WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING WOOFERS WHO CAN COMMIT TO A 3 MONTH STAY
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Waiahole Nursery & Garden Center is proud to be a member of WWOOF USA. Please visit wwoofhawaii.org by clicking on the WWOOF Hawaii logo above, to apply.
Overview:
Waiahole Nursery & Garden Center is located at the mouth of the Waiahole Bay in the Waiahole Valley of Kaneohe, Hawaii. We are located at 48-190 Kamehameha Hwy along the scenic route to Oahu's North Shore. The water's edge is merely yards away from our front door. Majestic views of Chinaman's Hat are to be had by all that visit our location. You will work and live on our property that is surrounded by the beautiful Koo'lau Mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. At W.N.G.C. you will find: a fully operational plant nursery full of palms, gingers, ti leafs, and other popular tropical plants used for landscaping; a wide selection of ornamental orchids; and a large aquaponic system. Our aquaponic grow beds (both float rafts and cinder beds) support a wide variety of edibles and tropical plants that can be regenerated via cuttings. We breed beautiful Nile Red Tilapia and our husbandry tanks are located within our aquaponic facility. Please note that we are not a certified organic grower and not all of our plants, grown on site, are done so organically. However, all edibles are grown "naturally"; this includes the aquaponic gardens and fruit trees in the nursery. We expect that all of our staff, volunteers, and WWOOFers help in all aspects of our operation, not just with the aquaponic system (including helping with the care of our resident Labrador Retrievers, ducks, turtles, and pig- yes this includes cleaning up messes!). We require a minimum of 30 hours of work per week. Days and times to complete these hours are flexible, although we do prefer our workers to adhere to a set schedule (to be determined upon arrival).
Requirements:
It is beyond the scope of this ad to list all of the specific tasks that will be required of you during your stay at our nursery; however, we hope that you are someone who is a true team player and a quick learner with a modest amount of ingenuity. We are looking for someone who is able to follow instructions and who can work independently when needed. Tasks expected of WWOOFers, residing at W.N.G.C., will be targeted towards the daily operation of our aquaponic gardens. Daily operations include, but are not limited to: propagation of seeds, out-planting of seedlings (into the cinder and float beds), harvesting mature plants, packaging produce for sale (on site), and general maintenance of our aquaponic systems. “Behind the scene” tasks include: washing cinders, net pots, keeping our tool sheds clean and organized, securing the aquaponic area, and caring for fish. Keep in mind that we are a retail location, and someone with experience in sales would fit in well at W.N.G.C. We enjoy our “backyard” feel and encourage community involvement, such as attending neighborhood holiday events, joining Hawaii Agriculture and Aquaponic Association for their quarterly functions, and donating to local charities. We encourage our neighbors to embrace aquaponics as a means to a sustainable lifestyle and we encourage collaboration in the farming community in Hawaii. We take volunteers from local high schools and disability centers, providing basic vocational skills to use towards credit for their high school diploma. Vocational training is a major focus of W.N.G.C. and someone who will be mindful and aware of our population of special needs workers would fit in well on our farm. An ideal WWOOFer would be someone who is interested in emerging themselves in the Aloha Spirit and who would take the time to connect with our local community. We are looking for WWOOFers that are interested in learning about aquaponic farming, tropical flower cultivation, sustainable landscape practices and those who can stay with us for a minimum of three months (a six month stay would be ideal). For the right person(s) we will accommodate shorter stays. We are a small farm, with limited resources for training a high turnover of WWOOFers.
Waiahole Nursery & Garden Center is located at the mouth of the Waiahole Bay in the Waiahole Valley of Kaneohe, Hawaii. We are located at 48-190 Kamehameha Hwy along the scenic route to Oahu's North Shore. The water's edge is merely yards away from our front door. Majestic views of Chinaman's Hat are to be had by all that visit our location. You will work and live on our property that is surrounded by the beautiful Koo'lau Mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. At W.N.G.C. you will find: a fully operational plant nursery full of palms, gingers, ti leafs, and other popular tropical plants used for landscaping; a wide selection of ornamental orchids; and a large aquaponic system. Our aquaponic grow beds (both float rafts and cinder beds) support a wide variety of edibles and tropical plants that can be regenerated via cuttings. We breed beautiful Nile Red Tilapia and our husbandry tanks are located within our aquaponic facility. Please note that we are not a certified organic grower and not all of our plants, grown on site, are done so organically. However, all edibles are grown "naturally"; this includes the aquaponic gardens and fruit trees in the nursery. We expect that all of our staff, volunteers, and WWOOFers help in all aspects of our operation, not just with the aquaponic system (including helping with the care of our resident Labrador Retrievers, ducks, turtles, and pig- yes this includes cleaning up messes!). We require a minimum of 30 hours of work per week. Days and times to complete these hours are flexible, although we do prefer our workers to adhere to a set schedule (to be determined upon arrival).
Requirements:
It is beyond the scope of this ad to list all of the specific tasks that will be required of you during your stay at our nursery; however, we hope that you are someone who is a true team player and a quick learner with a modest amount of ingenuity. We are looking for someone who is able to follow instructions and who can work independently when needed. Tasks expected of WWOOFers, residing at W.N.G.C., will be targeted towards the daily operation of our aquaponic gardens. Daily operations include, but are not limited to: propagation of seeds, out-planting of seedlings (into the cinder and float beds), harvesting mature plants, packaging produce for sale (on site), and general maintenance of our aquaponic systems. “Behind the scene” tasks include: washing cinders, net pots, keeping our tool sheds clean and organized, securing the aquaponic area, and caring for fish. Keep in mind that we are a retail location, and someone with experience in sales would fit in well at W.N.G.C. We enjoy our “backyard” feel and encourage community involvement, such as attending neighborhood holiday events, joining Hawaii Agriculture and Aquaponic Association for their quarterly functions, and donating to local charities. We encourage our neighbors to embrace aquaponics as a means to a sustainable lifestyle and we encourage collaboration in the farming community in Hawaii. We take volunteers from local high schools and disability centers, providing basic vocational skills to use towards credit for their high school diploma. Vocational training is a major focus of W.N.G.C. and someone who will be mindful and aware of our population of special needs workers would fit in well on our farm. An ideal WWOOFer would be someone who is interested in emerging themselves in the Aloha Spirit and who would take the time to connect with our local community. We are looking for WWOOFers that are interested in learning about aquaponic farming, tropical flower cultivation, sustainable landscape practices and those who can stay with us for a minimum of three months (a six month stay would be ideal). For the right person(s) we will accommodate shorter stays. We are a small farm, with limited resources for training a high turnover of WWOOFers.
Accommodations:
Living accommodations are in an onsite executive style home with shared rooms (dorm style). The home includes a generous living space awith enough room to comfortably house multiple "WWOOFers" at a time. The home is equipped with 5 full bathrooms, a large shared kitchen and wireless internet. The kitchen includes a full size refrigerator, and convection oven (bake, toast, microwave), oven, range, dishes, cooking pots and utensils as well as a coffee pot and other small appliances. Since no family resides permanently on site, the WWOOFers will be expected to prepare many of their own meals. We encourage “farm to table” dining and offer garden space to WWOOF participants to cultivate produce for their consumption. A food stipend of $80/week is granted to individual WWOOFers who work a minimum of 30hrs each week. Hawaii, and especially Oahu, has a very good public transit system. TheBus can be taken to nearly every corner of the island. Several busses pass by the nursery every hour and a bus stop is conveniently located near the edge of our property. There is a small shopping center, located four miles up the road, complete with a grocery store and Movie Theater and a large shopping mall is just a few miles further. W.N.G.C. is approximately 17 miles from down town Honolulu and 19 miles from Waikiki Beach. Laundry facilities will be made available once a week at a scheduled time.
Living accommodations are in an onsite executive style home with shared rooms (dorm style). The home includes a generous living space awith enough room to comfortably house multiple "WWOOFers" at a time. The home is equipped with 5 full bathrooms, a large shared kitchen and wireless internet. The kitchen includes a full size refrigerator, and convection oven (bake, toast, microwave), oven, range, dishes, cooking pots and utensils as well as a coffee pot and other small appliances. Since no family resides permanently on site, the WWOOFers will be expected to prepare many of their own meals. We encourage “farm to table” dining and offer garden space to WWOOF participants to cultivate produce for their consumption. A food stipend of $80/week is granted to individual WWOOFers who work a minimum of 30hrs each week. Hawaii, and especially Oahu, has a very good public transit system. TheBus can be taken to nearly every corner of the island. Several busses pass by the nursery every hour and a bus stop is conveniently located near the edge of our property. There is a small shopping center, located four miles up the road, complete with a grocery store and Movie Theater and a large shopping mall is just a few miles further. W.N.G.C. is approximately 17 miles from down town Honolulu and 19 miles from Waikiki Beach. Laundry facilities will be made available once a week at a scheduled time.
Inquiries: If you are interested in WWOOFing with W.N.G.C. please E-mail us your C.V. or resume along with a cover letter to [email protected]. Please include in your cover letter the dates you are interested in WWOOFing as well as any special accommodations you may need and questions you may have regarding work and accommodations at W.N.G.C. We will do our best to get back to all applicants in a timely matter and appreciate your patience as we move forward with the process. Please note that in order to confirm your WWOOF internship, you must be a registered member of WWOOF USA.
Sign-up for your WWOOF profile, here:
WWOOF.ORG automatically enrolls participants in WWOOF-USA's accident insurance program.
We also require insurance for illness. If you do not have medical insurance, travel insurance can be purchased at:
We also require insurance for illness. If you do not have medical insurance, travel insurance can be purchased at:
Future Farmer's Of America WWOOF Grant Opportunity
