I spent 6 weeks at MMRF last summer and, looking back on the experience exactly 1 year later, I could not recommend it more highly. The time I spent there was challenging. It was mentally and physically taxing and within my first week or 2, there were definitely moments where I questioned whether or not it was an internship for me. However, the culmination of things I learned form the farm and my time there (self- knowledge, permaculture, appreciation for nature, work ethic, community values, etc) I now consider to be invaluable and one of my more important formative experiences thus far.
The Maya Mountain Research Farm is without a doubt one of the best examples of a working, small-scale permaculture farm available to young travellers interested in an alternative to picking fruit for 8 hours straight in large fruit orchards. Chris truly believes in the permaculture system. Rich polycultures cover the active acres of farm which staggering levels of biodiversity. He is more than happy to walk you through the various plant life in any part of the farm and explain the various ways in which they are mutually beneficial to one another. At the same time, he makes a point of showing each intern the first area he started planning/ planting when he bought the farm and the various mistakes in long-term planning he made. His willingness to point out his own early shortcomings impressed me and emphasized firsthand his honest desire to share his experiences with permaculture in order to aid others in discovering/ understanding this wonderful alternative to popular agricultural techniques.
The accommodations are rustic, but eventually come to feel like home. Let's be honest, you're in the middle of the jungle. The "pods" where the interns stay are small dormitory-style adjoining rooms a short walk away from the main house and communal area. Sleeping under bug nets, the sounds of the jungle and the midnight rainfall on the tin roof all take getting used to, but inevitably feel fantastic after a few weeks of hard work. The open-air kitchen and main house are breath-taking, made of river rocks and a whole lot of hardwork and ingenuity. There is access to electricity and internet, but both are dependent upon weather as they run off of solar panels and in the event of cloudy weather, must be used sparingly.
The food is good! While the beans and rice are sourced from the local village, all of the fruits and vegetables come from the farm. Elvira, the cook at the time, provided three savory meals a day, and on her day off, Chris would often make his pad thai, which was always a treat. Pizza day, as I'm beginning to realize is the case all around the world, was always the best day of the week! Everyone makes their own pizza in the wood burning clay stove with a wild assortment of anything and everything you could find on the farm (fresh pineapple and cactus, yum?!). First one up every morning starts the fire and puts the coffee on. Maybe it's the circumstances which really make the taste... but I never enjoyed a coffee more.
One disclaimer I feel it is incredibly important to make (after having read some of the more negative reviews) is the difference between doing an internship at MMRF and participating in their Permaculture Design Course. Those who expected to be taken by the hand and walked through permaculture step-by-step are bound to be disappointed as interns. Interns join the farm and become an integrated part of the daily life, learning about permaculture by leading a truly permaculture-oriented life. During the PDC, the participants are Chris' sole focus and receive all of his attention. During internships however, which are continuous with overlapping stays as interns come and go, Chris, Celini and the Mayans who help run the farm are all busy, as you can imagine, keeping up a working farm. As a result, you become integrated in the experience, sometimes working with the Mayan guys planting or clearing, helping Celini with the medicinal plants, the garden or other upkeep of the land, collecting food for Elvira's dinner plans or heading into a neighboring town with Chris to help install a new photo-voltaic (solar panel) system at a school. The internship allows you to learn through integration, it is not a concentrated crash course.
Chris is running a huge farm and an NGO. One of the ways in which my partner and another intern chose to help was through taking on some administrative tasks for him, such as putting together a press package. This is a key example of the ways in which you can integrate yourself into the farm life. Interns who are there for over a month are encouraged to pick a project to work on. Our friends/ fellow interns Emily and Tait built a 3-part composting structure to centralize and improve the efficiency of the composting. Past interns were responsible for the dual chamber Vietnamese style composting toilets that have become so integral to the Farm. I honestly feel that the independence you are given, coupled with the resources, support and knowledge provided by Chris and the others on the farm, provides for a greater learning experience than a more regimented internship could ever provide.
Despite being busy running the farm, Chris makes a point of giving the interns a good 5 to 10 talks on various key aspects of permaculture (agroforestry, humanure, "the big picture", etc). These all help to fill in some of the more specific areas of knowledge required to grasp permaculture systems. The talks are very useful and engaging, but more often than not, you will find yourself learning the most from the random conversations you have with Chris while he shows you the proper technique for planting Arachis Pintoi, hearing stories from Celini as she looks for a specific plant to help with (insert intern)'s rash, or having the local guys tell you about their culture while teaching you to properly use the machete while clearing a section of field.
This is an internship for someone who wants to feel like an essential part of a permaculture farm, not just a passing visitor. An absolutely worthwhile experience which think of every day and miss dearly.
Oh... and they have a trampoline!