Internships

At Rustling Roots our overall mission with the internship program is to support research and development in the areas that we perceive as relevant to a future scant in material and energy inputs, but rich in connections and life satisfaction.

Our vision is based in principles of permaculture, where diversity, complexity, symbiosis and efficiency are both instrumental and apriori values to a better future.

We offer several internships for university students in specific academic areas. some of our internship projects are within our expertise and therefore come with a fair bit of mentorship and guidance, while others are far outside our expertise and consequently require more initiative and direction from the interns.

To Apply

Email us your interest and we will send you an entry questionnaire: rustlingroots@gmail.com

If you are from UVA you should contact us through the IPP (Internship Placement Program).


Open Internships

Appropriate Technology
We seek to develop simple, affordable, and efficient technology to support disconnection from the central grid while enabling a wide range of applications. …read more

Social Science
We ask one simple question: what does it take for people to accept a change towards a more sustainable future? …read more

Art / Museum Models
We offer several internships both in creating mechanical representations in our sustainable living museum, and producing conceptual depictions of people’s relationships to nature. …read more

Completed

Computer Science – Fall 2022

Network Analysis for Self-Governance
Robert Boyle
– Developing software and application for crowd wisdom through empirical and mathematical development of social network analysis towards understanding of trust relationships in organizations. This was the beginning of a multi-year project aimed at developing distributed self-governance tools.


Social Sciences – Summer 2022

Qualitative Examination of Attitudes towards Sustainable Living
Vicky Tran and JanLou Lawson (UVA psychology)
– Exploring public attitudes towards sustainable living through tours, discussion and immersion in an ecovillage. (Janlou Lawson)
– Exploring challenges and blessings of living a sustainable lifestyle through semi-structured interviews. (Vicky Tran) 


Appropriate Technology – Spring 2020 residential internship

Solar Electrification and Sensor Networking
Charlotte Dorn (UNC Chapel Hill CS department)
– Development and installation of photovoltaic off-grid system and appropriate technology R&D for agricultural and residential purposes.
– Charlotte has taken her experience and direction she has gained here toward her career in an agricultural technology start up in New Zealand.