Construction Work Exchanger Needed at Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

Milkweed Mercantile Construction Work Exchange

POSITION CLOSED FOR 2015. KEEP US IN MIND FOR 2016!

Here's your opportunity to spend the summer at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage while learning about sustainablility and honing your cooking/building/life skills at the same time!

Become an integral part of the Milkweed Mercantile, a strawbale, solar & wind-powered Eco Inn and Organic Café located at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. You will have a huge impact upon the lives of our guests, plus have the opportunity to learn more about sustainable living and, of course, yourself. Guests often tell us that we have changed their lives.

THE POSITION

• We are looking for someone with basic construction skills, a solid work ethic, and a willingness to communicate and work through challenges. Can you swing a hammer? Are you easy-going and hard working? We'll teach you the rest!
  
• Our goal is to match the tasks needing to be done with the passions and skills of the wexers. We want you to be happy, and we want to Mercantile to run smoothly. Sometimes, though, the work just has to be done. For example, we have yet to meet the person who would rather wash dishes than anything else on earth. As a result, we ALL take turns with the dishes. However, should you find that you abhor construction or despise pie making, we will do everything in our power to fill your time with more good stuff than "bad."
• The job entails working 35 hours a week; your schedule will involve early mornings and/or late evenings. As our business opens early and doesn't close until late, weird hours are not optional. Additionally, we often get up early in the summer to do outdoor tasks (building, gardening) when it is cooler.
  
• Your hours will primarily focus on the weekends, and may involve split shifts. Your days off will most likely be Tuesday and Wednesday.
• We all wear a number of hats here at the Mercantile - you will most likely not work full-time in one area, but instead split your time between two or three (for example kitchen and construction, gardening and canning). We all work together and help each other; if a Mercantile staffer is in a jam, we all contribute to taking care of whatever needs to be done!
• The ideal candidate will be responsible, flexible, hard-working, easy-going, open to communication, somewhat extroverted, friendly and a good listener. We encourage you to be open to new people and experiences. You will gain experience in interacting positively with people who might not have the same world view as you while at the same time be living among "kindred spirits.
• While here you will have the opportunity to live as Rabbits do, and participate in (or observe, as appropriate) all aspects of our lives, including dance parties, pot lucks, music, conversations, seminars, yoga, nature walks, swimming in the pond, and much, much more.

Kurt working with reclaimed lumber during construction of the Mercantile.

A FEW DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THE JOB ENTAILS

• Construction - This season we are completing a small "honeymoon" bungalow for guests. Kurt, a carpenter, cabinet maker and general contractor will be working with you and teaching how to do the tasks required. Plumbing for the hot tub and outdoor shower, and electrical are included in the building. Unlike the strawbale Mercantile, the cottage is built of more conventional (but green) materials; exterior is covered with "shingles" made from scraps procured at a local pallet mill, and all of the other wood is reclaimed. The door on the hot tub enclosure is made of oak from a tree that grew just a little too close to our house. The skills gleaned from this project will enable you to build just about anything. Construction work Exchangers can expect to spend approximately 50% of their work hours doing/learning about construction while working on the bungalow and assisting Kurt with upkeep and maintenance of the strawbale Mercantile building. 

The Bungalow, with the hot tub/outdoor shower enclosure on the left. The entrance is around the corner on the south side, facing the Grain Bin House (you can see it through the trees on the right). The garbage cans will soon find another home...

Two  house wren houses were added to make room for local songbirds. You can watch them come and go while soaking in the hot tub.

• Cafe Kitchen
• Dish-washing (we all pitch in)
• Assist as we try to keep up with demand of jams, pickles and chutneys in the Mrs. Milkweed's Kitchen line (our best-selling Bourbon Pickled Jalapenos shown below). You'll become an expert at canning techniques plus learn how to make jam, pickles and more.
• Keep kitchen spotless and organized
• Interact with guests to ensure their food needs are being met, and more!

 Kurt, Alline and some of 2012's interns and work exchangers.

Friends hanging out at the bar  (at last count - 32 kinds of beer)

• Bar/Pub - You must be 21 or over to work in the bar. We need help with keeping our inventory, re-stocking the cooler and shelves, creating food/beer pairings, keeping the bar area spotless, interacting with guests, more!

• DOGtoberfest at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage - think Oktoberfest (beer, brats, music and fun) all to benefit shelter, rescue and low-cost spay/neuter organizations in the area. We need help with social media, contacting sponsors, publicity, planning, and everything else to make this second annual event a success.

 

Every Thursday is Pizza Night! The crust on our pizzas is made from scratch and are topped with homemade mozzarella and fresh herbs. Yum!

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS NEEDED

• Eagerness to assume responsibility
• Interest in sustainability, local and organic dining, and what is happening here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage
• Self-starting initiative and exquisite attention to detail
• Comfort interacting with the public, including children
• Willingness to communicate and work through interpersonal conflict; minimal drama.
• Comfort with “specialty” diets – vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you must be willing to cook and serve meat.
• You must be at least 21 (for serving alcohol)
• Two - three month (minimum) availability

WHAT WE PAY FOR/COVER:

• Food - All of your meals are covered. You will participate in the Mercantile staff food cooperative, which means you will be part of a rotating team of cooks. Food will be largely local and whole-foods based. Soda and alcohol are not included but may be purchased.

A typical tent platform

• Accommodations - Tenting platform is provided, you provide the tent (and sleeping bag, sleeping pad, rain tarp, etc.).
• Your fees for use of the Community Building (primarily for social space and library). Mercantile interns may use the Mercantile showers, wifi and composting toilets.
• Transportation: If you come to Dancing Rabbit by train or bus, we’ll pick you up at the nearest station (Quincy, IL; La Plata, MO; Ottumwa, IA) at no cost to you. Other travel to Dancing Rabbit and travel during your stay is at your expense.
• Gratuities – A share of pooled tips.
• Stipend – After completion of the first month wexers will receive a stipend of $50 per month.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

• Work – approximately 35 hours a week, plus cook shifts with our eating cooperative (usually one lunch and dinner each week)
• Additional responsibilities – Community rotational duties which are shared by all members of the community. Included are Common House clean, humanure, Common House firewood.
• Communication - if there is an issue, we all do our best to take ownership and communicate!
• Gear - Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc, appropriate clothing (details to be sent after you are accepted for the position).
• Transportation: If you come to Dancing Rabbit by train or bus, we’ll pick you up at the nearest station (Quincy, IL; La Plata, MO; Ottumwa, IA) at no cost to you. Other travel to Dancing Rabbit and travel during your stay is at your expense.

The Milkweed Mercantile is a privately owned business created by Dancing Rabbit members Alline and Kurt. Designed as a bridge between the ecovillage and the wider community, the Mercantile provides delicious local and seasonal meals, comfortable rooms at reasonable rates, a family-friendly pub, and a variety of seminars. The Mercantile serves as a living demonstration of the comfort and beauty of sustainability, and is quickly becoming a social hub of the community.

To apply or to ask questions please email alline at milkweedmercantile dot com. PLEASE put "work exchange" in the subject line to keep your email from ending up in the spam file. 

About the Milkweed Mercantile staff:

Kurt Kessner and Alline Anderson arrived at Dancing Rabbit in June 1999. After building a house they launched the next part of their Dancing Rabbit Dream – the Milkweed Mercantile. Inspired to build the Mercantile as a way to support themselves and to help Dancing Rabbit grow, construction began in 2007. The Inn opened in April 2010.

  
Alline, with a background in customer service and retail (but whose all-time favorite job remains camp counselor) manages the day to day operations of the Mercantile. Inspired by fabulous ingredients, she takes great joy in feeding, hosting and nurturing others. She never met a baked good that she didn’t like, and is enjoying learning more about foraged foods. In her spare time she reads fanatically, hangs out with Kurt, and is thinking about entering a 12-step program for Dr. Pepper.

Kurt is the easy-going designer/carpenter/contractor responsible for the physical manifestation of the Milkweed Mercantile. Trained as a carpenter as well as a marriage and family counselor, he is happiest when he is building something or teaching someone else how to build something. He also enjoys a great beer, great food and great conversation. He is delighted to spend time at the Mercantile, where all three are in plentiful supply.

Nik Garvoille (left) arrived as a Work Exchanger in the summer of 2013. When we found out how talented he is, we offered him a ten-day Artist in Residence position. Nik also does all of our graphic design. In 2014 Nik will transition from being a wexer to actually getting paid. He is our main breakfast cook, co-creator of our Farm to Fork dinners and Pie Man extraordinaire.

 Mae Ferber, (right) one of the "Pizza Bellas," is a big part of what makes our pizza nights so great! When she's not playing with dough and cheese at the Mercantile, you can find her out at the Critter Collective with her partner Ben, daughter Althea, goats, two million ducks, several hundred chickens and a miniature donkey.

Katherine Hanson, the other half of the "Pizza Bellas," arrived to participate in one of Dancing Rabbit's visitor sessions and never left! After wexing for a year, she became the Mercantile's first paid staffer. She constructs a mean pizza, is part of the Critter Collective, and if you need a party thrown, Katherine is the co for the job!

 

Please explore http://milkweedmercantile.com  before applying. Additional photos may be viewed here: Milkweed Mercantile Flickr.

TO APPLY or to ask questions please POSITION CLOSED FOR 2015 

Saturday Lunch service at the Mercantile

A birthday party for folks from the wider community.

Permaculture Design Course at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, 2015 - Stay at the Milkweed Mercantile!

All meals served here!

Hi friends!

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and Midwest Permaculture are teaming up to present a Permaculture Design Course here at DR this summer. We are super excited about it!

The Milkweed Mercantile will be providing all meals, the cost of which is included in course tuition. Which means that not only will you be learning insightful and thoughtful ways of creating the kind of world you'd like to live in, you'll eat really, really well!

Camping is also included in the course tuition. However, if you'd like to stay in (our version of) the lap of eco-luxury, we are drastically reducing the Mercantile room rates for the eight  nights of the course.

The Aldo Leopold Room

The Rachel Carson Room

Room rates include

• all linens
• super-comfortable beds in spacious rooms
• a guest lounge
• free wifi
• a commercial composting toilet
• a full bar, cafe and store
• a screened-in wraparound porch
• access to our hot tub
• an on-site massage therapist
• opportunity to experience life in a strawbale, off-grid building
• and much more!  

The Mercantile is run by Alline and Kurt who have been members of Dancing Rabbit since1999. They built the strawbale, solar & wind-powered inn as a demonstration and living example of many aspects of life here at Dancing Rabbit. They are delighted to share their experiences and insights with all guests and look forward to making new connections.

After you have registered for the course please contact us at stay@milkweedmercantile.com to make your room reservations!

Below are the details. Click here to see photos of the Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn rooms.

Fresh eggs!

Special room rates for the Permaculture Design Course being held August 29 – September 6, 2015

• Aldo Leopold Room (upstairs, king bed, accommodates two people, regular price $120 per night) $65 per night.
• Rachel Carson Family Room (upstairs, queen bed and twin bed, accommodates up to three people, regular price for two - $110, regular price for three - $135) $60 per night for two people, $75 per night for three people
• David Brower Room (upstairs, queen room, accommodates two people, regular price $115 per night) $60 per night
• Wallace Stegner Room (downstairs, ACCESSIBLE, very small room, two twin beds, opens directly onto the porch) $50 per night for two guests, $45 per night for one.

**Rates are PER ROOM, per night.

Payment in full is due upon reservation. 

Cancellations: Deposit is fully refundable up to 14 days prior to arrival; with less than 14 days notice you will receive a full refund less a $25 cancellation fee.

A sense of humor is vital in community living...

Examples of Natural Building abound at Dancing Rabbit.

The Critter Collective Farm Boot Camp – Intensive Goat-care Weekend at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

June 5-6-7 (Friday night – Sunday morning)

Are you interested in keeping goats but don’t know where to start? We have the perfect solution. Join our Intensive Goat-care weekend! Held at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage under the watchful eye Mae Ferber, one of the founders of the Critter Collective, it will provide you with enough information (and confidence!) to begin your goat-filled life.

Included are:

• 12 full hours of hands-on experience
• Instruction by caring, knowledgeable teachers
• All meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners): organic, local and delicious, served at the Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn & Café

Not included - Accommodations*

You’ll spend the weekend immersed in hands-on experience with Dancing’s Rabbit’s own goat herd and knowledgeable instruction by Mae Ferber. Super comfortable accommodations and meals provided by the Milkweed Mercantile. After your work day is complete you can soak off your cares under the stars in the Mercantile’s hot tub.

Details:
Your Boot Camp weekend begins on Friday afternoon with a tour of Dancing Rabbit and the opportunity to meet both the goats and the “Critters” (the humans in the Critter Collective). After the tour we’ll all have dinner in the Mercantile, where our goat-keeping discussions begin.

Saturday morning you’ll be up early (before breakfast!) for chores, helping Mae to feed and milk the goats. After a delicious farm breakfast, you’ll be back out at Critterville to learn about care, feeding and pasturing needs.

Following lunch on Saturday you’ll spend a couple of hours in the Mercantile’s commercial kitchen making goat cheese from the milk you collected earlier in the day. After cheese-making is happy hour at the Mercantile, which is followed by dinner.

Sunday morning will be another opportunity to practice milking. After breakfast you’ll have a last session with Mae to ask any last questions. Then it’s time to say our good-byes.We provide a box lunch for your drive home.

NOTE: Workshop must have at least two participants in order to be held. Maximum number of participants: 4

Tentative Schedule

Friday
Arrive by 4:00 p.m.
4:40 – 6:00 Tour of DR
6:30 Dinner at Mercantile
After dinner:

Saturday
Early – chores
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
Goat instruction at Critterville
12:00 p.m. Lunch @ Mercantile
1:30 – 3:30 Cheese-making at the Mercantile
3:30 – 6:15 chores and Happy Hour (if time allows)
6:30 Dinner

Sunday
Early chores
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
Last goat instruction at Critterville
Boxed lunch to go
Goodbyes

June 5-6-7 (Friday night – Sunday morning)

Cost of all instruction and meals
$215 per person, 

plus accommodations

To register for the seminar and 

to make reservations at the Milkweed Mercantile, 

please email alline@milkweedmercantile.com 

or call 660-883-5522

About the instructor: Mae Ferber














*Accommodations: A room at the Mercantile – spend two nights in our version of eco-luxury; a spacious, sparkly-clean strawbale inn, powered by sun and wind. Rate includes breakfast ($85 - $120 per night, double occupancy).

Thanks to Karen Hanrahan for the use of her photos!

Fearless Canning 2015 - Food Preservation for Beginners

 A Mercantile Canning Workshop - gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and 
homegrown garlic becoming salsa!

Maybe you got a great deal on a lug of peaches or a flat of juicy ripe strawberries at your farmer's market, or perhaps your first garden is producing TONS of tomatoes and peppers - now what? Join us for a food preservation intensive where you’ll get hands-on experience in an atmosphere where questions are encouraged and confidence gained. With a focus on both safety and flavor, we’ll go step by step from beginning to delicious end.

Alline sent each seminar attendee home with basic canning supplies, a canning book, and freshly canned goodies! The whole experience greatly exceeded my expectations. We had such fun canning and staying at the EcoInn! The canning seminar gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to can on my own at home.  

~Bobbie, seminar participant

We are offering three different Saturday sessions - which one works best for you?

• May 30, 2015
• June 20, 2015
• August 15, 2015

All seminars run from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m, and include coffee, tea and lunch.

In our day together we’ll put up something sweet (jam or preserves), savory (salsa and tomato sauce) and tart (pickles) PLUS take time to understand the science behind preserving food safely and flavorfully. Depending upon what is in season, we may make some zucchini relish (surprisingly wonderful!), applesauce or pear sauce, chow chow (fabulous for the name alone) or chutney.

We’ll discuss and demonstrate:

• Harvesting and procuring the best produce
• Organic or not – what’s the difference?
• Alternative sweeteners – are they possible?
• All about pectin
• Great recipes for a variety of fruits and vegetables
• Knife handling
• Choosing the right jar for the job
• Sterilizing jars for safety
• Hot water bath tips (we’ve learned the hard way so that you won’t have to!)
• The right tools, which make all the difference

We’ll share our favorite recipes and techniques, and everyone will go home with samples, recipes and loads of ideas and inspiration PLUS a few key tools of the trade. You’ll never go back to “store-bought” jam, salsa, tomato sauce and pickles once you’ve made your own!

Summer in a jar!

The workshop will be held in the certified commercial kitchen at the Milkweed Mercantile, a solar-and-wind-powered business at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and taught by Alline Anderson, Proprietor of the Milkweed Mercantile.


ALL materials and supplies are provided. Each seminar participant will receive:

• Four full hours of instruction (with an hour for lunch)
• A delicious lunch
• Supplies to take home: Canning Handbook and your own jar lifters  ($24 value, included in class fee)
• Recipes and ideas
• Samples of canned food made during the class to take home and share

$75 per person
Lunch is included.
Places are limited; we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

TO REGISTER: Please send an email to alline@milkweedmercantile.com and let us know which class you'd like to attend. You may then give us a call (660-883-5522) with a credit card number, or mail a check to:
 
Milkweed Mercantile
3 Dancing Rabbit Lane
Rutledge,  MO 63563 

If you mail a check, please be sure to indicate which class you'll be attending.

A place in a class is not guaranteed until we receive payment.

We invite you to stay Friday before the workshop or Saturday afterwards!


The Fine Print:
Payment for the seminar and your accommodations is due upon registration. We accept VISA, MasterCard, cash and personal checks. Read our Deposit/Cancellation/Refund Policy here. For questions, please call 660-883-5522. If we don't answer, please leave a message. We'll call you right back!

Please leave your pets at home 
Pets (except for seeing-eye dogs and other service dogs) are not allowed at any Milkweed Mercantile Seminars. While we do have a pet-friendly guest room, pets are not allowed to be unattended in any of our rooms, and while attending a seminar you will be unable to care for your pet. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Travel to the Milkweed Mercantile 
Our seminar prices do not include travel to and from the Milkweed Mercantile.  For directions, train, airport and rental car information, click here.


Seminars Canceled or Changed by the Milkweed Mercantile 
On very rare occasions, we must cancel or change seminars. If this occurs, our responsibility is limited to a refund of any trip fees you've already paid. The Milkweed Mercantile is not responsible for airline tickets, other tickets or payments, or any similar fee penalties that you may incur as a result of any trip cancellations or changes.

Milkweed Mercantile at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage Seeks Kitchen Helper and Building Assistant

Milkweed Mercantile Internship

Kitchen Helper and Building Assistant
March 31 – October 31,  2015

Become an integral part of the Milkweed Mercantile, a strawbale, solar & wind-powered Eco Inn and Organic Café located at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. You will have a huge impact upon the lives of our guests, plus have the opportunity to learn more about sustainable living and, of course, yourself.

The Milkweed Mercantile is a privately owned business created by Dancing Rabbit members Alline and Kurt. Designed as a bridge between the ecovillage and the wider community, the Mercantile provides delicious local and seasonal meals, comfortable rooms at reasonable rates, and sustainability seminars. The Mercantile serves as a living demonstration of the comfort and beauty of sustainability, and is quickly becoming the social hub of the community.

To apply or to ask questions please email alline at milkweedmercantile.dot com. PLEASE put "internship" in the subject line to keep your email from ending up in the spam file.

Mini cupcakes decorated with wild violets.

BASIC INFO

• We need a minimum three-month commitment between April and October. 
• The Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn serves meals to seminar/workshop participants, pizza every Thursday, lunch on Saturday when Dancing Rabbit gives public tours, and brunch on Sunday. We also provide a steady stream of baked goods to keep everyone happy.
• The design of our kitchen is open, which means that guests will engage you in conversation (see photos). If you are a confirmed introvert this position may not be for you.
• Successful applicants do not have to have specific cook or construction experience already, as we will train you! However, a good attitude and openness to learning is a MUST.
• Our goal: the smooth running of the Mercantile while conveying the eco-ethic of Dancing Rabbit and its members AND making sure our guests are comfortable, well-fed, and treated respectfully.
• No housing is provided – most work exchangers/interns camp. However, you will have access to all Mercantile amenities – wifi, showers, toilets, hang-out space. Your meals will be eaten with the Mercantile staff eating cooperative. You will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of life at Dancing Rabbit, including social events, potlucks, swimming in the ponds, learning new communication skills, rotational chores, and much, much more. Plus, you’ll eat really, really well.

One of the Mercantile's Canning Workshops

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Your time will be divided between the construction site and the kitchen, depending upon where you are most needed.
Kitchen 

• You will assist preparing delicious meals for guests – on time, with fresh local organic ingredients, in keeping with Mercantile standards and in accordance to dietary needs of guests.
• Assist in preparing baked goods – biscuits, muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies, cakes, pies – to be served at the Mercantile.
• Assist in preparing and preserving jams, jellies and pickled vegetables that will be sold at the Mercantile.
• Maintain a clean, neat, sanitary and orderly kitchen.
• Washing dishes, pots and pans.

Construction

• Help Kurt with whatever task is next in the construction of the "Honeymoon Bungalow."
• Be open to learning basic construction skills, with hand tools and power tools. Included may be insulating the walls and ceiling, sheet rock installation and mudding, painting, plumbing, electrical work, finish trim work, much, much more.

The Bungalow is located behind the Mercantile. It is a one-room cottage, with attached hot tub and outdoor shower on the left). The exterior is finished - this spring/summer we hope to finish the interior!

• The job entails working 35 hours a week; your schedule will involve early mornings and/or late evenings.
• Your hours will primarily focus on the weekends, and may involve split shifts. Your days off will most likely be Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

Every Thursday is Pizza Night! The crust on our pizzas is made from scratch and are topped with homemade mozzarella and fresh herbs. Yum!

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS NEEDED

• Some restaurant/café cooking or baking experience, and comfort in a commercial kitchen AND/OR some construction experience.
• If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you must be willing to cook and serve meat.
• Eagerness to assume responsibility.
• Interest in sustainability, local and organic dining, and what is happening here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.
• Self-starting initiative and exquisite attention to detail.
• Comfort interacting with the public, including children.
• Willingness to communicate and work through interpersonal conflict.
• You must be at least 21 (for serving alcohol)
• Three month (minimum) availability.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES/LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES MAY INCLUDE: 

• Helping with ANY food-related project, including: seasonal (ingredient-driven) menu planning and food prep; menu planning and food prep for special diets (i.e. celiac/gluten free, lactose intolerant, etc.) and events; vegan cooking and baking techniques; preserving foods by canning and fermenting; working with yeast doughs and baked goods; making butter, sour cream, ice cream; meat grilling and barbeque; much more…
• Working with local farmers, gardeners, beekeepers and other food producers
• Foraging for wild seasonal ingredients
• Helping in the garden
• Waiting/busing tables

  
WHAT WE PAY FOR/COVER: 

Food - All of your meals are covered. You will participate in the Mercantile staff food cooperative, which means you will be part of a rotating team of cooks. Food will be largely local and whole-foods based. Soda and alcohol are not included but may be purchased.

Accommodations - Tenting platform provided, you provide the tent (and sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc.).

Your fees for use of the Community Building (primarily for social space and library). Mercantile interns may use the Mercantile showers, wifi and composting toilets.

Transportation: If you come to Dancing Rabbit by train or bus, we’ll pick you up at the nearest station (Quincy, IL; La Plata, MO; Ottumwa, IA) at no cost to you. Other travel to Dancing Rabbit and travel during your stay is at your expense.

Gratuities – A share of pooled tips.

Stipend – After completion of the first month interns will receive a stipend of $50 per month.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Work – approximately 35 hours a week, plus cook shifts with our eating cooperative (usually one lunch and dinner each week)

Additional responsibilities – Community rotational duties which are shared by all members of the community. Included are Common House clean, humanure, Common House firewood.

Gear - Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc, appropriate clothing (details to be sent after you are accepted for the position).

Transportation: If you come to Dancing Rabbit by train or bus, we’ll pick you up at the nearest station (Quincy, IL; La Plata, MO; Ottumwa, IA) at no cost to you. Other travel to Dancing Rabbit and travel during your stay is at your expense.

 Kurt, Alline and some of 2012's interns and work exchangers.

About the Milkweed Mercantile staff:

Kurt Kessner and Alline Anderson arrived at Dancing Rabbit in June 1999. After building a house they launched the next part of their Dancing Rabbit Dream – the Milkweed Mercantile. Inspired to build the Mercantile as a way to support themselves and to help Dancing Rabbit grow, construction began in 2007. The Inn opened in April 2010.

Alline, with a background in customer service and retail (but whose all-time favorite job remains camp counselor) manages the day to day operations of the Mercantile. Inspired by fabulous ingredients, she takes great joy in feeding, hosting and nurturing others. She never met a baked good that she didn’t like, and is enjoying learning more about foraged foods. In her spare time she reads fanatically, hangs out with Kurt, and is thinking about entering a 12-step program for Dr. Pepper.

Kurt is the easy-going designer/carpenter/contractor responsible for the physical manifestation of the Milkweed Mercantile. Trained, as a carpenter as well as a marriage and family counselor, he is happiest when he is building something or teaching someone else how to build something. He also enjoys a great beer, great food and great conversation. He is delighted to spend time at the Mercantile, where all three are in plentiful supply.

Please explore http://milkweedmercantile.com  before applying. 

TO APPLY or to ask questions please email alline at milkweedmercantile.dot com. PLEASE put "internship" in the subject line to keep your email from ending up in the spam file.

Saturday Lunch service at the Mercantile

Friends hanging out at the bar  (at last count - 26 kinds of beer)

The Mercantile provides meals for seminars held at Dancing Rabbit. 
Above: buffet lunch awaits participants (open kitchen in background). 
Below: seminar participants relaxing after lunch.

The Milkweed Mercantile and Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage receive a lot of media attention. 
Here, Mizzou journalism students documenting Alline cooking.

A birthday party for folks from the wider community.