在意大利托斯卡纳的一个有机农场工作的实习

Story and photos by Katherine Pittore

Tenny and Hillary的其他实习生将猪的篱笆固定在Tenuta di Spannochia的农场上。

The romantic image of Tuscany is everywhere, images of golden hills lined with cypress trees, romantic gardens, and huge meals eaten around a communal table. However, actually living amidst these images can seem unobtainable for those with a backpacker’s budget; but if you have a sincere interest in organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and can commit to working on a farm for three months, interning atTenuta di Spannochia提供了一个机会，可以花三个月的时间生活，工作，享受和爱上托斯卡纳。

Tenuta di Spannocchia is a working organic farm, located 20 km outside of Siena on a nature preserve. Spannocchia is committed to preserving a diverse traditional farm, maintaining an olive orchard, a vineyard, a small vegetable garden, and a number of animals, including sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, horses, and donkeys. The olives, grapes, and garden are all grown using organic methods and the animals are heritages which the farm is committed to helping preserve through their Noah’s Arc program.

The primary function of Spannocchia is agrotourism—a place where guests can rent a room or a farmhouse and spend time learning aboutorganic farming在托斯卡纳（Tuscany），每天晚上用在农场种植的橄榄油，肉类和蔬菜制成美味的公共餐点，并配上Spannocchia自己的葡萄酒。为了帮助经营该农场，Spannocchia还在春季，夏季和秋季接受实习生三个月。

Eight interns are accepted each session. Seven of the interns are farm interns and the other two work as guest service interns. The farm interns are each assigned a specialty, ranging from working in the garden, herding sheep, maintaining the vineyard, and pruning trees in the orchard. While most daily activities will focus on your area, there are also times when all the interns come together to work on larger projects, such as harvesting potatoes, repairing the road after a large storm, or helping with various maintenance tasks such as weeding and pruning around the farm. Guest service interns work in the villa, helping to prepare breakfast and lunch, arranging flowers, welcoming guests, and assisting with checking guests in and out.

In addition to the required 30 hours of work each week, Spannocchia also provides Italian lessons and educational classes twice a week, usually in the afternoons, and every other Friday all the interns go on a field trip together. The topics of lessons are varied, and range from discussions of genetically modified foods, to how to raise bees for honey, to olive oil tasting. The field trips are equally diverse, from a visit to an on-going archeological dig in a neighboring town, a tour of a vineyard and a wine tasting, or a visit to a pecorino cheese factory and a lunch made entirely of cheese products.

安迪（Andy）是其中一位实习生，学习如何在Tenuta di Spannochia制作奶酪。

除了在农场上的职责外，实习生还必须帮助每晚在农舍的客人提供晚餐。实习生吃晚餐（由专业厨师准备）与客人一起准备，享受着面食，新鲜肉，自制汤，沙拉和新鲜准备的沙漠的长时间晚餐。每个星期都有星期三晚上的大餐，所有实习生都必须帮助准备和服务。这些在披萨之夜之间的替代品 - 实习生可以制作披萨，该比萨饼在燃木烤箱中烤制并送给客人 - 然后nostra cena或在Spannocchia制作的所有食物（甚至是制作意大利面的面粉）的“我们的晚餐”。

The nine interns form a close bond because they work, live, eat, sleep, and play together. Interns are housed in a building next to the main villa. The housing includes shared rooms and linens as well as a communal kitchen and living room. Interns prepare breakfast and lunch themselves, usually eating the leftovers from the night before. Interns are also responsible for keeping their housing clean with rotating duties each week. Most weekends are free, although some jobs have rotating weekend duties.

在周末，实习生可以使用一辆货车进行短途旅行，经常参观附近的山镇，去吃晚饭，然后在Sulfur Springs游泳，或者去锡耶纳（Siena）使用互联网。实习生经常一起旅行，探索托斯卡纳和意大利其他地区的其他地区。在农场的空闲时间里，有许多低技术可以娱乐自己的方法，包括在树林里长途散步，在小径上奔跑，绘画或绘画风景，从公共壁橱里穿衣服，与客人社交，玩耍激烈竞争的游戏bocce, (Italian bowling), trying to make fried zucchini blossoms, or reading.

实习生放松身心，等待一年一度的帕利奥在锡耶纳开始。

If you are interested in becoming an intern you must complete an extensive application, which includes three reference forms as well as several essays. If you make it through the first selection process you will be notified about a phone interview with the program director. This is a chance to make sure both that you are right for the program and the program is right for you. Make sure to get your application in early, since the application is due several months before the start of the session.

Spannocchia is truly a magical place, one of great beauty and involving many forms of sensory experiences, including watching the sunrise over the hills in the morning, finding wild boar and deserted castles hiking through the woods, watching a pig give birth, helping to shear sheep, harvesting fresh tomatoes in the garden, and sitting down among friends each night to enjoy a freshly prepared meal.

实习还涉及大量工作，Spannocchia希望确保实习生意识到他们应进行30多个小时的艰苦劳动，清洁摊位，挖沟，铺设栅栏，除草，以及许多其他困难而单调的任务。您的实习不仅被视为在托斯卡纳的3个月假期。如果您对可持续和当地生产的食物，保留传统的食品种植方法以及更多有关意大利文化，语言和习俗的了解，那么您应该肯定适用。

For More Information

More information as well as the application for the internships can be found atSpannocchia。确保您在应用程序中表现出对可持续农业和耕种的真正兴趣和承诺，因为它们会收到更多的申请。实习涉及200美元的教育费，以帮助支付意大利课程和实地考察。您还必须成为Spannocchia基金会的成员，该基金会的价格为30美元。实习生必须购买自己的意大利门票，但该计划将在锡耶纳（Siena）接人。提供了所有必要的食物和住宿，但是为未提供食物，互联网使用以及任何额外的旅行提供一些额外的资金可能会有所帮助。

Katherine Pittorewas an intern at Spannocchia in the summer of 2007. She is currently continuing to explore the world and is based in Nha Trang Vietnam where she teaches English at the University of Nha Trang. In her free time she writes, explores the beach, attempts to speak Vietnamese, and drinks copious amounts of coffee.