Internships at Setha's Seeds
Accepting Applications Now. We have space for 3 Interns this season, come and be a part of a vibrant seed farm and community, learn by doing and share in the beauty of living on the land and working with nature.
Education is something that brings great joy to us. We love sharing the knowledge we have gained over the years with folks interested in picking up the seed growing torch.
Our internships are a work exchange where learning by doing fosters an environment for individuals to better their skills and helps us achieve our goals together. Work hours are flexible each day, especially once a routine is established. We ask that you work 5 hours/day, 5 days/week. It is possible to take longer periods off for short trips away etc. as long as we are all agreed to the time chosen beforehand. There are also times, when we will need to go away and we ask for you to be on site to oversee things.
Spring Internship September 2023 – November 2023
Come and learn about getting the growing season underway on a heritage seed farm. Spring is an exciting time in the garden as we prepare ground, sow seeds, and fertilise for the season ahead. We use organic and permaculture principles in our seed garden and teach all of the hows and whys behind what we do. Tasks and skills include:
1. Seed Propagation/Nursery Skills
2. Transplanting
3. Garden Bed Prep
4. Irrigation and water management for healthy plants
5. Fertilising the garden and how to grow nutrient dense plants, food and seeds
6. Garden Maintenance – weeding, mulching, foliar feeding, compost tea preparations.
7. Learn the criteria for planting, genetic diversity, rogueing and selection for healthy seed growing.
Other things you will be exposed to:
1. Tiny house building
2. Do it yourself building
3. Music – we are in a band and live on a property where folk music festivals are held periodically.
4. Farmhouse cooking – using the whole animal, lactic fermented foods like sourdough, yogurt and sauerkraut.
5. Beekeeping – we have hives on the farm, managed by a friend.
Autumn Internship March 2024 – June 2024
Come and learn about all the end of season seed harvesting and processing techniques. From mid- summer on we are harvesting seed as it ripens in the field, drying and processing it for sale the next year. Whether you are a novice or wanting to more fully develop your seed knowledge this is a great time to learn in the garden about saving seeds and storing them for future use. Tasks and skills include:
1. Seed harvesting for both wet and dry seed
2. Wet seed processing and drying
3. Dry seed drying and processing
4. Storing seed techniques and methods
5. Seed selection and rogueing
6. Seed Propagation/Nursery Skills
7. Transplanting
8. Garden Bed Prep
9. Irrigation and water management for healthy plants
10. Fertilising the garden and how to grow nutrient dense plants, food and seeds
11. Garden Maintenance – weeding, mulching, foliar feeding, compost tea preparations.
Other things you will be exposed to:
1. Tiny house building
2. Do it yourself building
3. Music – we are in a band and live on a property where folk music festivals are held periodically.
4. Farmhouse cooking – using the whole animal, lactic fermented foods like sourdough, yogurt and
5. Beekeeping – we have hives on the farm, managed by a friend.
How it works
All our interns will be provided with accommodation on site. We have a private home separate from ours with 3 bedrooms. There are cooking facilities, bathroom/laundry and a living area inside as well. WIFI access is available, although, you will need to provide your own device.
Food is provided out of the garden and some things are purchased to supplement. All types of eaters welcome. We are omnivores. If you have special dietary requirements, you may need to provide some of your own foods. We have weekly shared meals, but a lot of your meals you will cook for yourself with food provided.
Our 6 year old daughter moves in and out of the day while working with us, and the ideal people to be here are those who enjoy being with young kids. She is great fun and sometimes if agreed to prior, it is very helpful if some work hours can be used towards child minding to allow for our focus to be in the garden. This is not mandatory, just a great perk for us if it works out!
We live rurally and 45 min from Napier, we have been told by previous interns that it is ideal for a couple to be here, or someone who is comfortable working and being by themselves. We spend a lot of time together, but outside of the workday and shared meals, there is a lot of time where you will need to be able to keep yourself entertained. It is also ideal, if you have your own vehicle, although not necessary, and we will offer to take you into town and along to some social/music occasions too.
Intern Experiences
From Alexis Hand - Autumn 2019 Intern
Bountiful, beautiful, inspiring, and yum! Setha, Roddy, and their daughter are some of the kindest, most genuinely caring, and fun people I have had the opportunity to spend time with. They are happy to share their knowledge, open to learning new things, and express gratitude for your help. The accommodation in a new tiny home is top-notch cozy. The food nourishes tummy, heart, and soul. The landscape is beautiful, bees thriving, garden humming with vitality, soil the healthiest I've seen in my eight years of gardening, and lovely people with which to enjoy this abundant, simple lifestyle. Do your mind, body, and spirit the favor of living and learning with Setha and Roddy! Also, there is an awesome hike right out the backdoor to Lake Tutira!
From Caitlin Bell - Spring/Summer/Autumn 2017/18 Intern
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the summer of 2017-18 in Tutira, doing an internship with Roddy Setha & little River Rose. It's the first time I have worked on the land through the whole growing season (which was a great privilege) following Roddy & Setha's plans, well practiced organic, bio-intensive methods. It was a productive, busy, fascinating, richly-rewarding, fun-time. One of the focuses was raising seedlings for crops & at the end of the season, processing the seed for saving. I found Setha's experience with seed invaluable & was given plenty of practice along with her careful guidance. My heart-felt thanks to both Roddy & Setha for their time & effort showing me the ropes.
From Maddie Stonehouse - Autumn 2023 Intern
Tonight marks my last evening as an intern with Setha's Seeds. I was asked for three things I have learned in my time here. Three lessons... Usually, I'd have stumbled. Scratched the bottom barrels of my brain to come up with something that others might have wanted to hear, and then felt disheartened after I had given my answer, wondering if that was how I truly felt - or if that was the answer that was required of me. But this time the lessons - to my surprise - flowed naturally.
The first lesson was the biggest.
1. Be in tune with your heart. Not what anyone else (or even sometimes your own brain) thinks you should do, or say. What is it that your heart is really telling you? Follow that.
2. Let it come, and let it go. Let go of control. Life is made for living - and every moment, no matter the joy - or struggle - will too pass. Be present in the moment. Learn to treasure it.
3. Connection. Seek out those who resonate with you. Bring people into your life who love you and accept you for you. Take care of those around you. Aim to live by the principal of reciprocity.
I came here to learn food resilience. It was about time I learned the practical side of sowing, planting, harvesting, and composting. I couldn't continue to face the reality that I didn't know how to meet my own basic human needs, let alone teach others how to do it. But it's bigger than that. The seed diversity we currently have is the product of many past generations of guardians (seed savers). The choices we make now will be what lies in the hands of our children of future generations. It's our obligation to keep seed growing. So much to remember... New life. New seasons. New friends. New perspectives. New beginnings, and now new endings.
What I found here is so much more than what I came for. An immersion into a reality where we can live what it means to be human. To be at peace. To live with kindness. To give, and to receive. To have time for ourselves and for each other. Something that no amount of money can buy. And so, I leave here with a happy heart, and a soul that feels free.
