Farm School

Farm apprentices help with the running of a local farm, with hands on learning opportunities in sustainable food production, financial & inventory management & online marketing. Experiences may include: planting, harvesting, building soil (composting), pest & disease management strategies, marketing farm products, exposure to various growing strategies, small farm animal husbandry and other farm projects such as beekeeping, barn, cabin and greenhouse construction.

Educational Opportunities: The Empower Farm School provides an active learning environment with opportunity to participate in certificate level courses in sustainable agriculture, online marketing, micro-business, local community development, foreign language studies, nutrition & world missions.

Pre - Apply Now

Core Curriculum
Applied Agroecology
(Provided by the MESA Learning Network)

Agroecology is a lens to understand and evaluate how different food and farming systems affect human culture and ecosystems.

Gain a holistic understanding of agroecology through 7 engaging Lessons, with particular emphasis on the socio-political connections within agroecology. The interactive presentation of indigenous practices, scientific research, historical data and individual case studies will enable you to analyze and ultimately begin to transform your own local food and farming systems.

By taking this course you will:

Deepen your knowledge of agroecology and sustainable food systems
Gain practical on-farm skills with a socio-political and economic lens
Add structure and merit to your hands-on farm internship or apprenticeship

How learning happens

Online Lessons: Combines academic, scientific, socio-political and ancestral knowledge in 7 online lessons composed of multimedia modules - learn and put into practice on your host farm.
Self-Assessments of your knowledge at the beginning and end of each lesson to track your progress, observe assumptions, and build your own foundation of discovery and understanding.
Applied Activities: Each lesson includes an on-site Applied Activity, helping you analyze and apply new principles and practices while reflecting how different concepts relate to your own farm and/or food system.

Preview Course Topics

Agroecology and Food System Transformation (10 topics)

Lesson 1 offers a variety of answers to the question “What is agroecology?”. First, you’ll explore definitions of agroecology and trace its roots to provide an agrecological foundation to build on. Next, you’ll explore practices of traditional farmers around the world, and learn how these practices relate to the principles of agroecology.

Unpacking the Global Food System (11 topics)

Lesson 2 unpacks the global food system, while exploring common myths around the root causes of global hunger. You’ll explore alternatives to a globalized food system, and discover the intersections of farming and social issues like gender, labor and race. Through this Lesson, you’ll understand what a resilient, community-based farming systems looks like, and envision steps toward building them.

Ecology and the Agroecosystem Concept (8 topics)

Lesson 3 asks: “What is ecology, and how does it relate to agroecology?”. Analyze ecosystem functions, explore different examples of the dynamic processes occurring within ecosystems, and observe how these processes are manipulated in an agroecosystem.

Linking Soil Health and Human Health (6 topics)

Lesson 4 offers in-depth overview of the linkages between soil nutrition and human nutrition, the global shifts in our agricultural systems, and delves into practical applications for plant nutrients and agroecological practices to manage soil fertility.

Hands in the Soil: Biocultural Diversity and the Ecosystems Approach (10 topics)

For as long as humans have walked the earth, they have interacted with soil. Lesson 5 offers solutions to apply an agroecosystems approach to understand complex relationships between land, soil, biocultural diversity and management strategies.

Water: Shaping our world (9 topics)

Lesson 6 explores how water, climate and weather shape your ecosystem, how to manage water in excess and as a limited resource, agroecosystems approaches to water management and the politics of water in our global system.

“Pest” Management: Toward a Sustainable Agriculture (11 topics)

In Lesson 7, you’ll explore how industrial agriculture pits farmers against nature, learn the history of pesticides, analyze the idea of “pest”, and learn how agroecology can offer many alternative strategies for pest management and whole-ecosystem health.

Pre - Apply Now