Hope Seeds currently does not operate a working farm but seeks to partner with churches and local gardeners to grow and demonstrate plants that are important to small-scale farmers, the urban poor, and gardeners in developing countries. Hope Seeds works on the campus of Hope Church where demonstrations display gardens and appropriate technologies. Hope Seeds will not be a farm in the common sense of having large fields of crops and herds of animals. The facility serves as a hands-on learning tool or work experience for interns, an educational tool for public tours, and for production of seeds.  At Hope Seeds, we practice both organic and inorganic methods of gardening and pest control.  We encourage our interns to be familiar with on-farm sources of nutrients and organic pest control practices and to use them as much as possible.  We extensively use mulch and organic materials, as they are available.  Interns learn techniques to recycle nutrients from plants such as alley cropping, green manuring, and hill cultures.  Because of labor and time constraints and low soil fertility in Florida, Hope Seeds staff and interns do use synthetic fertilizers and herbicides on a limited basis.  When we have insect problems, our standard treatment is an oil and soap spray, but occasionally we use other insecticides if the crop is important.

Hope Seeds interns are highly involved in the operation and maintenance of all aspects of the seed sending program and research.  Hope Seeds has a wide variety of seed that is grown in the tropics and will give hands-on experience growing out and researching these varieties.  Activities common to all interns include growing many of the important vegetables and plants for seed, multi‑purpose trees, and maintaining the various demonstrations which are currently in an urban setting, much like the conditions faced by the urban poor populations we serve. Hope Seeds plans to concentrate its efforts on growing food within small spaces, nutritional gardens, and demonstrating appropriate technologies.   All interns help harvest and clean seed, run seed packing events, and process seed orders placed by missionaries. Interns also supervise the work of local volunteers and lead educational tours for visiting individuals and groups. Normal work hours are 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and as needed on Saturday mornings. You will normally have at least one Saturday each month totally free of work obligations (except for any chores for which you are responsible).  Chores must be handled on Sundays and holidays as well.  Most intern's find they spend between 40 to 45 hours/wk dedicated to hands-on work on the farm, in the office, and with the public.  Additional time, at the discretion of each intern, is spent in study, field trips, and in church and community activities with the other interns.  The intern program is informal; learning for the most part occurs through hands-on experience.  Other learning occurs in seminars and workshops or as opportunities may arise in the course of the work and experimentation.  However, Hope Seeds does not run a formal training program for interns or students.

Each intern is assigned responsibilities that may include techniques for semi-arid gardens, tropical gardens, school gardens and the urban gardens.  Each of these areas highlight plants and techniques which can be useful under incredibly challenging conditions (such as when people have no land or limited rain or infertile soil).  Interns determine, along with Hope Seeds staff, what will be grown in each of these areas and care for and maintain these demonstrations. 

Interns are also given special assignments.  He/she might be asked to help write an article for a newsletter, develop promotional materials, help prepare responses to inquiries from overseas, speak at a school or church, etc.  Interns also share the housekeeping work involved in hosting missionaries, students, and other guests. Interns may be assigned a special research project as well.