Leaving the city for the farm: ‘shameless but useful’?
Foodthink Says
We hope the partners selected for Phase 2 will set off once more with these questions in mind, making thorough preparations as they take this first step back to rural life at the internship farm!
What is the most direct change a farm internship brings about?
Cui Jingwen
Intern at Yinlin Farm, March–June 2022
Now a new “villager” in Yinlin Village
Looking back now, joining the internship programme was truly a major step in resetting my life.
Having grown up in the city, I had some prior experience with rural work, but I had spent very little time actually living in the countryside. I had never worked in the fields, couldn’t identify a single vegetable growing in the ground, and knew absolutely nothing about ecological agriculture. Yet once I arrived at the farm, I was completely hooked. I began paying attention to food, to life itself, and as a result, life started to feel much more grounded. Nowadays, my stomach can actually tell the difference between foods; if I were to eat out in the city, I would almost certainly feel unwell.
During my time interning at the farm, I had plenty of reflections on ecological agriculture, cultivation, and food itself—things like when we should eat what, and the natural seasonal state of produce. The greatest illusion about city living is the belief that money can buy anything. But when you actually work the land, you realise that caring for the soil and the crops is deeply challenging. When abnormal weather threatens your harvest, you truly begin to cherish what you have.
When I first arrived at the farm last year, it was peak tomato harvest season. By April, when the tomatoes were gone, I thought: “Great, I’ve had enough, I could never look at a tomato again.” Then, come December, when we could finally eat tomatoes again, a wave of intense joy washed over me—a feeling you simply cannot experience while working in the city.
Through the farm, you also meet wonderfully unique people. Take our farm manager, Guo Rui, for example. Despite everyone else flocking to the city, he chose to return to the countryside to build a farm dedicated to ecological agriculture. In the current climate, this is still quite an unconventional path. It made me realise that there is another way to live; that you don’t have to obsess over making money every day to live a rich and fulfilling life. It opened up an entirely new direction for my future.
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Is interning at a farm exhausting? How does it differ from the 996 grind for city youth?
Zhang Bin
8 February 2022 — Intern at Zhi Liang Tian Ecological Farm
Formerly a student at the Guangzhou Practical Learning Institute; currently a young entrepreneur who returned to his hometown to start a business.
I spent roughly six months on the farm, taking part in sowing, weeding, and watering melons, millet, maize, potatoes, and pumpkins. The farm’s production manager, “Captain” Zhao, became my mentor. He’s a truly wonderful person, and I learned a great deal of perseverance and resilience from him. “Captain” also taught me all sorts of practical skills: driving tractors and loaders, fixing plumbing and electrics, cooking… Whenever he wasn’t around, I’d step in to handle all of that.
Working on the farm was undoubtedly exhausting. Every day, I headed out to the fields alongside the farmhands. Most of them were in their fifties or sixties, but having spent half their lives in farming, they worked at a pace I could sometimes barely keep up with.Although I’ve never held an office job in the city, I’d say purely from a physical standpoint, it’s harder than the gruelling 996 schedule. The crops don’t take days off. Whether it’s wind or rain, day or night, they need tending to every single day.
On a personal level, despite the fatigue, I was genuinely happy. During my time in Alxa, the weather was mostly clear; the sky was a brilliant blue every day, and the landscape stretched out wide. In the evenings, I could watch the sunset dip just beyond the edge of the desert. I barely felt any anxiety on the farm. Each day revolved around tending to the plants I’d planted myself, watching the melons sprout, grow, bloom, and finally bear fruit. In my spare time, I’d read a book or sometimes play cards with the older women who worked alongside us.
Back when I was studying at the Guangzhou Practical Learning Institute, my goal was simply to return home and work in agriculture, though at the time I had little idea what modern farming actually entailed. By the end of my placement, I’d gained a much deeper understanding. I used to only know that cow dung in our pastoral areas could be burned for fuel; I never imagined it would work far better in the soil than chemical fertilisers. I’ve also compared the traditional farming methods from my hometown with ecological agriculture, hoping to preserve the best elements of the former while adapting or discarding what doesn’t work.
Finally, to the next cohort of interns: Farming is genuinely tough work, but if it were too easy, there’d be no real challenge in it. So if you’re passionate about it, go for it!
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Is a farm placement really “escaping shameful but useful”? What does real agriculture look like?
Li Yu
Feb–Jun 2022 | Intern at Letian Bay Farm
Currently exploring a new way of life
Growing up in a village, farm work never struck me as anything particularly novel. In the past, I only helped my grandparents with simple chores. But once I was properly introduced to agriculture, I realised there was so much to learn—from knowing what to plant and when, to how to plant it and how to plan it all out. It turned out to be far more complex than I had imagined.
Why did I decide to do a farm internship in the first place? To be honest, I was often reflecting on my future while in my previous job and craving a different way of life. It was then that I came across organic farming. I feel that culture and values act as a filter for reality, creating a kind of temporary trance that breeds all sorts of illusions.
But when those illusions meet reality, the practicalities can leave you feeling conflicted. Many people probably join internships like me, hoping to change careers or simply shift their lifestyle. But my advice is to hold off on overthinking it. My farm mentor, Yuan, told me the same. Once you actually engage with agriculture, your perspective and understanding will likely shift anyway.
After spending a long time working in agriculture and living in the countryside, returning to the city can bring a sudden sense of urgency. The countryside, by contrast, feels expansive. You can fully immerse yourself in both your daily life and your work. That said, we all eventually have to confront certain choices later in life; there is no escaping them. Doing an internship on a farm simply changes the environment in which you decide your path. It doesn’t magically solve the life issues you’ll ultimately have to face.
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What is the most important thing to prepare before heading to a farm?
Li Chenzhao
Jun–Dec 2022 | Intern at Yuefengdao Organic Farm
Aspiring to become someone who understands agriculture, cares for farmers, and loves the countryside.
The Yuefengdao farm where I interned does extensive work conserving heritage seeds, but my focus was largely on agricultural cultivation. In terms of learning, agriculture is a complete technical system involving numerous stages and a wide range of knowledge. It requires an eye for detail as well as a holistic understanding of the entire system.
The instructors at the farm often reminded me that whatever you learn at any given farm is only applicable to its specific natural geography, along with its current scale of production and technological level. The techniques employed are deeply context-specific, so nothing we learn can simply be lifted and applied elsewhere.
After six months of internship, my main takeaway is this: everyone arrives at a farm with their own existing knowledge framework and personality. We are already mature, complete individuals. Once we’re there, we need to take the initiative in designing our own learning journey and set clear, personal goals. Otherwise, if you just follow others step-by-step, it might not actually suit you. Take weeding, for example: a farmer and a biologist will see completely different things when they do it. What you take away depends on you, not the farm you visit.
A farm mentor’s role is to pass on knowledge and clear up confusion—with a particular focus on the latter. Only through hands-on practice, independent reflection, and accumulating enough knowledge to spark questions can you gain more from discussions with your mentor. This allows for a more equal dialogue, where you truly learn and grow together. If you know nothing to begin with, you will learn nothing.
These few months interning on a farm are an incredibly precious period in one’s life. It’s vital to cherish the time you invest. I wish you all great success in your learning journey!
Agriculture is no romanticised pastoral idyll, nor is ecological farming a simple return to traditional methods. For ecological farmers and young people returning to rural life, ‘farming’ represents an exploration of sustainable ecosystems and lifestyles. It is driven by curiosity about the unknown, a deep reverence for nature and life, and a commitment to family and community.
We hope the young people selected for the second cohort of the internship programme will bring fresh energy to the farm. They will gain invaluable practical experience from mentors in areas such as farm management, production techniques, and marketing, which will help reduce the learning curve and trial-and-error costs should they choose to pursue agricultural entrepreneurship upon returning home. Through a collaborative learning network with fellow interns, they will inspire one another and grow together.
We look forward to your continued interest in Foodthink’s ecological farming internship programme.
Compiled by: Yantou
Edited by: Ze’en