ORCA: Growing Skills, Soil, and Community
Join a movement where farms become classrooms, food becomes medicine, and every season strengthens our shared future.
ORCA connects passionate learners with mission-driven farms through certified, hands-on apprenticeships in regenerative agriculture. Whether you're an employer looking to grow your team or an apprentice ready to learn by doing, ORCA offers a structured path to support, stewardship, and community.
How do we work?
Technology & Innovation
Partnering with Local Communities
We are living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, defined by data, connectivity, and rapid technological advancement. These tools are transforming agriculture—and regenerative farming is at the forefront.
Regenerative agriculture is no longer experimental. It has moved beyond invention and early adoption into a mature, replicable system. Functional models now exist across the globe, allowing us to apply the scientific method to reproduce results and refine practices.
California’s apprenticeship system is built on a braided funding model—combining employer contributions, state and federal grants, and nonprofit support to deliver high-quality, hands-on education. ORCA acts as the connective tissue between these funding streams and the people who need them most: small regenerative farms and their employees.
California apprenticeships are “earn-and-learn” programs that combine paid, on-the-job training with classroom instruction, creating a direct pathway to skilled careers.
In California, registered apprenticeship programs are industry-driven and designed to meet workforce needs while supporting learners from diverse backgrounds. Apprentices gain real-world experience while receiving formal education, often through partnerships with community colleges or training centers. The state’s initiatives—like the California Apprenticeship Initiative—aim to expand access to high-quality apprenticeships across emerging and underserved sectors, making them a vital tool for economic mobility and community development.
💡 How ORCA Makes It Work
ORCA is committed to building strong, interconnected communities through education, collaboration, and shared purpose. We partner with local businesses, primary schools, community colleges, and other educational organizations to expand access to regenerative agriculture beyond the farm.
In addition to training apprentices, ORCA develops inclusive curricula for community members who are not enrolled in apprenticeship programs—ensuring that regenerative knowledge reaches families, educators, and everyday consumers. By educating both producers and consumers, we help bridge the gap between food production and food choice.
This approach creates resilient, food-literate communities where people understand the impact of their agricultural systems and feel empowered to participate. Whether you're growing food or choosing it at the market, ORCA helps connect the dots—cultivating a culture of stewardship, health, and shared responsibility.
Our team
David King
David King is a second-generation back-to-the-lander, raised in a culture rooted in organic food, ecological living, and deep connection to nature. With decades of experience as both a farmer and consultant, David takes a supportive, collaborative role in helping growers succeed—always honoring their unique context and goals.
His work centers on regenerative agriculture as a grassroots movement, with a deep focus on soil management: balancing elemental nutrition, monitoring microbiology, and understanding plant physiology to restore living systems from the ground up. David supports all forms of natural agriculture—including those who are integrating regenerative practices into conventional models—and believes that healthy soil is the foundation of healthy communities.
As the founder of ORCA (Organic Regenerative Certified Apprenticeship), David is building a vibrant ecosystem of farmers, apprentices, and educators—united by a shared commitment to ecological restoration, food as medicine, and community resilience.
David also brings decades of entrepreneurial experience, having served as a business owner and manager since the early 1980s. Often the youngest member of the team, he led by example—learning every aspect of the business and inspiring others to expand their skills and responsibilities. This mentorship-driven approach became the cornerstone of his management philosophy: train and uplift those who wish to grow, and the entire enterprise thrives.
His businesses consistently paid the highest wages in their sectors—not through excess, but through efficiency, loyalty, and shared purpose. Employees under his guidance often went on to become business owners or managers themselves, carrying forward the values and skills they gained. David’s model has always mirrored an apprenticeship system—productivity-driven, self-sustaining, and deeply invested in people. It’s this philosophy that now powers ORCA: a living framework where every dollar, every lesson, and every relationship counts.
calorcaprogram@gmail.com
