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Blue Ridge CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) provides free or low cost educational workshops for aspiring, beginning, and experienced farmers. We offer a range of topics, everything from produce safety to chainsaw operation workshops.
If you are an aspiring farmer looking to learn from experienced mentors or an established farmer interested in sharing your knowledge and improving your mentoring skills, Blue Ridge CRAFT offers a supportive community and valuable resources. To see our current workshop schedule and to sign up, click the link below. |
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The Blue Ridge CRAFT program is centered around knowledge and skill sharing, encouraging mentorship and community building among farmers and local producers.
To facilitate that, BRWIA encourages folks who have knowledge or expertise that they would like to share to host a "workshop" or skill sharing event, where they present on a topic of their choice, usually at their farm or place of business. Presenters can be joined by extension agents and other farmers or knowledgeable parties as well. You can find examples of previous workshops at mpeaffiliate.com/workshop-notes. |
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Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture operates the High Country Food Hub. The High Country Food Hub is a year-round online farmers' market. We offer fresh produce, meat, dairy, bread, artisan foods, cut flowers, body care products, and plants. If you offer any of these products and would like to sell via the Food Hub, click below to learn more and fill out the application. |
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Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture also operates the King Street Farmers Market. We offer a spacious, outdoor market every Tuesday from May through October from 3:30-6:30pm. In the winter months (December - March) on Saturdays from 10am-1pm, we offer an indoor/outdoor farmers' market.
To learn more and apply to be a vendor, click the link below. |
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Local Food As Medicine (LocalFAM) is BRWIA's food access program, which enables community organizations to provide their neighbors with fresh, nutritious food, supplied by local producers.
The food is free to our recipients, but producers are paid full retail price for their products. All producers with eligible products listed on BRWIA's High Country Food Hub are automatically considered for the program. To be eligible to sell produce for the FarmShare program of LocalFAM, you need to be FarmShare certified. Click the link below to get certified. |
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The Farm Labor Link is a great way to find job postings from local farms looking to hire. Through this webpage, you can explore what farms are hiring, learn about their practices and methods, and apply for a job that is right for you. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture believes farm interns and workers play a vital role in our sustainable-agriculture community. Click below to find a farm job and join the community. |
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Blue Ridge CRAFT believes labor plays an important role in our sustainable-agriculture community. We would like to help you recruit farm interns, apprentices, and employees!
If you would like to list farm labor opportunities on our website, please complete the form linked below. We will then contact you about adding any additional information. |
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The Betsy Lawson Willis Education Scholarship, launched in 2023, honors BRWIA’s founders who championed women's roles in agriculture. A generous donation from Numina established an endowment, ensuring this scholarship supports women in agriculture for years to come.
Each year, this scholarship will aid women farmers in pursuing education to advance their careers. Applicants must be actively pursuing careers in agriculture, even if not currently farming or working in the field. |
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As farmers confront the effects of climate change, the Climate-Smart Agriculture program aims to help farmers adjust to our changing climate.
Working Landscapes is looking for farmers across North Carolina who are willing to commit to growing climate smart commodities and selling them locally. Participating farms will receive assistance and funding for creating a climate-smart management plan for their farm and implementing climate-smart practices. If you are interested, click the button below. |
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