Los Angeles
Farmer Training Program

Los Angeles County's only Farmer Training Program.
Learn to grow at our community farm in Pomona CA.

Hands-on Learning @ Sarvodaya Farms

At Sarvodaya Farms in Pomona, CA, we offer Farmer Training Programs for anyone interested in learning how to care for soil, raise and care for plants, and grow food at home.

These programs are only for those that value the knowledge we offer.

Farmer Training is NOT a volunteer program. For Volunteer Opportunities, click here.

Sarvodaya's Farmer Training Program encourages the participation of people of all backgrounds. Our program centers the participation and leadership of people of color, women, non-binary people, and historically marginalized groups.

Testimonials from a few of our Trainees

(scroll to the right for more)

Foremost, I am in absolute gratitude to everyone who I got to know at the farm, particularly the instructors, Lauren, Ann-Marie, and Cyn. They made learning and being at the farm so enjoyable and welcoming. They definitely made me feel more confident in caring for the trees, the soil, and many of the other aspects of maintaining the farm. One of the highlights of being at the farm was when we had to dig up a Moringa tree. It took four people to be able to dig deep and wide enough to pull the tree from the ground. It confirmed for me that learning to care for trees, plants, the soil, and the land is a lifelong journey that involves working in community. So, now all that I learned is foundational to the way I care for my own garden which continues to grow. My hope for future trainees or even those contemplating in participating is that they are able to continue on their journey to building a relationship with the land, community, and themselves.

- Debbie Ortiz
Farmer Trainee 2024

It’s been a year and a half since I completed the Farmer Training Program at Sarvodaya Farms, and I look back at that time with fondness and gratitude. I felt a lot of joy in sharing work, stories, and meals together with the other trainees and volunteers.

I think there’s no shortage of reasons as to why gardening gets used as a metaphor for how a parent might view their relationship with their child. There’s this quote I love by Stephen Jenkinson, “We ruin the soil when we guarantee the crop.” At Sarvodaya, I learned to shift my focus from a “guaranteed crop” to nourishing the soil and creating spaces wherein all beings may thrive. Now, as a mom, I try to remind myself of this lesson often.

If you’re interested in joining any of the programs at Sarvodaya Farms, I would say to go for it and bring your family, friends, and neighbors along! How we treat the land is how we treat others and vice versa, so learning different ways of being in relationship/reciprocity with those we’re already in relationship with in our day-to-day is one place to start.

With my mom and my daughter, Amara
Kara Canlas, Farmer Trainee 2022

After completing the training program, I pursed a Master in Agriculture and became a food systems coordinator for an international NGO. I have been engaged with agriculture work over the last decade. Wherever I travel, I always make sure to pack the notebook I had with the notes from the Sarvodaya training program. It's packed with useful concepts and tips that have helped me support other smallholders in setting up market gardens and advise others on their kitchen gardens. Many of the foundational concepts around sustainable agriculture taught in the training program apply to any context. I have worked on multiple continents now and have found it useful whenever I visit different farms and discuss with farmers on various issues they come across.

- Chika Konda, Farmer Trainee 2017

After completing the training program, I pursed a Master in Agriculture and became a food systems coordinator for an international NGO. I have been engaged with agriculture work over the last decade. Wherever I travel, I always make sure to pack the notebook I had with the notes from the Sarvodaya training program. It's packed with useful concepts and tips that have helped me support other smallholders in setting up market gardens and advise others on their kitchen gardens. Many of the foundational concepts around sustainable agriculture taught in the training program apply to any context. I have worked on multiple continents now and have found it useful whenever I visit different farms and discuss with farmers on various issues they come across.

- Chika Konda, Farmer Trainee 2017

I completed it in 2017, so it's been 7 years! Beyond learning the nuts and bolts of farming, the farm staff taught weekly lessons that really impacted my worldview on not just farming, but how farming fits into much bigger systems such as nutrition, water, indigeneity, ecology, liberation, and healing. The farming program enabled me to gain the skills to get a job teaching garden classes at local elementary schools through EnrichLA. And beyond that, even though I don't continue to work directly in the field, being part of the farmer training program continues to inform how I relate to plants, food, and the world. I have recommended friends who are interested in farming to join the farmer training program. In addition to real hands-on experience in a multitude of skills, you also get to become part of a community of people who are passionate about developing a different relationship to plants and food.

- Alexis Takahashi, Farmer Trainee 2017

After completing the training program, I pursed a Master in Agriculture and became a food systems coordinator for an international NGO. I have been engaged with agriculture work over the last decade. Wherever I travel, I always make sure to pack the notebook I had with the notes from the Sarvodaya training program. It's packed with useful concepts and tips that have helped me support other smallholders in setting up market gardens and advise others on their kitchen gardens. Many of the foundational concepts around sustainable agriculture taught in the training program apply to any context. I have worked on multiple continents now and have found it useful whenever I visit different farms and discuss with farmers on various issues they come across.

- Chika Konda, Farmer Trainee 2017

I completed my Farmer Training Program in August 2022 and I STILL think about the farm to this day.

Farmer Training for me was only the first step in creating a gardening practice and connection to the land. Sarvodaya isn't the biggest farm around, and the utilization of the land is inspiring. I've slowly decided to start gardening and planting vegetables in my own backyard because I yearn for the ability to grown my own food and get my hands dirty along the way. Being in the program has increased my desire to learn about agricultural practices in other countries. I travelled to Thailand, I joined a cooking class that was located on a farmstay and used ingredients they grew themselves.

Being on the farm pushes you to sit with impermanence in a very tangible way. Everything will die off eventually...and then they can be planted again. I also learned so much about how our fruits and vegetables are SUPPOSED to taste, like a proper tomato or berry.

As someone who is very new to gardening or farming, there is so much value to be able to learn alongside other folks, rather than isolated in your own garden at home.

- Jayda Shuavarnnasri
Farmer Trainee 2022

After completing the training program, I pursed a Master in Agriculture and became a food systems coordinator for an international NGO. I have been engaged with agriculture work over the last decade. Wherever I travel, I always make sure to pack the notebook I had with the notes from the Sarvodaya training program. It's packed with useful concepts and tips that have helped me support other smallholders in setting up market gardens and advise others on their kitchen gardens. Many of the foundational concepts around sustainable agriculture taught in the training program apply to any context. I have worked on multiple continents now and have found it useful whenever I visit different farms and discuss with farmers on various issues they come across.

- Chika Konda, Farmer Trainee 2017

What We Offer

At Sarvodaya Farms, we care for over half an acre of fruit trees, CA native plants, fruiting bushes, vegetable fields, and a large & diverse stock of nursery plants. Our training program offers an opportunity for you to be part of the care and nourishment of our farm, and learn in the process from our experienced farmers.

Through our program you will learn:

- Soil care and management
- Irrigation maintenance
- Seed starting and plant propagation
- Plant care and farm management
- Vegetable and fruit harvest
- Much more than we have time to list here

Participants in our program learn hands-on skills under the guidance of our farmers, and continue learning at home with online lessons that supplement learning that happens on the farm.

We offer two programs: Introductory Farmer Training and Advanced Farmer Training. Please see the details for each program below.

Introductory Farmer Training Program
(Certificate optional)

Our Introductory Farmer Training Program is a flexible, accessible program that balances hands-on training guided by our farmers with supplement online learning.

This job training program is designed to give trainees an intermediate level of urban gardening and farming knowledge that can translate into real world practice and work. Trainees will learn skills from and be introduced to various trades within the urban farming world from nursery propagation to growing food to CA native landscaping.

This program requires:

- 16 week commitment, attending a minimum of 1 day per week for 5 hours per day (total of 80 hours on-farm)
- Completion of our Online Trainees Course, 16 video lessons + quizzes
- Complete both in-take and end-of-program surveys
- Monthly financial contribution, commensurate with your income or financial means
- Trainees to provide their own hand tools

To receive the optional Certificate of Completion, trainees must additionally pass a written and hands-on Farmer Training Final Exam

Advanced Farmer Training Program

Our Advanced Farmer Training Program is for individuals who are ready to commit to urban farming as a profession, and are looking for in-depth, consistent hands-on training.

Trainees should come into the program with some basic gardening and farming skills, and will leave with advanced urban farming skills that can more directly translate into employment or starting a farm. Trainees will learn skills from the various trades within the urban farming world from nursery propagation to growing food to CA native landscaping, and will receive significant practice with these skills.

This program requires:

- 12 week commitment, attending 3 days per week for 7 hour days (240 hours total)
- Completion of our Online Trainees Course, 16 video lessons + quizzes
- Completion of 6 hands-on self-directed learning assignments
- Completion of both in-take and end-of-program surveys
- A financial deposit, to be returned once all commitments have been fulfilled OR alternative non-financial commitment
- Trainees to provide their own hand tools

To receive the Certificate of Completion, trainees must complete all above requirements and pass a written and hands-on Farmer Training Final Exam

We require all trainees to:

- Value Our Work and Our Staff: Maintaining a highly diverse and intricately balanced farm such as ours requires a vast array of skills. It's not rocket science, but it's just as complicated. Trainees must first understand that they are receiving training that is becoming more and more valuable in a society that lacks these skills and understandings.

- Contribute: We offer our programs at flexible fee rates to keep them accessible to the communities we want to serve.

- Commit: Our staff devotes significant time to creating and maintaining these programs. We require that trainees reciprocate our efforts by showing up when they've committed to, working hard and prioritizing their participation in their program.

Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Step 1. Complete the Online Application below.

Step 2. We will schedule a "trial day" on the farm with you. This day is for you to ensure our program is the right fit for you, and for our farmers to determine if you are the right fit for our program.

Step 3. Sign paperwork, procure tools, and set a start date.

Please allow 1-2 weeks for our response to online applications.