We Hire Growers with Intellectual, Developmental, and/or Cognitive Disabilities
We use farming to encourage employability skills.
Our employees (Growers) learn many different employment and farming skills, like:
coming prepared to work
clocking in & clocking out
taking direction and working as a team
using different tools
plant and weed management
harvesting and food preservation skills
Click the above button to download the job application.
Email completed application to: admin@afarmlessordinary.org.
Applicant must:
Have a diagnosed moderate-to-severe developmental, intellectual, and/or cognitive disability
Be of working age or have a work permit from the Commonwealth of Virginia, if required
Be able to walk, unaided, on steep or uneven ground and willing to work outside in all types of weather, in the dirt
Provide own transportation to and from our farm in Leesburg, VA
Bring a job coach, aide or companion to work if that resource is needed to help with tasks
Typical work days are 8am - 2pm Monday through Friday, March through November.
We also attend weekend farmers markets in Loudoun County, kitchen skills sessions in Leesburg, VA, and a limited number of experienced Growers are able to work additional farming hours throughout the winter months. We recognize that not everyone can work a full day, or five days a week. We can develop a schedule that is appropriate for the Grower’s stamina and abilities.
For questions, please contact admin@afarmlessordinary.org.
We are a working farm. We start out by sitting down and talking to potential Growers, along with their families (or the job coach or employment agency they've come with) to figure out what kinds of farming activities the employee might be most successful at and happiest in doing. At A Farm Less Ordinary, we want everyone to succeed. And once they have a few of those successes under their belts, we can challenge them to try new tasks that might be a bit more of a stretch.
Depending on our Growers' abilities and comfort level, we may pair them with another Grower, who can show them the ropes, or have them work with our Crew Leader or Farm Manager to master a skill until they can work more independently. We are also happy to include parents and personal Job Coaches on the farm, if Growers work best with someone they already know.
Long story short? We are flexible to various work arrangements!
Yes, we pay our Growers! No, our Growers do not have to work full-time.
Our Growers start out at minimum wage and progress upward from there. While we wish we could pay everybody even more than that, we are, after all, a non-profit organization.