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Summary
part 3 of a 3 part podcast
Paul, Samantha, Steven and Des continue to discuss "normie to permie"
Most of this part addresses the comments made by people on the net that boots
should be paid.
Boots are expected to work 40 hours a week with no actual pay, but they get their food and accommodation supplied and weekends off.
Farmhands on the other hand mostly get around or slightly more than minimum wage, unless they're undocumented.
Paul and Steven worked out some comparisons between a regular farmhand and a boot who'd been at camp for at least 2 months.
The farmhand has been learning all his life how to be a farmhand and so on day 1 of a new job will be way more productive than a boot, not because boots are lazy or useless but because they have little
experience.
They concluded that in a week one experienced farmhand will do about the same work as 12 typical 2-month boots. Paul cites
cutting firewood from dead standing, to cut, split and stacked 50 yards away. He reckons that a farmhand would process about 2 cords in a day, while a boot might manage one face cord (1/3 cord) in the same time just because they are still learning the job.
Steven reminds us that, for someone interested in
permaculture boot camp is a very soft landing and Paul agrees: it's a learning experience and should be fun not hard labor. They also conclude that there more or less isn't anything else quite like it in the U.S. but that comes at a cost: boot camp has to be funded.
Samantha also comments that a paid farmhand doesn't get to choose what they work on: If the tractor is playing up, you get covered in grease or hydraulic oil fixing it, for example, which she wouldn't like at all.
There's a some talk about "ringers" (people who come to permies with appropriate experience) and how they can move the work forward a lot. However, to have those people there more would mean paying them.
They finish off by talking about Christmas at permies: Samantha will be making the habitual Chinese food this year rather than buying it in.
Relevant Threads
Wheaton Labs forum
Bootcamp website
Dez's Bootcamp Experience (BRK)
SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BRK)
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This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
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Bill Crim
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