Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn & Organic Cafe
April-May 2012 and August-October 2012
Intern Mo learns the mysteries of sourdough bread.
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 seminars on all aspects of sustainability. The Mercantile serves as a living demonstration of the comfort and beauty of sustainability, and is quickly becoming the social hub of the community.
Lunch service
A summer canning seminar at the Mercantile.
No experience necessary – what we’re really looking for is:
- Self-starting initiative, attention to detail, a dash of humility and enthusiasm
- Comfort interacting with the public, including children
- Willingness to communicate and work through interpersonal conflict
- At least 21 birthdays in your past (for serving alcohol)
- Two month (minimum) availability
- A great attitude, a minimum of whining and a sense of humor balanced by an eagerness to assume responsibility.
Making kimchee with Sandor Katz.
Should you have experience in any of the following, we would be delighted:
- Completed service as an Americorps or Peace Corps volunteer
- Professional kitchen work, in any capacity
- Carpentry/building/renewable energy
- Gardening
- Baking, cooking, menu planning
- Positions where you have (pleasantly) interacted with the public
The Basics:
You will be asked to work 35 hours a week. A majority of our work is on weekends, and most days off will be during the typical work week. Some days may require “split shifts” (i.e. working breakfast, then having a break, and then working a bar or dinner shift). You will also participate in the Mercantile staff eating cooperative, which means taking turns cooking for your fellow staffers. You will participate in life at Dancing Rabbit, including rotational chores, attending social events, potlucks, swimming in the ponds and observing meeting process. Plus, you’ll eat really, really well.
Internships will vary depending upon the needs of the Milkweed Mercantile and its guests, your skills, and the team on staff at any one time. 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.
Your Mercantile duties/ learning opportunities will include:
Kitchen/Cafe
- Washing dishes, pots and pans
- Keeping the kitchen spotless
- Helping Alline 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 barbecue; much more…
- Working with local farmers, gardeners, beekeepers and other food producers
- Foraging for wild seasonal ingredients
- Waiting/busing tables
- Menu planning
- Helping in the Mercantile’s (small) demonstration garden
Inn:
- Helping Mandy with anything she needs help with.
- Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
- Helping guests/customers
- Assisting in the store
- Taking phone reservations/answering questions
- Giving tours of Dancing Rabbit and the Milkweed Mercantile
- Event and Seminar planning and follow-though
- Public Relations and publicity through writing, speaking, blogging, link-building, working with college programs, etc.
One of the rooms at the inn.
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.).
- Fees - Your fees for use of the Community Building (primarily for the social space and library). Mercantile interns use the Mercantile showers, wifi, telephone (after putting down a refundable deposit) 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.
- Gratuities – An equal share of pooled tips.
- Stipend – After completion of the first month, interns receive a stipend of $50 per month.
Cool off in the Swimming Pond. We're saving an inner tube for you!
You are responsible for:
- Work – approximately 35 hours a week, plus cook shifts (usually one breakfast, 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 - Other than your initial arrival (where we’ll pick you up if needed!), travel to and from Dancing Rabbit and travel during your stay is at your expense.
Additional photos of life at the Milkweed Mercantile and Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage may be viewed here.
For specific questions and to apply, please email manDlou@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Kurt & Alline during construction of the Mercantile.
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, quilts, 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.
Mandy is our newest member of the team, and arrived in December 2011. After bicycling 6,500 miles around the US and visiting 100 sustainable communities, she eventually chose to live at Dancing Rabbit and help the Milkweed Mercantile and other DR small businesses become viable cottage industries. She is helping with marketing, website, public relations, guest reservations and more. You’ll see these big grins on her face most days, but especially when riding her bike, sharing her passion for sustainable community living, participating in meetings (yes, some people actually do love meetings!), or doing her morning meditation and yoga.
