Mentorship Program: Seeking Mentees and Mentors – NOFA/Mass

Program Summary:

• Goal: Make 6 Mentor/Mentee matches to facilitate the development of participant’s capacity to manage high tunnels with organic methods.
• Duration: April 2017-April 2019
• Compensation: Mentees: $400 stipend and $375 scholarship, Mentor: $2000
• Requirements: View this PDF for a full program description and requirements: http://bit.ly/HTFAQ
• Applications: Complete the application form to be considered as a mentee or a mentor: https://goo.gl/forms/4M7gkISb93NBY6053
• Deadline: March 13th, 2017

The mentorship program will match six mentee/mentor pairs, connecting growers who are new to high tunnel production with experienced and capable mentors to help them build their capacity. The duration of the match is 2 years, during which time the mentee and mentors will visit each other’s farms, communicate remotely and communicate with the rest of the group.  Mentees will set specific goals based on their strengths and challenges and be asked to report on their lessons learned in documents that can be shared with the general public.   Mentees receive a $400 stipend and $375 scholarship to attend the high tunnel workshops.

In addition to their work with their mentee, mentor farmers will host workshops at their farms and participate in a cumulative day-long seminar in 2018. These events will allow other growers to benefit from the experience of the mentors.  Mentors should be willing to make a commitment of 80-100 hours to the program, over the course of the 2 year grant period. Both mentees and mentors will be required to attend periodic remote conferences and complete reports on their progress.  Mentors will be provided a stipend of $2000 for participating.

Applications for this program are due March 13th. Anyone can apply for the mentorship, regardless of the number of years you have farmed or your experience. You should either already have a high tunnel or be building a high tunnel by the end of 2017 in order to be considered for the mentee program.

We are particularly interested in mentors who have substantial experience with multiple greenhouse and high tunnel structures growing substantial quantities of a wide variety of greenhouse crops in multiple seasons.  Ten years of protected vegetable production is preferred, but not required.