at Windward helped me to know in my bones the incredible connectedness and peace that can come from living in a natural setting, mindfully interacting with animals and plants on a daily basis and building healthy honest human relationships.”
Jon Cox, Florida

“Whether I was able to garner a new insight, come to terms with something, or simply be able to release held up emotions, the conversations I have had with each member of Windward have been so influential, and vital, to my growth. I am so thankful for everyone's love and support.”
Daniela Panfil, Arizona State University

How to Apply

Apprenticeship applications are a conversational process which typically happens over the course of several weeks/months. Conversations may include multiple members of Windward depending on the particular interests of the applying apprentice.

Applications are accept on a rolling basis, and Apprentices may begin almost anytime between March and September.

Since we are going to be sharing our life and working closely for an extended period of time, we want to get to know you!

To begin send us an email at: Windward(at)gorge.net, and include "PING!" in the subject line. Below are some subjects to think about answering in your introductory email.

Before you arrive, we will also need you to read and sign Windward's Information sheet and liability waiver..

You can download it from the link above, print it out (doublesided if you can), fill it out, sign it, and mail it to us at:

Windward Center
55 Windward lane
Wahkiacus, WA 98670

We look forward to hearing from you!