Ramsjögård

This is a real vegetable farm. We live close to nature and follow the seasons. We have taught many people self -sustainability for many years. We grow an abundance of vegetables and teach people how to live off of them.
We are also very well situated near two cities (one the capital) and yet only accept people who are sincerely interested in the environment. Thus they meet like-minded people and often make friends here.
Together we have created the first CSA in Sweden (Community Supported Agriculture) We do everything ourselves, seldom buying new but fixing and keeping old things. We have been certified organic vegetable farmers since 1989. The whole farm is like a forest garden and we have a permaculture going on as well. People of all ages and cultural backgrounds have volunteered here since 1991.
Below you will find a file about what we do the different seasons to see if this is what you want to do. But before you apply please look at our website: www.ramsjogard.net under "volonteers" for questions and information which will help you see if you would be comfortable here. Please answer all the questions in "standard questions" and in the file about our wishes all the questions in green ink and send the answers to me at: seaofram@gmail.com. Thanks. At the end of the files are some references which also give a good picture of what we do here and what you can learn.

This is our Daily Schedule : Daily schedule for helpers on the farm -between 7:00 and 8:00: Breakfast -8:00: Morning meeting with farmer Anders to discuss the day’s activities. During the dark season we can start earlier to work while it is light outdoors. -App.8:30: The day starts and what we do depends on the time of year -app 11:00- a coffee or tea break or something light to eat if you want - 13:00 or 14:00: Lunch when we all get together for the main warm meal -After lunch we return to our chores or are finished for the day. -We usually work another 3 hours after lunch. If you are weeding or working in the greenhouse and it is hot you might want to take time off mid day to go swimming and then finish your row or other chores in the evening when it is cooler. -The hours we work in the day vary depending on the time of year. sometimes we stop after lunch and other times we finish our projects. We have a free day Schedule and you write the days you want off. We reccomend two Days a week for people here onger than two weeks and one day if here on a shorter visit. If we work a long day we sleep later the next one. In the spring, around mid to late May and June, we are planting with the machine which is three seats behind the tractor and we are often on a schedule dependant on the weather. We can sometimes start planting in the afternoon and continue through the evening. We have “midnight sun” here so it is light. -From August to November two days a week we are doing our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) vegetable baskets. January through April we have CSA basket once a month. Also on those days we may depart from our usual Schedule and always finish Before 15:00 when we go to Uppsala with the delivery.. If you are here a longer time and choose to take two days off a week you work between 32 and 40 hours a week. Here is a schema for each month and the work we do then and this is what we usually do but cannot promise exactly as the weather tells us what we can do at different times. Therefore some days are longer than others but it evens out and we always listen to your needs and wishes. Jan: We are usually closed in January but if we do accept one or two people it is for: Cleaning and preparing the different living areas for future helpers. Some repair work on the house. *Sorting vegetables and preparing orders for the schools and day care we sell to. Working in the woods with Anders. Cutting with electric wood splitter and stacking wood. Doing the fire. Sorting veggies. Baking around once a week. Warm clothing required for both outdoor and indoor work. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and warm boots. CSA basket once a month. Feb: We usually open mid-Febuary. We do orders for the various places we sell vegetables to (see in*January). Working in the woods with Anders. Cutting with electric wood splitter and stacking wood. Sorting veggies. Starting to sow seeds indoors for later planting out in fields. Baking around once a week. Making and tending the fire. Warm clothing required for both outdoor and indoor work. CSA basket once a month. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. March: Sowing seeds indoors in flats. Sorting veggies. Taking care of seedlings. Working in the woods with Anders. Making and tending the fire. Baking around once a week. Helping to clean both indoors and outdoors after the snow melts. Warm clothing required for both outdoor and indoor work. CSA basket once a month. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. April: Sowing and tending seedlings. Transplanting seedlings starts. Cleaning out greenhouses. Sorting veggies. Baking around once a week. Help build and put up greenhouses. Making and tending the fire. Helping to clean both indoors and outdoors after the snow melts. Possibly CSA basket once a month. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. May: Planting outside sitting behind tractor depending on if possibility to plant is limited can be long hours (compensated later with free time) Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Greenhouse work such as digging, planting and tending plants. Start weeding. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. June: Weeding. Planting outside sitting behind tractor depending on if possibility to plant is limited can be long hours (compensated later with free time) Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Greenhouse work such as digging, planting and tending plants. Possibility of building. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. July: Weeding. Planting outside. End of month harvesting and start CSA baskets. Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. August: Harvesting. Taking care of plants. Putting food by (freezing, jam making, pickling). CSA baskets every week. Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. September: Harvesting. Taking care of plants. Putting food by (freezing, jam making, pickling). CSA baskets every week. Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. October: Harvesting. After frost CSA baskets every other week. Packing vegetable orders. Putting food by (freezing, jam making, pickling). Perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Making and tending the fire. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. November: .Because of climate change we are often still harvesting in November. You need warm clothing for both indoor and outdoor work. Some years we work in our woods and cutting the wood at home. Cleaning indoors and outdoors. Putting food by like fermenting and making saurcraut the natural way. If you want to learn, helping with baking around once a week. One or two CSA baskets. Making and tending the fire. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and boots. December: If we host volunteers it is for cleaning, repairing and renovation indoors and CSA baskets once or twice and perhaps helping with baking around once a week. Making and tending the fire. Good to bring your own gloves and waterproof pants and warm boots. We usually only have helpers the first half of December.