About the Schumacher Center for a New Economics
The Schumacher Center is a leader in the movement to create a just, regenerative economy that supports both people and the planet, heir to the programs begun under the E. F. Schumacher Society in 1980. The Schumacher Center houses a research library and archive that steward a rich tradition of community economic thought and practice. Through its renowned lecture series and other speaker programing as well as its publications, the Schumacher Center is working at the forefront of shaping this movement and advancing it to a broader public. The Center’s on-the-ground projects test and develop models and tools to empower citizens in local economics.
The Schumacher Center’s Community Land Trust Program embodies the vision and legacy of the CLT movement’s origins in the 1960s. It does so by maintaining a comprehensive international database of Community Land Trusts, legal and governance documents to inform new CLT formation, and through administrative and outreach support to our local Berkshire Community Land Trust, including the Farmsteads for Farmers campaign to further access for local, sustainable farming.
About the Internship:
To assist staff with the Community Land Trust Program, the Schumacher Center is seeking a paid on-site intern for Summer 2024. The Community Land Trust Intern will focus on organizing and building the community land trust program pages on the Schumacher Center’s website, ensuring resources are easily accesssible and up to date. The program intern will also support the work of the volunteer boards of directors of the Berkshire Community Land Trust (BCLT) alongside Farmsteads for Farmers fundraising staff.
Key responsibilities of this position include:
- Research and update the online directory of CLTs in North America and around the world, including adding new CLTs and expanding information on current entries. The Schumacher Center’s CLT Directory is the most comprehensive among the few such lists publicly available.
- Refresh the CLT resource and ‘in the news’ pages online.
- Contribute to project planning and speaker/attendee research for an anticipated North American conference on just, sustainable land access and allocation, bridging the fields of natural resource conservation and sustainable, equitable approaches to working lands.
- Develop new brochures and ad campaigns, and/or assist with outreach and events locally as needed by the Farmsteads for Farmers campaign during the duration of the internship.
- Clean and build the Mailchimp database for CLTSB and BCLT.
- Assist in managing the BCLT social media handles.
Candidates Profile (we seek some mix of the following):
- A current U.S. Driver’s License and the use of a car.
- Excellent writing and presentation skills.
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Familiarity with community organizing or public relations, and a comfort-level with public speaking is a plus, but not required.
- Ability to self-motivate and work independently.
- A passion for local economies, community land trusts, and/or regenerative agriculture.
- Prior experience with web-editing, graphic design, and/or social media a plus, but not required.
Commitment & Compensation:
Internships involve working 32 hours per week, Monday to Thursday, alongside full-time staff. Internships typically run for at least ten weeks, with some flexibility to accommodate academic schedules. Interns will be paid $500 / week + a $100 weekly healthcare stipend.
A Note on Housing:
Note that our our office and library sit in a rural location. For 2024, the Schumacher Center is not in a position to offer staff housing. Intern candidates who do not already live within commuting distance of Egremont should consider their ability to find and secure short-term housing in the constrained area housing market before applying.
For the right candidate, this role represents an opportunity to gain experience in non-profit public programs concerning land access and community organizing, while helping to further a transition to a more just and regenerative economy.
If interested, please send a resume, a cover letter, a 1-2 page writing sample, two references, and an unofficial academic transcript to schumacher@centerforneweconomics.org.