Seasonal Trainee Grower (Voluntary Placement)

Organic Growers Alliance; United Kingdom; On-site; Full time

Job summary

The Organic Growers Alliance is offering a three-month seasonal trainee placement at The Fold Community Farm in the United Kingdom for a volunteer interested in organic, regenerative growing. During this immersive opportunity, you will engage in hands-on learning across various aspects of farming, including sowing and harvesting.

This role is ideal for those who want to develop practical skills while working within a vibrant community farm, contributing to sustainable practices and local resilience.

Qualifications

• Interest in organic farming and regenerative growing.
• Willingness to engage in hands-on learning.
• Ability to work as part of a team.

Responsibilities

• Assist in sowing, planting, harvesting, and crop care.
• Participate in land stewardship and infrastructure maintenance.
• Engage in knowledge-sharing and question-asking during training.

Job description

Duration: Three months
Start date: Flexible between mid-March and mid-April
Status: Voluntary training placement (unpaid)

The Fold Community Farm is offering a three-month seasonal trainee placement for one volunteer who wants to immerse themselves in organic, regenerative growing within a working community farm.

Our 4-acre, Soil Association-certified market garden sits in the beautiful Teme Valley in Worcestershire, between Malvern and Worcester. We grow a diverse range of vegetables, fruit and herbs using no-dig beds, field-scale production and two polytunnels. We are developing our agroforestry system with newly planted fruit trees, and we propagate most of our crops in our on-site glasshouse. A second glasshouse is currently being refurbished to expand into more climate-loving crops such as sweet potatoes and turmeric.

This is not just a growing space — it is part of a wider ecosystem.

The Community Farm is at the heart of The Fold, a thriving not-for-profit CIC. Alongside the core growing team, you will be part of a lively and welcoming site that includes regular day volunteers, a small group of on-site residents, visiting students and course participants, therapists, artists and café guests. Our produce is sold through our Veg Shed and served in our vegetarian café, connecting farm to fork within the same community.

We believe food can regenerate soil, strengthen local resilience, and nourish community. We are looking for someone who wants to experience that whole system in action.

Our Head Grower, Jude, is a highly experienced horticulturalist with a deep commitment to organic principles and knowledge-sharing. As a trainee volunteer, you will be invited to engage in all aspects of seasonal production, including sowing, planting, harvesting, crop care, propagation, infrastructure and land stewardship. There will be space to ask questions, take initiative, and develop practical skills through doing.

We recognise that immersive, hands‑on learning in regenerative market gardening can be hard to access. This placement is intended as a focused, intensive experience during the most vibrant part of the growing season.