Programs & education
Hands-on learning for every age
Come grow food, build with the earth, and put up a harvest alongside people learning the same things you are. It all happens out on the land in Ramah, NM.
What we teach
Four things we teach
On a permaculture farm, growing, building, and putting up food all feed into each other. Any given visit, you’ll touch a few of these. Here’s what each one means.
-
Permaculture Farming
Growing food from the soil up — planting things that help each other along, catching the rain where it falls, and tending beds that feed people and leave the ground better than they found it.
- Soil building & composting
- Companion planting & guilds
- Water harvesting & swales
- Seed saving for the high desert
-
Natural Building
Build with what the land gives you — earth and natural materials worked into shelter, growing spaces, and places to gather.
- Earthen & natural materials
- Passive solar siting
- Hands-on build days
- Tools & techniques for all ages
-
Food Preservation & Community
Turn a harvest into a full pantry — canning, drying, fermenting — and learn how shared work knits a community together.
- Canning, drying & fermenting
- Seasonal harvest workshops
- Community work days
- Skills shared across generations
-
Community-building
None of this works alone. You’ll learn how shared work, skills, and gatherings grow a community that looks out for one another.
- Community work days
- Skill shares & gatherings
- Learning across generations
- Caring for one another
A day on the land
What a typical visit is like
No two days are the same out here. The season decides a lot of the work. But most visits move through the same rhythm.
-
Arrive & gather
We open with a welcome and a walk of the land. Newcomers, returning hands, kids, and grandparents all start together, so everyone knows the lay of the place.
-
Hands in the work
The heart of every visit is doing the work — turning a compost pile, mixing earthen plaster, planting a guild, or putting up the harvest. Tasks are scaled so a child and an adult can work side by side.
-
Learn the why
As we work, we talk through the reasoning — why a swale sits where it does, why these plants grow well together, why we put up a crop this way. You take home the skill and the reason behind it.
-
Share & wind down
We close by sharing what we grew, built, or put up, and what’s coming next. Bring questions. Bring curiosity. There’s always room to just be on the land.
Good to know
Coming for a visit
Families, solo learners, and groups are all welcome. A few things worth knowing before you come.
-
All ages welcome
Kids, teens, adults, and elders learn together. Children are welcome with a participating adult; we tailor tasks to every age and ability.
-
Come as you are
No experience needed — only a willingness to get your hands dirty. Wear closed-toe shoes and clothes that can take some soil and sun.
-
By appointment
We’re on private land in the high desert, so visits are by appointment. Reach out first and we’ll help you find a day that works.
-
Bring the high-desert basics
Sun protection and plenty of water go a long way out here. We’ll tell you anything else you need when we confirm your visit.
Before you come to stay or work
Rules of the land
Misfit is a working farm and a shared home. If you're coming to apprentice, volunteer for a stretch, or stay on the property, here's what we ask — said plainly, so there are no surprises.
-
Come self-sufficient
Bring your own food, your own way to get around, and your own place to sleep — a camper, van, or the like — with some way to stay warm. We're working toward housing on the property, but right now there's only room for two or three extra people.
-
Be ready to work
The days are hands-on — gardening, harvesting, building, cleaning. Plan on roughly 20 hours a week, and be physically up for it.
-
Bring a good attitude
Show up positive and willing to work through disagreements. We settle things by talking them out, not by letting them fester.
-
No drugs
Keep them off the land — no exceptions.
-
Respect each other
Respect people's privacy, and respect their lives. There's zero tolerance for homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, or anything in that vein here.
-
Building experience helps
If you've put up structures before, that's a real asset for these first couple of seasons. It's a plus, not a requirement.
-
Pets, kept contained
You're welcome to bring animals, but they'll need to stay contained — a tie-up, a yard, or wherever you're staying — and be friendly with other people and animals.
-
If it isn't working out
If there's ongoing conflict with another worker, or the work isn't getting done (around those 20 hours a week), we may ask you to leave. Refusing to go will mean legal action. We'd much rather never reach that point — but it's only fair to say it straight.
From the land
Session & work-day photos
Photos from our sessions and work days will appear here as they are added.
We have not posted session photos yet. Want to be the first to see the land? Join a work day or ask about a visit.
Ready to learn?
Come learn alongside us
Whether you want to spend one work day with us or stick around for a whole season, the first step is the same: reach out and tell us what you’d love to grow. Where roots take hold and people grow.