Experience Education by Living It !
2008 Course offerings
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All of our programs combine lecture and discussion formats with practical, hands-on activities. We encourage a holistic understanding of each subject area that is grounded in specific experiences and enhanced by the broader intellectual perspectives available in our diverse learning environment.
The internship schedule includes time for you to design, research, construct, and cultivate a project that interests you. Field trips are an integral part of the programs, and provide a great chance to be exposed to the lives and unique perspectives of other local farmers, foresters, craftsmen, inventors, artists, social innovators, and the like. Interns also have the opportunity to create programming for our local, community-run low power FM radio station.
"The time I spent at Aprovecho during my internship was the most exciting time of my life so far. I had never felt so connected with my education and with the people I was learning from. It's an invaluable experience whether you go on to use the skills professionally or just in your everyday life. I encourage others to become interns. |
All interns typically live on-site, sharing rooms in our state-of the-art strawbale dormitory, and participating in the dynamic life of our ecologically oriented research and education center. We apply our newly learned skills daily, cooking with food from our garden, heating and building with wood from our forest, utilizing native plant species for food, medicine, and crafts, and using various appropriate technologies to meet our basic needs. Room, board, class materials, and instruction are all included in tuition. 
Click here to enroll online or by post.
The Right Setting
Located between the Cascade and Coast Ranges in central western Oregon, the Research Center is five miles west of the small town of Cottage Grove, twenty miles south of the university town of Eugene, and within easy reach of some of Oregon's most beautiful natural areas. We are an hour’s drive from the rugged Pacific Coast, as well as 80 miles from some of Oregon’s most spectacular old-growth forests, mountain hiking, and hot springs. We are happy to provide numerous resource guides and advice on adventures in our region. Or, if you want to stay close to home, we have numerous hiking trails on-site, including an interpretive trail through our wildlife sanctuary. Weekends are unscheduled and are favorite times for interns to explore some of the rich cultural activities and diverse ecosystems nearby. Many interns also choose to stay around the campus on weekends to work on independent projects, to spend more time in the garden or woods, or simply to relax and enjoy our beautiful rural setting.
Laying the Groundwork for Sustainable Living
It is our goal to empower all of our interns with the knowledge and skills to take what they learn during their time at Aprovecho and apply it to their lives and communities once the program ends. Some choose to stay on as work traders and perhaps become Aprovecho staff members. Others continue their self-education elsewhere, but all participants in our programs carry with them the groundwork they have laid here, the new insights they have acquired, and the experience of living in a dynamic learning environment. We hope that all Aprovecho interns will go on to share their new perspectives and skills with others, whether with neighbors in their home environment, other students in learning institutions, or with people in less-developed countries for whom access to resource-conserving technologies and techniques can be literally a matter of immediate survival.
Become an Intern!
Internships are offered on a space-available basis to qualified applicants. Our main criteria for acceptance are enthusiasm, sincere interest in our subjects of study, and willingness to join in a cooperative learning experience. There are no specific educational or work-related prerequisites. The tuition covers room, board, class materials, and instruction for the term. Interns generally need only a small amount of spending money, as most necessities are provided on-site. Click here to enroll online or by post.