Apprenticeship opportunities at Pine Ridge, Summer 2010

We will be completing several permaculture projects at Pine Ridge this summer and we are accepting apprentices and volunteers to assist.

These projects are part of the Oglala-Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitilization Initiative on an 8000 acre cattle ranch on the reservation.  The ranch is the home of a school of sustainability and will become a model for regenerative permaculture practices with indigenous and cultural elements.  We would like to complete a number of key projects this summer which will contribute to economic revitilization of the reservation as well as sustainable self-sufficiency.

The projects we seek assistance for are as follows:

Kitchen Garden:  We have created a kitchen garden for the ranch this year and need help expanding and maintaining it over the summer.

Food Forest:  We will be planting at least one food forest on the ranch this summer – if we get enough volunteers we will also plant one in the canyons of the Tribal Lands which will become a community/tribal food forest.

Agroforestry and holistic range management: Apprentices will have an opportunity to be exposed to these practices as they are implemented from an indigenous perspective on the ranch.  This is part of a beginning farmer/rancher program on the rez that includes microlending of cattle from OLCERI, and the formation of a cooperative to ensure the cows can be sold at the most advantageous prices and that the farmer/ranchers will be successful.

Wind Power:  We will be completing installation of wind turbine/battery system to put the ranch fully off the grid electrically.  OLCERI has helped create wind power for the tribal radio station and plans to export this know how to others on the rez.

Keyline design:  The ranch includes a 3000 acre watershed that lends itself very well to capturing water high on the land and thereby recharging the ground water supply and regenerating the landscape. We hope to do broadscale work this summer to start this process, which will lead to a program of large scale land regeneration across the reservation.

Straw bale building:  We will be building a straw bale workshop/classroom on the ranch which will allow us to expand our educational programs and also create new economic opportunities.  Housing is a major issue on the rez – every year people die because of weather exposure in substandard housing, and we want to create a well built demonstration straw bale building so that this know-how can be exported.

There are many other smaller projects on the ranch. Apprentices will have an opportunity to experience the workings of a cattle ranch and also interact with the Lakota way of life via this active extended family.  There will be opportunities to participate in local workshops on indigenous crafts and skills such as bow making, leatherwork, etc.

Grant writing:  We are seeking grant writers who can assist us to create grants that can fund materials, equipment, etc, for future projects.

Marketing:  We are seeking assistance to market our courses outside the rez. We pay a 10% share on any students registered as a result of your efforts.  Course fees are a major way we fund the expansion of our programs into the rez, so please help!  We do not have the time we would like to thoroughly market these courses because we are very busy focused on the logistics of pulling as much energy as we can toward the rez programs out of these classes.  Please let others know about what we are doing, ok?

Camera person and sound person:  We would like to document the activities of this project this summer and are looking for people who can help us do so with quality video.  This is historic, and should make a quite interesting story.

There is no charge for apprenticing or camping, but you will need to cover your own food expenses.  Those who already have skill sets related to the needs of these projects will be considered first, but all are encouraged to apply.

Please send inquiries to cory@permacultureguild.us.  Include your skills and resources, and why you are interested in apprenticing at OLCERI ranch.