Join Our Emerging Cooperative!
Being super busy this year with lots of ecological activities and land progressions, we are looking for a helper or apprentice for our apothecary, Hidden Lotus Herbs!
Hidden Lotus Herbs is a collaborative junction of agro-ecological herbalists seeking to increase access to herbal support in our community through affordable herbal products, mutual aid efforts, and educational programs.
We are currently in transition to becoming a cooperative. We now operate with cooperative principles and pay, which means that since we are still in start-up, our current pay is very low and is predicted to remain low until fall or winter of 2024.
Ideally, the candidate hired on would be seeking to join the cooperative fully. The labor applied by all of us during startup will pay off once the business is more financially sustainable.
I understand if this isn't an ideal pay system for many candidates right now, but for someone interested in herbalism who wants to build a cooperative, it may be a great opportunity. Please only apply if you are stable enough to essentially donate labor to building an herbal co-op. This position would potentially be best for an apprentice, who will learn and gain a lot from this experience regardless of pay.
If you are interested but unable to consider low pay, don’t fret! We project that payouts will increase substantially over the course of 2024 and stabilization is predicted to occur over winter or into spring of 2025. We will likely be open again for an additional member in late 2024 or early 2025.
CURRENT PAY STRUCTURE EXPLAINED:
Our current pay structure is based on hours worked each month. We split a portion of the business’s profit for the month based on each workers’ percentage of total hours worked in the co-op. Thus, the members who worked the most that month would be paid a larger chunk than those who worked less.
I have a complete estimated pay sheet for the year 2024 for interested parties or applicants to read over. An estimate of profit shared for the year 2024 is $400/mo. If all members work an equal amount, this would equate to a take-home pay of $133/mo for an estimated 15-20 hours worked total (~$7-9/hr). This is a VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE based on our current production status with only two members. With the added growth and stability that comes with an additional worker, we can expect much higher payouts.
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A helper or new cooperative initiate could help with any or all of our current work. They can work as much or as little as they prefer and can go at their own pace, so long as distractions (ie. phones) are limited in the workplace and tasks are getting done. Tasks are varied; many are disability-friendly/accessible.
All of these positions will be trained, so don’t worry if you don’t have experience with them! Enthusiasm and passion is what's most important
Here are some positions we're seeking help with right now:
- Denton Community Market booth salesperson
- Other local markets booth salesperson/assistant (mainly in Denton, sometimes throughout metro)
- Apothecary Herbalist or Herbal Apprentice: restocking products, developing products, packaging products & orders
- Field Herbalist/Herbal Apprentice / Agro-ecologist or Farm Apprentice: helping on the farm, ethically foraging (particularly for invasive medicinals), tending free community clinics
- Artist: developing art themed around plants & fungi, nature, etc. - prints, stamps, clothing, natural dye, ceramics, etc.
- Media: managing social media schedule, photography, videography, youtube videos, blogging
- Events: Assisting with educational workshops
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If interested, please inquire using our contact form here!