Recruitment, programme records, participant stories, and reviews for ecological farming internships.
In early 2023, Foodthink opened applications for the second cohort of its “Eco-Agriculture Internship Programme”. Our aim is to connect young people aspiring to work in eco-agriculture with well-established eco-farms. This initiative equips newcomers with practical farming knowledge and techniques, ensures that the hard-won expertise of seasoned growers is documented…
Foodthink Says Last Monday, we shared why more than a dozen young people decided to hit pause on their city lives. So why, instead of choosing to ‘lie flat’, have they headed to the countryside to learn farming and embrace a more labour-intensive, challenging way of life? Here are a…
This episode was recorded in the Alxa desert in Inner Mongolia by Qihua, Foodthink’s researcher for climate change and ecological smallholder farming, together with two guests. Recorded at the end of August 2022, the three of them sat beneath a large tree in a Tengger Desert oasis. In the background,…
Foodthink’s Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme was originally conceived to foster a mutual learning and collaborative relationship between young people keen to return home and pursue ecological farming, and seasoned growers who have already amassed rich hands-on experience. The aim was to help the next generation of farmers reduce the trial-and-error…
Foodthink Says Since the launch of Foodthink’s Phase 2 Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme, we have received a steady stream of application forms. Thank you all for your interest and support! We have been progressively reaching out to suitable applicants and arranging in-depth interview discussions. By the end of this month,…
This episode was recorded in the deserts of Alxa, Inner Mongolia, by Qihua, who oversees climate change and small-scale ecological farming research at Foodthink, alongside two guests. At the end of August 2022, the three sat beneath a large tree in an oasis within the Tengger Desert. You might catch…
In late 2021, I left Shanghai and the new media industry, where I had lived and worked for eight years, to embark on a gap year. I felt a freer force calling to me from deep within. I suppose it was a seed planted while reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Once,…
In 2021, the reality docuseries Clarkson’s Farm, chronicling an irascible old farmer’s attempts to run a working farm, scored a stellar 9.6 out of 10 on Douban. Season Two is set to premiere on 10 February this year. Why does wealthy, somewhat irascible old chap Jeremy Clarkson—who once hosted the…
Towards the end of 2021, while still working for an internet company in Shanghai, I came across a recruitment notice from Foodthink for their Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme. It was as though something had struck a chord within me. Once my application was accepted, I selected Yuanjian Farm in Meishan,…
For most people, 2022 was a real rollercoaster of highs and lows. Our colleagues at Foodthink shared the same sentiments. Our work plans shifted from the bold ambitions of 2021—aiming to tackle every challenge head-on—to a state of anxious uncertainty.
