I still don't understand why you feel that the intern system is exploitive? (Oops! Maybe you, like I sometime do, feel that it is exploitive of the farm and the farmer!) Don't you think there is a fair exchange when you actually pay someone to demonstrate to them for a season how to get into the good life that you have outlined above?
You know, Allan, you are probably right. It's just not a model I enjoy. I've seen CSA's who have their interns out there living in tents, expecting 60 hours a week from them, and then not fairly paying them for their labor. But then, on the other hand, when we had interns on our farm, I could never work our interns like that and while the interns were generally good people (some weren't) the amount and quality of work I got wasn't satisfactory. I guess I'm just locked into the concept and model of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. I want workers who come to work expecting to work, and expecting to get paid fairly for their work.
