dharma gaia
MINDFULNESS-BASED Volunteer programme
immersed in the river of awakening in daily life
Our teachers, centre guardians and many wonderful volunteers have helped develop the Dharma Gaia Mindfulness-Based Volunteer Programme. It is a mutually nourishing aspect of the Dharma Gaia life. It is organic and continually evolving.
We have a deep commitment to support our volunteers to gain the skills and the power of living a mindful life, and we experience great support and commitment from them. The love and gratitude we feel for each other, working together for the wellbeing of the centre and all who come here, is a very rich exchange for all of us.
We commit to offering guidance and support, teachings, techniques and skills for cultivating mindfulness, concentration and awareness to live with peace and true freedom.
Living in a Mindfulness Practice Centre is a real chance to transform. It is a profound opportunity to change habit energies and patterns of thinking, feeling and acting that create suffering for ourselves and for others. Our practice is rooted in the earth of Sangha - community. It is through the power and the practice of a compassionate and caring community that we learn to live and to love more fully and to deepen our joy, peace and happiness.
Transformation brings more ease and freedom and more connection to life and to others. And transformation is not always easy. We learn the art of Mindful Living in order to transform our compost into roses - our suffering into joy and wellbeing.
Volunteers on this programme are asked to commit for 4 weeks. During this time they are embraced fully into the community and participate wholeheartedly in the daily and weekly practice schedule and community gatherings.
overview of the volunteers WHO are called to Dharma Gaia
Most who are called here already have a deep appreciation and respect for the beauty and gifts of the natural environment. Life at Dharma Gaia nourishes and deepens that.
We are blessed to be able to provide work exchange places for volunteers who are mature, self motivated and generally able to enjoy physically energetic work. We are a close, caring community and we respect each others privacy and individuality. In mindfulness, we appreciate authentic conversation rather than endless chit chat, so volunteers need to be able to feel at ease with periods of quiet. This does not discount the times of joy and laughter that also ring out as clear as the other mindfulness bells we enjoy.
Our work includes gardening and tree care, lawns, housekeeping, cooking, landscaping and building.
One day a week we enjoy as "Lazy Day" - this is a day of "no schedule, no work period and no formal practice,” although people are welcome to organise together or to use the meditation room for their own practice as they wish. It is often a day when volunteers plan day trips together.
What Programmes are on offer
We have learned over many years that it is more beneficial for the Centre and for volunteers to stay for a minimum of one month. For those unable to stay for one month, we can offer the Light Service Volunteer Programme (for stays of 1-4 weeks). The Light Service Programme consists of 2 hours a day of working meditation and a financial contribution of $180 per week.
Volunteers on this main programme of Deep service participate in 4-5 hours of working meditation 5 days a week and have the opportunity to join the Deepening Day of Full Practice once a week, They also offer a financial contribution of $90.00* per week to enable Dharma Gaia to continue offering the program and keeping to our Organic Food Pledge..
*If this contribution is difficult we look together to find a solution
What the Volunteer Programme Offers
Practice together as a community: morning practice includes sitting and walking meditation. We enjoy 'working' not just to get a job done but to develop skills of mindful work practice. We take turns to prepare and clear up after meals in a restful and peaceful way. We also enjoy eating in just the same restful way!
The afternoons are generally a time when our volunteers explore the beautiful land and sea around us, or spend time relaxing in the hammocks, reading, writing and enjoying both friendship and quiet personal time.
At least one evening a week we come together in an intimate and nourishing way to learn and share our experiences and our questions regarding life and mindfulness. It is a time of warmth and togetherness where we find it very easy to be authentic, and to benefit from our collective companionship and the sharing of life experience.
When retreats occur during a volunteer’s stay at Dharma Gaia we encourage attendance and we are happy to find ways for this to be possible.
Accommodation, meals and contribution,
We offer free, simple, clean and comfortable accommodation.
Meals are simple but nutritious, prepared with care and mindfulness. We have a vegetarian and dairy-free policy. We make great effort to provide quality, organic food and where possible our food is locally grown.
The Natural Environment
The centre is surrounded by nature and the atmosphere is one of peacefulness and nurturing. Because it is close to beaches and forest, there is much beauty on the Coromandel for hikers and bikers. In the local community other practices such as Tai Chi, massage and various body/mind therapies are also available and the hot springs are an hour away by car.
past Volunteers share …
Perhaps the most important feedback we regularly receive from our long term Volunteers is in regard to the subtle yet profound stability in presence that has manifested for them as a result of the ordinary everyday experience of living in a mindfulness practice centre. The recognition that the gentle and regular supports to come home to oneself and be fully present to the moment, has offered many volunteers a whole new way of being more grounded and at ease in the world.
HOW TO APPLY
Does the Mindfulness-based Volunteer Programme sound like something you would like to do?
If so, please write to us peace@dharmagaia.org and write in the subject line ‘Enquiry for Volunteer Programme and your name’
Please note that our volunteer programmes are popular and fill up in advance. We are rarely able to accommodate last-minute applications, so please consider your plans and make your application to us 2-3 months prior to your proposed arrival date.
In your email please tell us:
If you have preferred dates you’d like to be considered for, or if you have any particular time constraints ( visas, work sabbaticals etc)
And then please share:
A bit about yourself,
your background,
where you are from,
your age and gender,
what skills and experience do you have,
what is your capacity for physical work, and are you healthy in mind and body?
your interests,
any previous experience with meditation and/or mindfulness
and you can also include any other information that you feel is relevant to share. We would be very happy to hear about what draws you to apply and what you hope to get from the experience.
If you love music then please visit the joyful sharings of our young residents: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ctTnTgq9dmKYwrFGX-eJg
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If you are unable to commit to a minimum of a one-month residency or if you are needing more rest and personal time but still wish to be part of the programme you can choose the Light Service option.
LIGHT SERVICE Volunteer Programme
This option of Light service is an opportunity somewhere between the individual practice of a personal retreat and the longer commitment of our Mindfulness-Based Volunteer Programme.
Volunteers on this programme offer 2 hours a day of work (or more if they would like to), Monday to Saturday, and contribute $180 per week for food and accommodation, and dana/donation when you can for the teachings. Volunteers join in the daily practices and offerings on the centre schedule - meditation, community sharing, working meditation, eating meditation and evening practices twice a week.
Please note that our volunteer programmes are popular and fill up in advance. We are rarely able to accommodate last-minute applications, so please consider your plans and make your application to us 2-3 months prior to your proposed arrival date.
To apply, please email and tell us:
If you have preferred dates you’d like to be considered for, or if you have any particular time constraints (visas, work sabbaticals etc)
And then please share:
A bit about yourself
Your background
Where are you from?
Your age and gender
What skills and experience do you have
What is your capacity for physical work, and are you healthy?
Your interests
Any previous experience with meditation and/or mindfulness
And you can also include any other information that you feel is relevant to share. We would be very happy to hear about what draws you to apply and what you hope to get from the experience.