Dedicated to the hands-on study, practice and demonstration of practical, human-scale sustainable technology at the small community level

To view a printable copy of our Internship brochure, Click Here

Internship Information

     Windward offers a series of 12 week internships starting in March and lasting into November.

  


     Interns will participate in the development of the sustainable systems described throughout this website thereby increasing their understanding of interconnected sustainable systems while gaining practical, hands-on sustainability skills--everything from driving nails to mixing concrete, from milking goats to brewing beer.

     Intern-related projects for 2011 include:

  •      improving water storage and utilization

  •      the construction of a 3,000 gallon aquaponics system

  •      expanding our fruit and nut tree forest

  •      expanding duck and chicken facilities

  •      an intern yurt faced with rammed-earth-bricks

     For information on how these and other projects are progressing, you're invited to check our newsletter/blog.

     Interns will participate in solving the day-to-day challenges involved in creating a sustainable, post-industrial community. In support of that work, we've put together a Reading List which potential interns can use to learn about some alternative social structures that achieved a high degree of sustainability in the past, some recent sustainability work that Windward is building on, and some Utopian fiction that suggests what a sustainable village may look like.

     We understand that time is in short supply, and that ten books constitutes a lot of ground to cover, but since we're intentionally trying to be different enough to make a difference, the Reading List is there to help bridge that gap by providing insights and discussion points.

     The reading list also contains links to thought provoking quotes from each of the books along with some discussion about why a given book is relevant. We don't expect interns to arrive having read all ten. Still, there's a lot to cover in 12 weeks and the more prepared someone is when they arrive, the more they'll get out of the experience.

  


     One way to view these entry-level internships is that they're a form of two-way audition that can lead directly to an apprenticeship and on to recognition as a full Steward; i.e. to a sustainable home to live in and a right livelihood to pursue. If you've got the passion to live and help live sustainably, this is an opportunity to get on with it, not someday, but now.

     It's easy enough to see that the consumption-based culture is toxic, but the most effective way to criticize is to create--which is why this internship is for people:

  •      who have a genuine desire to embrace sustainable practices in the here and now;

  •      who recognize that the competitive, consumption-based economy needs to be replaced with creative collaboration and cradle-to-cradle sustainability;

  •      who want to help make that happen by becoming one of the early adopters who set a example that will inspire others to embrace a sustainable way of living.

     If you think that you might be such a person, we invite you to contact us with a brief sketch of your background, something about why Windward draws your interest and which projects you're interested in focusing on.

Addendum:

     2011 will be the sixth year that we've been accepting summer interns, and over that time a range of options have developed.

     At this point, there are four different ways that people come to Windward; fellow, apprentice, intern and WWOOFer. The first two come when suits their schedule, while the latter two come at times that suit nature's schedule.

      Here are links to pages that describe the Fellow and Apprentice paths.

     Everyone here, from the senior Steward to the one-month apprentice, pays $400/month--that covers a private place to stay, food, energy, laundry, internet, storage, etc. The exceptions would be interns and WWOOFers; in order to garner those slots, applicants need to offer skills that are relevant to the work underway.

     Some schools have funding available for students who want to do alternative study off campus, so if funding is a problem, you might want to check what's available at your school. If you feel a strong calling to the sustainable life, and funding is still a problem, then we would ask that you not allow that lack to prevent you from contacting us and exploring this option further.

Click Here for a printable copy of our original Internship flier

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