The Folk School for Life at Heavenly Hills Harvest Farm

Today, many people are in pursuit of happiness and freedom that comes from learning how to grow their own food, become good stewards of the earth and their communities, and even make a living as farmers. For this purpose, Heavenly Hills Harvest Farm will inaugurate a residential Folk School for adults that will provide an outstanding learning opportunity from May 1 to November 15, 2014.

Heavenly Hills Harvest Farm, located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in eastern Washington state, is already known as an organic farm and educational center for people of all ages. Education has always been our main focus. Its 100 acres of rich farm soil and wildlife habitats has a mile of river front on the Yakima River, a salmon tributary of the Columbia River. These features contribute to a powerful learning experience as well as a highly enjoyable place to live. Students will learn by doing, and acquire the knowledge and skills needed for farming, nutrition, community empowerment, and wildlife habitat restoration. These are critical building blocks for the preservation of healthy life on our planet.


This experience during the spring, summer and autumn growing and harvesting seasons has a breadth of purposes unlike anything we know of in America. We are dedicated to the holistic concept of permaculture, meaning an ecological design system for restoration and sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor—farming, building, education, ecology, community enrichment other practices.

Students will be actively involved in the daily operation of our farm and often asked to assume a leadership role as a part of a diverse, hands-on curricula and student body. They will gain understanding of the food supply system, its impact on the environment, and to know if farming is an endeavor they want to continue, in backyards or in larger venues. This knowledge is transportable to other fields, as has been the experience of many who have worked here in various capacities during the past several years, including as farm interns. Interns have learned all aspects of vegetable production and distribution through our small CSA, farm events and farmer’s markets and have used this knowledge in employment and further education.

We also are the learning site for sustainable agriculture students from the Yakima Valley Community College and for local high school agriculture and horticulture students. During this past year, we hosted hundreds of school children, as well as young adults with the Washington Conservation Corp, helping us plant thousands of trees and bushes along the river and fence rows for wildlife protection. We have grown in skills and infrastructure and know that more can be offered with a larger community of residential learners, especially in terms of community building and expanded opportunities for networking. We're now ready to replace the intern program with an innovative Farm Folk School, for which we and are increasing the campus on the farm and scope of learning opportunities.

For our inaugural class, we have space for 14 students. Our campus includes a floored hay barn, suitable for dancing, music and plays (a theater company plans to use it for a production of Mid-Summers Night's Dream next summer), wine tastings, and other activities; Vineyard Village for student housing "bunkhouse" style farm house with bedrooms, living area, kitchen and bathrooms; laundry facilities; field kitchen where group farm breakfasts and lunches and other meals will be prepared and community dining hall, "eagles nest" library for reading, Wi-Fi, videos and discussions in converted rodeo announcer's booth, a lab for microscopic work of soil and water sampling and other investigations, wood fired pizza oven, bon-fire pit, and assorted farm buildings for housing chickens and goats, washing and packing vegetables for market, walk-in cooler, and for storing tools and other equipment. The river front provides trails for hiking, wildlife observation, photography, art, and fishing, and supplies us from cottonwoods and willows with the materials for making balms and furniture. Across the river, to the west, are thousands of acres of wildlife refuge on the Yakama Indian reservation, and beyond can be seen glaciated mountains, Adams and Rainier. The farm is surrounded on other sides by vineyards and hops, and Rattlesnake Mountains and Horse Heaven Hills.

Expanded offerings include more about the business of farming as well as learning how to be advocates for meaningful and healthy change when returning to other parts of the country or remaining in this area. Being able to band together, share information, and work for healthy environments has always been a need and practice of enlightened farmers and other citizens. Those who farm learn how to solve all sorts of problems creatively and how to mix self-reliance with cooperation. We will host authors and others who are working to empower people with knowledge and strategies to confront issues that impact people everywhere today. Daily hands-on instruction comes from our farm staff and often visiting professionals (or visits to other farms) to include but not to be limited to the following:

Farming tasks of weeding, planting, harvesting, developing succession planting plans, record keeping and data management, cleaning and organizing farm areas, repairing farm structures and equipment; construction of new farm structures, meal preparation, planning entertainment, and assisting with on farm events that have included workshops for wine, beer and cheese making, cooking classes, wine dinners, and farm open houses.
More specifically, all students will be involved in the:
• Production of the herbs, fruits and vegetables as described above, (tilling, planting, weeding, harvesting, washing and packaging for sale). • Marketing and implementation of general farm activities and agritourism events. • Exploring new and emerging markets. • Irrigation management – wheel lines and micro irrigation drip lines.• Installation and maintenance of pollinator borders.• Record keeping.• Pest and Nutrient Management.• How to create a “Living” soil and composting • Incorporating protected spaces (habitat for native plants and animals) on a sustainable farm.• Working with regulatory and other agencies.• Equipment maintenance. • Cover Cropping for sustainability.• Building and maintaining Hoop Houses for Four Season Growing.• Incorporating animal husbandry, including bees, into a farm operation.• Introduction to viticulture (wine making).• Access to an extensive library for personal reflection and exploration.

As a end of season takeaway, we have asked past interns to identify and undertake a personal project to be completed during their tenure on the farm. This work product could be a takeaway business plan for a new endeavor or a permanent physical structure or other tangible contribution to the farm, such as in the past, a children's garden, signage, chicken house, and grant writing.


Tuition for instruction, supplies, housing, and nearly all meals in an idyllic part of the country for the six-and-a-half month farming season, May 1 to November 15: $12,000.

We wish we could do this for free, but at least for this beginning year, need based scholarships may be available. As we are a rural location, it is strongly encouraged that you have your own transportation -- auto or at least motorcycle. We are located a near equal distance between the Tri-Cities and Yakima, and we can provide transportation to and from the Tri-Cities (Pasco) Air Port, or train station, and to and from Yakima, for those taking the shuttle from the Seattle Air Port. We're also about 2 miles from the farming community town of Sunnyside, for local shopping, including for gloves and boots and hats, restaurants and churches.

Please see our website www.heavenlyhillsharvest.com for an application and further information, including links to some of the many media coverages we have received. And feel free to telephone, also. We so look forward to bringing together a most interesting group of people who we hope also will continue to enrich each others' lives, and ours, long after our time on the farm together ends.