Click here to see a list of our funders.

The number of people involved in Otesha are too many to count! However, the main actors are the seven full-time staff who coordinate and implement The Otesha Project's core activities, and the more than 350 volunteers that participate on Bicycle Tours and Triple-H Programs.

Jess and Joss met in Kenya, where they started the project in February of 2002, and in October 2002 they decided that the experience they were having was sooooo awesome that they needed to share it. And what better way to do that than to bring together awesome youth to enact the Otesha dream together? So they sent out an email invitation that ended up going all over the world! Everyone heard about it from different sources - whether through listserves or forwards, presentations right in their classes, flyers in organic food boxes, or random web surfing... over 100 people applied to join the team, and out of a really cool self-selection process came the first ever Cycling and Performing Team. That was 7 years ago now, and from there it has spread by many mediums, but mainly via word of mouth! So pass the word on!

There are tons of ways to get involved with us! Click here for a list of volunteer opportunities. As far as jobs and internships go, we are still a small organization with a limited funding base... That said, jobs and internships to become available periodically.  Signing up for Otesha's e-newsletter is a guaranteed way to stay in the loop of when we are hiring, and when volunteer positions arise!

Luckily, Otesha has been blessed with awesome web designers... Originally Joss and Jess created their own website which was... well... let's see... a website only the creators could love. Hence the offer by Loki Design Labs to redo the website voluntarily, as the "cause was so good, and the website was so bad" that it was their duty as designers to redo it! Jess and Joss wrote most of the content; Natasha Geerts (natasha@typeleft.com), continues to perform her magic with the website, our multimedia shows, and other assorted design needs; and recently Izaak Branderhorst (izaak@victoria.tc.ca), has joined the party, bringing all programming required. And ta-da, you see the finished product before you!

Great question... When we first started the end of the road was so clear, but the actual path... well it was like trying to find your way on a cloudy night in the desert with a broken compass. Luckily, there were many people who volunteered their time and expertise to help us find our way. We called and met with over 40 organizations to learn about what was being done, and how we could go about achieving our goals (many of these awesome and generous groups are under our links section). We also read a lot of books ('Grant Writing for Dummies' was a starter!), and went through a lot of trial and error, late nights, and ecstatic moments - eventually finding methods and practices that worked best for us. If you need any info about how to get your own project off the ground, a great place to start is the Youth Environmental Network, and/or local organizations in your community. The more groups that work together the better!

Otesha is a Swahili word, which is the native language of Kenya, and means "reason to dream". This name was chosen as the project began in Kenya, and the co-founders' experience there inspired them to start Otesha.

The members of the Otesha Project vary in age from 13 to 35. However, those who have joined the movement through their everyday actions are of every age, from 6 to 96... with everyone being young at heart

You don't "have to" be or do anything! But, knowing that any effort to cut down your meat consumption will mean lives saved, suffering prevented, and resources conserved, you might consider heading in the vegetarian direction! Any dietary change can be difficult, so you might start off with just having one vegetarian meal per week and increase this as you get used to your new diet. As long as you replace the meat you usually eat with other filling protein-y foods like beans, nuts, or tofu, you might find that eventually you don't miss eating meat at all! Set goals for yourself like cutting out beef by spring, and chicken by the fall, or whatever you feel comfortable with. Click here for more transition tips).

It can also be tricky when visiting the houses of friends and family members who aren't used to serving meat-free meals. Try to help family members understand why you have made the choices you have (this is a great way to spread awareness) and/or make and bring a vegetarian dish for others to try. Be sure to respect the choices of others, and their generosity in preparing you food.

Different Oteshaites deal with tricky food situations in different ways. For example, when we biked through White River, Ontario, an extremely generous restaurant owner didn't know we were vegetarian and provided a small group of Oteshaites with chicken dinners. Nervous glances were exchanged and nobody really knew what to say... gracious thanks were offered, and after the restaurant owner turned away, Elly and Levi volunteered to eat all of the chicken and the rest of us just munched down on the fries... Andrea once brought up the idea that if the animal has already been offended, why also offend your host? Others, like Jocelyn, can't stomach the taste of meat anymore, and she says she's full if the plate comes around. And Simon believes that respectfully declining food according to your personal values makes an important statement. All in all, making the choice to become vegetarian or vegan is about making the best choice for you and for the earth. How that plays out in different situations is up to you...

Veganism refers to making a conscious effort to avoid all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals. A vegan diet does not include any dairy, meat, eggs, or other animal products. A vegan lifestyle also does not include buying animal products such as leather, wool, cosmetics that have been tested on animals, feather pillows, many types of glue (hence our search for the perfect homemade glue recipe!), and many other items that upon their inspection involve animal by-products.

With all that said, it sounds like vegans have a lot of "don't's", but it's all in how creative you can be! As a vegan household, "Otesha Central" still enjoys "ice cream", chocolate cake, pancakes, you name it! We've found a host of alternatives... and with conscious nutritional planning we are getting all of the nutrients we need to have a healthy diet! Check out a vegan cookbook from your library, or click here to start off. Another great resource is The Otesha Recipe Book! Once you learn the substitute tricks, you can turn almost any recipe into an animal-free, compassionate masterpiece!

The package is where it's at, conscious shopper : ) Fair Trade certification will have the label shown below. Only some of the organic certifying labels are shown below because there are many labels depending on the product you are looking at and where it's been certified. Check out the website of any organic certification you see on a product to find out their certification standards.

Then you have found an amazing opportunity to take action and change the world! Talk to the managers (or submit a customer comment card) at your local health food store, grocery store, and other food vendors and give them some information about fair trade products and why they should carry them. Check out this link for tips for your discussion. Students at Trafalgar School for Girls in Montreal started a campaign to get their school snack shack to get fair trade chocolate, and now they can buy fair trade chocolate over lunch hour - way to go, girls! And while you're waiting for their order to come in, you can also order fair trade products on-line.

Click here to read our glossary of terms, and if the word you are looking for isn't there then e-mail it to us so we can add it on!

This isn't always the case, but when it is more expensive to buy fair trade or organic, we personally don't complain - we believe that you can't put a price on our planet and all the animals, (including people) living on it. If I have enough money to buy coffee, then I have enough to pay the person who produced my coffee a fair wage. And for both organic and fair trade products, the more people who buy these items, the cheaper they will become! So give up the packaged expensive foods and put that money towards buying organic foods, or drink a little less coffee and get some fair trade java in your cup... Go out there and taste the ethics!

Anyone who makes different choices can find it difficult, whether the choices are sustainability-related or not. The best way to deal with this is the same regardless of the choice: be confident in your own values, explain your choices to those who ask, and respect people's differences - these differences are what make the world an exciting place to be in! We want people to adopt sustainable lifestyle choices because they reflect their values and hopes for the future, because they make them happy, and because they are fun! Therefore making others feel guilty or defensive about their choices will make them less likely to want to hear your point of view. Instead, practice tolerance and respect, treat others how you want to be treated, and show those around you that sustainable choices make YOU happy and allow YOU to have fun.

As Careless consumer so eloquently states in the Otesha presentation skit..."Bad jobs are better than no jobs. By buying this GAP shirt I am helping these people, and without these admittedly poorly paying jobs, they'd be far worse off."

This basic equation appears hard to refute, but we believe that there is another solution... one just outside the box!

We would like a world in which every worker was paid a living wage, where trans-national corporations have to make long-term investments in local economies, where local governments have more power, where there is no longer a race to the bottom, but rather a system which fosters global equality. We would like a world where there is no such thing as a sweatshop.

Buying a GAP shirt won't make that happen...

But buying clothes from a company that pays their workers fairly does... Taking your dollars and supporting good jobs rather than bad jobs does... And buying second-hand clothing or doing a clothing swap with your friends and taking the money saved and giving it to an organization that helps to make this future a reality does (The Otesha Project sent $500 to Kids Can Free the Children from their second hand t-shirts, providing 5 families in Kenya with a goat to provide alternative income so the families' children don't have to work in sweatshops)... And writing a letter to a company about how I want them to treat their workers and let my government know about the role I want them to play in the next round of free trade agreements does...

Making the BEST choice is difficult, as there are many things to consider (we are holding a discussion group at Otesha Central to discuss these very issues), but all the choices listed above are BETTER. For example, when Jocelyn's running shoes literally fell apart, she had to make a decision. She found and bought a pair made by New Balance #765 shoes - which are vegan and are made in the US where the factories workers are paid $17/hour. That is just one decision, though - which country's economy you are choosing to support is your choice. We are still on the lookout for the very BEST choice, and if you have any ideas let us know : )

Overall, we believe that instead of trying to apologize for sweatshops by saying that at least they do some good, we should look at the entire global economic system, recognize that it is far from where we want it to be, and realize that the status quo and our current shopping habits aren't making the changes we want any time soon.

GAP isn't responsible for saving the world's poor. And yeah, even if they are bad ones, sweatshop economies are providing jobs...

But we believe that as consumers we have a responsibility and the potential to make better choices, for we ALL deserve better than that.

You often hear of ways to save water, but very rarely the reasons behind such actions...

Joss and Jess struggled with this one a lot when they first returned to Canada. They felt intuitively that they should conserve water because they had seen so many people who lived without it... to waste it seemed horribly disrespectful. However, there were many people who didn't share this view, people who wanted a scientific rather than an emotional reason for water conservation, so we found a whole bunch!

A lot of energy and chemicals are used to pull water out of lakes and rivers, treat it, pump it to your home, heat it, and cycle it through the treatment process again. Therefore, the less water you use, the smaller your ecological footprint.

Less than one-half of one percent of all the water in the world is actually drinkable! Our current use reflects a belief that there are massive amounts of water available- this is thinking only as a Canadian, and only about the immediate future. If instead our actions were dictated by global water availability, and we thought of ourselves as citizens of the earth needing to share with all of 15 million species around the world, then conservation would seem totally logical.

The bottom line is why take more than you need? This goes for more water, more food, more stuff... just say no!

Any other reasons you can think of? Send them to us! If you're convinced, then check out our areas of action section for ways to conserve water.

Ahh... Zinga (as the tour's hybrid was called - Zinga meaning "change" in Swahili), the machine that carried our food, our props, our injured, our sick, and yes, a Honda Civic hybrid she was! A hybrid gas-electric car is one of the most efficient cars on the market, and has a number of cool features... First of all, there is no need to plug this car in, because the fuel cell battery charges itself! As the car decelerates, the battery recharges, and when the car accelerates (a gas-intensive process), the battery kicks in to reduce fuel consumption (you can even watch the battery levels change on the dash!). The car Honda hybrid also has an anti-idling feature: whenever you press down on the brake to wait at a stop light, for example, the engine shuts off (cutting down fuel use and emissions!). Then when you remove your foot from the brake the engine restarts immediately, and you continue on your merry way. The car has the exact same body as a 'regular' Honda Civic, and the only difference we noticed was a super quiet engine and the awesome mileage - about 1000 km to a tank!

Now back to our Zinga... she was a special car. Not only did Honda Canada lend her to us, she was covered in beautiful stickers, was declared a No-Apathy Zone, and she helped us showcase a more sustainable choice all across Canada.

First off, even though travelling to Kenya was a catalyst for action for Joss and Jess, there are many activists (including Oteshaites) who have never travelled overseas, and there are many people who have travelled overseas who haven't become activists. That said, if you do want to travel overseas, doing it in a culturally, socially, and environmentally sensitive way is really important. Just like everything else, research the places where you will be spending money (the airline, the hotel, the tour operator, etc.) and ask them what kind of measures they take to try have the least harmful impact possible. If you are looking to travel or volunteer overseas with a group of other young people check out trips led by:

• Leaders Today
• Schools Without Borders
• Youth Challenge International
• Canada World Youth

Look at every trip as a learning experience, and an opportunity to create global solidarity. Remember that you are a visitor; be gracious, humble, and thankful for the privilege of being welcomed into a culture other than your own. Bring your learning home and tell others (including us!) about all that you have appreciated and gained from your experience.

Do we ever! Some of our Otesha favourites are:

• A board game with trivia questions aimed at family and friends
• Coupons for back-rubs, fancy homemade dinners, a load of laundry, etc.
• Asking friends or family to take a sustainable action for your birthday (i.e. on my birthday I want everyone to try and get to work in a sustainable fashion)
• The Otesha Book!
  
• Carbon offsets
• Wind power
• An acre of rainforest
• Make a homemade journal
  
• Or click here for some other out-of-the-box gift ideas

Got any to add? Send them in!

Finding out how you want to vote with your dollars is challenging, but by asking this question you've already taken an important step in realizing the power your dollars have. Whenever we find a really great company, (like the day Jocelyn discovered Green Earth Office Supplies) it's like finding a gold mine! So make sure that when you do find companies that support your values, you support them with your dollars and your word of mouth by encouraging others to support them as well.

Some great places to start your search are:

• www.responsibleshopper.org
• www.newdream.org
• www.ibuydifferent.org
• www.wam.umd.edu/~travismj/cgst.html
• www.greenpages.org

Click here to see our Oteshafying guides...

Well, what's your definition of far? We biked across Canada so perhaps our views are different...? However, if you aren't up for some long-distance cycling, we have listed the options below in order of the earth's preference (smallest impact):

1. Walk or bike - human powered transportation all the way!
2. Bus
3. Train
4. Carpool in as fuel-efficient a vehicle as possible
5. Air travel is the form of transportation with the most negative environmental impact. If you are going to fly, look for a direct flight, and consider offsetting your carbon emissions, either by taking the actions yourself, or donating to an organization that will.

Something we love to tell people about, but often have trouble slipping into conversation. So many of the women on Otesha eventually tried using the keeper and as each of us discovered the newfound joy of a super convenient, cheaper, healthier, and waste-free alternative, we became more and more convinced that we needed to tell as many women as possible! Click here to find out why you gotta try it!

And for those who aren't interested in the keeper, you can also use luna pads, or make your own... These reusable pads help the environment, and stop bleached and chemicalized products from being next to your skin. So try them out, spread the word, and change the world!

Of course!  We do not money to interfere with your enjoying this book.  So, we have made the entire book available as a free-of-charge downloadable pdf (check it out on the right side-bar).  Simply click, read, and enjoy.  If you want to explore other options, please send us an email at info@otesha.ca.

Please do! You will be able to submit new content and ideas right on this site, and they will be integrated into future editions of the book. So get creative, think outside the box, and let's put it on paper! (see: How to contribute)

Nope - if you want a copy of the book you can also order one directly off this site (see:How to Order)

The Otesha books represent, in one snazzy little post-consumer waste package, the writing and editing of over 40 people! Written collectively by members of 2003 Otesha Team and individuals across the country; reviewed by young people, NGOs, teachers, and other eclectic folk; and constantly evolving with people just like you, it's a collective creation - so join right in! Who wrote the books? Well, maybe you?!

Walking the talk is KEY to Otesha, so creating a book was certainly a challenge, however we have researched a bunch of options and luckily have found a bunch of solutions (always there... just have to find where outside the box they lie)! First of all, the book covers are made out of old cereal boxes and scrap pieces of material. To stick all this together, we're using vegan Elmer's glue. The text is then printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper by a printer that specializes in environmentally sound waterless printing, with vegetable-based inks and processed chlorine free. Get this: the mill where the paper is made is even fueled by biogas from a nearby landfill! Then this lovely little package is bound together by binder rings (made of 25% recycled aluminium) and voila!!! you have it - the Otesha sustainable book recipe! (If you have any other ideas about how to print a book sustainably please send them to us !)

You have a couple of options for this one. You can either make your own (see the FAQ above for how we make ours) or you can buy them for $15 each as a fundraiser for the Otesha Project, which supports the project in an ethical way. Either choice is great!

Addressing over-consumption, apathy, and cynicism, the Hopeful High-school Hooligan Program involves training groups of youth to deliver hilarious, educational, theatre-based presentations with a message of hope, awareness, and action to communities across Southern Ontario.

If you become a Triple-H team, this means that 10 to 15 students from your school or community will present a locally relevant Otesha theatre presentation (including Otesha’s “Morning Choices Play) schools, conferences and events in your community.

Of course! Otesha is a registered charity, and the work you are doing is certainly going to benefit your community.  We'll be more than happy to sign your forms.

Oteshafy (verb)

• from Swahili ‘Otesha’ – ‘reason to dream’
• from Latin ‘-ify’ – ‘transform another’

1. to mobilize youth to create local and global change through their daily consumer choices;
2. to recognize how one’s daily choices affect the world and all its inhabitants, and to educate others about the impact of their choices;
3. to be the change you wish to see in the world, by being a role model of sustainable lifestyle choices for your peers, family, and community;
4. to inspire others to dream;
5. to do all of the above in uber-funky groove style!
   

(Also: ‘Oteshafication’ – the act of Oteshafying)

We require a teacher’s recommendation for the Triple-H program. We recommend that you choose a teacher to become a full part of the team – joining us for part of The Otesha Jam, getting the school faculty to join your sustainability initiatives, even participating in the presentation (some schools have some really cool teachers with lots of wicked energy and ideas)! Teachers are also great assets for help with logistical details (like booking venues, convincing principals and other adults that your team is awesome, and getting photocopies or permission for anything else that might come up). You can have more than one teacher if you want – it’s all your call!

We are with you every step of the way at info@otesha.ca or 613-237-6065– just one step away to advice on any problems or challenges you are experiencing. We want you to succeed, so let us know how we can help!

If your Triple-H team is selected, you will receive your Team Prep Pack, including copies of The Otesha Book, Top Secret details on the Otesha Jam, more Triple-H tips, and some other (funky) junk we find lying around the house. Maybe some compost.

After the Otesha Jam, a member of the Otesha Project will visit at least one presentation by each Triple-H team to offer support, motivation, advice, and evaluation – and hopefully they’ll be able to join the team for some vegan/veggie potluck goodness. Teams will report on each presentation to the Head Office. There will be monthly phone check-ins between Triple-H teams and Project Coordinators, and an online discussion forum will be established for all teams to share challenges, successes, and ideas with each other. All the while, as always, we will be graciously and exuberantly available for your advising and pep-talking needs at info@otesha.ca.

There are multiple ways to become involved with Otesha. You can apply to come on bike tours, or organize a free Otesha presentation at your school – just to name a couple options. The possibilities are endless!

In 2010, teams will be setting off in May, June, and September. Click here for details.

Simply click the link on the Apply page and follow the instructions.

We are accepting members on a first come first considered basis for each tour- the sooner you apply, the better chance you'll be accepted to the tour of your choice!

Team members should be 18 years of age or older.

The primary qualities we are looking for in prospective tour members are passion and commitment. Working as a collective means that we need people with gifts of all kinds – creativity, positivity, endless energy, great listening skills, humour, diplomacy, logistics, or general helpfulness. The more diverse a group we are, the more we can accomplish, the stronger our message, and the more we learn from each other.

No, just a willingness to give it your all! Some team members bring previous theatre experience, while others become stage stars as the tour rolls on!

Great question! Have you ever turned off a tap because you believe in conserving water? Ever recycled a pop can because you believe in reducing landfill waste? Ever written a letter to a corporation or to the government? Ever bought fair trade chocolate or coffee? These are all experience if you ask us! And even if you haven't done anything like that before, but want to, you are more than welcome to join the party.

People come on tour with a variety of experiences. Some are vegan, while some are meat-eaters. Some bike everywhere; some own cars. Past tour members have worked for everyone from Greenpeace to an oil company. As we say in our performances, “we're focused on the future, not the past." No one is excluded because of their previous choices. We come together because of a desire to live our values, and to inspire others to do the same. Our variety actually makes us, and our performances, stronger.

Yes, of course! One past cycling tour member hadn't been on a bike for 15 years before she joined an Otesha tour. With some serious determination you can do anything. Many tour members start out as novice bikers. Few have done any long distance touring. As one former tour member put it: “We're not cyclists. We're people taking action on bikes. We just got on our bikes and rode... It was never a race, and when someone was hurting, others slowed down or took another sandwich break with them. A few sore muscles and a few tough hills, mixed with lots of singing, laughing and feeling freer than ever before, and before we knew it, biking was like breathing... it just happens.... Trust us."

That being said, the more you prepare, the less you'll hurt! For more information about the biking side of things, see our Biking Across Canada guide.

Each tour brings together approximately 12 to 18 fantabulously awesome people.

All kinds! From hardcore mountain bikes, to road bikes, to hybrid bikes to old bikes, new bikes, used bikes, and not so clean bikes, to cheap bikes, yellow bikes, blue bikes, and all those green bikes!

We don't practice bike discrimination, and with a couple twists of a wrench and perhaps some adjustments any bike can become a human-powered cross-country riding machine. We totally recommend that you check out getting a used bike – cheaper, more character, and better for the earth!

All you need for sure is a bike with a triple chain ring (if you don't know what that is, just ask us).

Thanks to the generosity of Canadians across the country we often stay in people's backyards and living rooms. We also stay in school gyms, church basements, campgrounds, curling rinks, old convents, and in our tents upon many random areas of beautiful grass. If you have contacts along the 2010 tour routes willing to provide us with accommodation, drop us a line to info @ otesha.ca

You do! Each team will create its own sustainability mandate and community standards. That means, for example, together you will decide what will you eat, how you will manage your time, and what learning opportunities to explore.

Team members arrive on the first scheduled day of the tour, and depart the tour on the morning following the final scheduled day. For example, on the Ferocious Farm Tour (May 3 to June 25), tour members arrive and begin training week on May 3. Programs wrap up on June 25, and team members ride their separate ways on June 26. Check out the dates for each of the three tours here.

Teams usually take a break from riding and performances every sixth or seventh day. That means time for swimming, exploring the town, doing laundry, writing in journals, and wonderful relaxation... ahhh! 

All tours take the following safety precautions:

• Training for all participants on safe biking practices
• Ongoing teach-ins from members about bike safety and repair
• Emergency cell phones
• All bikers are required to carry four litres of water each, sufficient food, and a tent per pair if riding on trails.
• Each rider has a bike buddy for the day (even if you don't ride side by side, buddies stay in view of each other)
• Each biking pair carries a small first aid and bike repair kit. The team also carries a full first aid kit and spare bike parts.
• Helmets are mandatory
• Bikers are required to wear bright reflective gear
• Biking at night is discouraged. When necessary, bikers must carry bike lights
• Biking with a personal listening device is prohibited

Certain tours are also accompanied by a support vehicule.

Yes, if you are not a Canadian resident or not covered under a provincial health plan for other reasons, you require travel medical insurance. It costs about $1 per day.

However, if you are covered under your provincial health plan, you do not require additional insurance.

Each tour member is responsible for raising a project contribution to cover their portion of the tour expenses such as food, liability insurance, tour planning and support, and equipment. The cost of tour is determined by the length of your program. The fundraising goal for all two-month tours is $2,250.

We will provide you a fantastic fundraising package with ideas and resources that will help you reach out and create awareness in your community! Fundraising is easier then you would think- especially once you start sharing the amazing project you're about to take on with others.

No. The project contribution does NOT cover your transportation to and from the tour, the costs of your bike, tent and other personal gear, or any extended health coverage. These costs can vary. Just how much you spend is up to you.

For example:

Kat’s never ridden a bike or gone camping before. She socked away some money and bought a bike ($300), panniers ($100), sleeping bag and pad ($200), and tent ($300). She brought along another $400 for laundry and spending money to buy her favorite organic, fair-trade chocolate bars to share on tour. Bus transportation to and from the tour cost her another $350. Total cost: $1,650.

Jason, on the other hand, is a thrift-machine! He used his own bike and borrowed his roommate’s panniers and his dad’s tent (which he’ll be sharing with another team member). He found used gear on CraigsList and at a local thrift shop. His gear bill totaled just $100. He decided to keep things simple on tour, hand washed his clothes, and brought along $200 to cover bike repairs and an occasional vegan gelato on his days off. He arranged a rideshare with a friend out to the tour, put in $50 for gas, and decided to continue biking after the tour to visit his brother. Total cost: $350.

Yes! We strive to make our tours accessible to all. Bursaries are available on a first come first considered basis. Read all about the bursary program here.

Great Question!  There is a wonderful set of magical paper work to be filled out once you are accepted on tour.

Also, you should familiarize yourself with the Otesha book From Junk to Funk as well as the fantabulous Reason to Dream play script (which will be provided to you upon acceptance on tour and receipt of your deposit).

Finally, we recommend that you do some physical training.

All the step by step of how to get ready is available on our "So you've been accepted on a bike tour..." page - here.

Of course! Over 350 people have cycled and performed on past Otesha bike tours. E-mail us at applications@otesha.ca and we will hook you up with one!

Everyone has a different answer, but for many of us it is the pure "empowerment juice" we receive from riding and performing together, and seeing the strength of our Otesha community. For many, it's also the privilege of seeing change happen, and the joy in realizing that YOU have made a difference.

For the first time ever, one of Otesha's tours is offering a skill-building extension! Members of the Ferocious Farm Tour can participate in an additional two-month internship program on an organic Ontario farm at the end of their cycling tour.

Participants will be placed in sets of two or more on a farm from June 28 to August 26, 2010. They will live and work on the farm, participating in the full functioning of farm life and food production. Each farm will operate differently, but we guarantee that all placements will be equally rewarding!

Participants will finish the cycling tour in Ottawa on June 25, have a day off on June 26 and a day of orientation in Ottawa on the June 27 before heading off to their host farms the next day.

All participants will return to Ottawa at the end of their internships (August 28) to complete a one-day debriefing session where they will develop action plans for how to apply their food knowledge in their home communities. 

There is no additional cost associated with doing the farm extension and the cost of food and lodging will be covered. Participants will either be camping or staying in farm lodging, depending on the host farm.

Only members of the Ferocious Farm Tour are eligible.