Mangaroa Farms · Flagship Programme
A seven-month, full-immersion learning experience on a regenerating farm in Whitemans Valley. Live on the land and learn the whole cycle — spring planting through to autumn harvest — across the market garden, nursery, agroforestry, and native restoration.
Applications close Friday, 10 July 2026 · You'll hear back by Sunday, 12 July 2026
An invitation
This internship is our flagship learning experience — a seven-month, full-immersion programme designed to build real capability across a functioning regenerative farm. You'll live on the land, contribute meaningful work, and learn through direct involvement in the systems that make Mangaroa run, from seed to harvest.
It's the long arc on purpose. Arriving in late winter as the soil wakes up, planting through spring, tending through summer, and bringing it home at harvest — that full cycle is where the real learning lives. We're after a small handful of people ready to give themselves to that arc, and leave with a craft they can name.
The shape of it
What you give
Four to five days of hands-on, outdoor work, plus one lighter day for learning, reflection, and integration. You'll rotate through the core areas of the farm — building breadth first, then stepping into more responsibility in those systems toward the end.
Practical, physical, and tied to real outcomes on the land. Some days you'll work alongside the farm crew, some days you'll run a list with another intern.
What you get
A room of your own in a shared farm house. Base meals — seasonal, organic where possible, much of it grown on-site. Structured mentorship and exposure across every system on the farm.
And the deeper offer: a full season's apprenticeship in regenerative land work, a path to formal certification, and a connection into a wider network of regenerative practitioners.
The frame
Seven months, start to finish. We prioritise people who can hold the whole arc — there's a depth that only opens up across a full planting cycle.
Four places. We know seven months is a big commitment — if your life needs some flex within that window, tell us on the form and we'll talk it through.
This is an unpaid internship. The exchange is accommodation, base meals, and hands-on mentorship for around 25 hours a week on the land — there's no payment, and we don't charge for the programme. No money changes hands either way.
What you'll be doing
Work is practical, physical, and tied to real outcomes on the land. You'll build breadth across these areas first, then step into more responsibility in the systems you connect with toward the end of the programme.
Market Garden
Bed prep, planting, harvesting, and the crop systems that feed the farm shop and the table.
Nursery
Propagation, potting, and the tree systems that supply our planting season.
Agroforestry & Orchard
Establishment, maintenance, and exposure to the design thinking behind integrated tree systems.
Restoration
Native planting, wetland work, and weed control across varied terrain.
Farm Systems
Basic livestock movement, fencing, and invasive pest control.
Property Management
Plant care, mulching, pruning, and the steady maintenance that keeps a working farm running.
Programme structure
The week
Four to five work days of hands-on, outdoor work, and one lighter day for learning, reflection, and integration. Informal teaching is embedded throughout.
Rotations
You'll move across the core areas of the farm — building breadth across the whole operation first, then stepping into more responsibility in those systems toward the end of the programme.
The cohort
Four interns, living and learning together. The quality of the experience depends on how the group shows up — shared meals, weekly check-ins, simple and respectful living agreements.
The arc
The programme kicks off with an orientation and concludes with a graduation. Late winter to mid-autumn, you'll see a planting through from the ground up — the same beds, the same trees, across a full cycle of the land.
Learning approach
This is an active learning experience. Most knowledge is gained through daily work on the land, supported by direct mentorship from the Mangaroa team and weekly focused sessions on soil systems, water, agroforestry, and farm operations.
Self-guided certification
Alongside the on-farm work, interns are encouraged to enrol in a self-guided learning programme. We can support your journey through two affiliated pathways — move through the material at your own pace, and those who complete the full curriculum leave with formal certification. And if you've recently completed a PDC and are looking for somewhere to put that theory into practice, this programme is a great fit — tell us, and we can adapt it to bespoke learning situations.
Why seven months? It's the span of a full planting cycle — long enough to learn to run a market garden from spring planting through to harvest, and to move through a module of structured theory each month alongside the practical work.
A typical week
Mornings
Coffee, breakfast, the day's plan. Hands-on outdoor work across whichever rotation you're in — beds, plantings, the nursery, restoration sites, animal chores, whatever the season's asking for.
Group Learning Session
Whilst learning happens on the job and throughout the programme, one day a week we'll have an early lunch and jump into a (slightly) more formal learning activity in the afternoon.
Afternoons
Most days the afternoon is yours — time to work through your theory curriculum, walk our Farm Trail, or chill. Some days, if we're under the pump, you might be asked to put in an afternoon shift — and there'll be opportunities to join further farm missions to deepen your experience here.
Evenings
Shared meals most nights — cooks rotate, the table holds the whole crew. Beyond that: music, board games, or ecological discussion sessions about what you've been reading, observing, and working on. Some nights a fire and a yarn, some nights an early bed.
Weekends
Most weekends are time off to explore — Wellington, the Tararua range, native forest and east-coast beaches all within reach. As the farm steps further into a pick-your-own programme — with the coffee cart open and our public weekends deepening — some weekends will become work days, and some weekdays will free up for exploring instead. We'll endeavour to set a schedule that works for everyone.
Summer Holidays
Christmas and New Year fall mid-programme. The farm doesn't stop, but it does slow down, and you're welcome to head back to your respective places during that time. Likewise, if you've got summer missions, festivals, or journeys planned, there's flexibility to take off through the programme. We're hoping people can be here start to finish, but you're welcome to take time off across that period — we'll work it out together.
House culture
A shared living environment that runs on care, not rules. Pull your weight in the kitchen, look after the spaces, be honest when something isn't working. You'll be relied on as part of the team.
Who we're looking for
This is hands-on, physical work in all weather, across varied terrain. We're not expecting market-garden veterans — we're here to set you on that path — but some previous experience on the land will help you hit the ground running. Strong work ethic, reliability, and the ability to live and work well in a small group matter as much as any skill.
What helps
You'll be relied on as part of the team. Beyond a willingness to learn and take initiative, experience in any of these helps — and if you've got a real strength, tell us:
Not a checklist. Tell us what you actually bring and where you've done it — and where you'd love to grow.
The land
Mangaroa Farms is a community food hub and resilience centre nestled alongside the Mangaroa River, 45 minutes from Wellington, 10 minutes from Upper Hutt. River bottom, native bush, market garden, free-range pasture, a yurt, a heritage church, a working kitchen.
A farm in a real flourishing chapter. Trees going in. Gardens scaling up. The shop running. Events running. The kind of living, working place where a seven-month apprenticeship has somewhere real to land.
The people
During your seven months here you'll become part of the community living and working together in the valley — our farm team and three other interns. Everyone eats together at night, and mentorship is direct and embedded: you learn by working next to people who know the systems.
Our team holds the direction at a high level and guides the work — and we welcome your initiative. The more you bring, the more there is to learn.
This experience could change you.
Certification
Complete the self-guided curriculum and leave with a Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture and/or a Permaculture Design Certificate — structured theory layered onto a full season of practice.
Craft
Soil systems, propagation, crop planning, agroforestry, restoration, off-grid living. A full cycle of doing, not just watching.
Cohort
Seven months living and working alongside people changes things. Some of these become lifelong collaborators.
Contribution
Trees planted that you watched go in. Beds you turned and harvested. Pieces of the whenua left better than you found them.
Practicalities
What to bring
Wet weather gear
A real waterproof — you'll be out across late winter rain and into the warmer months.
Sturdy boots
Not your gym shoes. They'll get muddy, and they'll earn it over seven months.
Layers for every season
You arrive in winter and finish in autumn — thermals through to sun gear.
A sun hat and water bottle
Summer on the land is real work in real heat.
Your own gloves, maybe a favourite tool
We've got plenty, but bring what you love working with.
Something to study with
A laptop or notebook for the certification material and weekly sessions.
Personal toiletries
We provide household stuff — bring your own personal kit.
Whatever quiet practice keeps you good
Yoga mat, journal, sketchbook, music, walking shoes — seven months is a long arc to stay well across.
Got questions?
Fire away any questions you've got about the programme, your situation, or whether it's a fit. Email Zeb and he'll write back.
zeb@mangaroa.orgApplications close
Friday, 10 July 2026
Shortlist calls
Evenings, 13–14 July
Programme runs
14 Aug 2026 – 14 Apr 2027
Join the cohort
Takes about ten minutes. We read every application and shortlist hard. Strong candidates will be invited to a short call on the evening of 13 or 14 July — a yarn, not an interview. You'll hear back before Sunday, 12 July 2026.
Application received
You'll hear back from us before Sunday, 12 July 2026. We'll review every application and be in touch before 12 July. If you're shortlisted, we'll set up a short call on the evening of 13 or 14 July.
— The Mangaroa team
