Apply Now

Garden work & cultivate inner stillness in meditation center

5.0
(38 reviews)38

The experience

We are a small modern monastery and a meditation & retreat center located near Hamburg, Germany. The center provides an environment to meditate, go inwards, calm down, and reconnect with oneself. It is a place of stillness and peace, and perfectly suited for experienced meditators who might enjoy the natural surrounding.

We need your help with light gardening work. Everyone in the house also needs to do a little bit of cleaning/housekeeping.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

2 days off per week

Team Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other people.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Get free drinks or beverages.: Drink up! Get free and tasty drinks for yourself.

Holistic Therapies: You can take part in any of our therapeutic activities for free.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate German or Intermediate English

Over 20 years old

Only hosts solo volunteers (doesn’t accept couples or partners)

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

This center is dedicated to spiritual practice and retreat.
If you volunteer wit

We are two permanent residents and offer three private guestrooms in our meditation center.

People visiting the house have reported the following learnings from the stay with us:
- establishing a daily meditation routine,
- experiencing inner peace & stillness,
- deepening of spiritual understanding,
- inner transformations on many levels,
- visions/ideas and energy to proceed with own new projects.

We will support you in this respect.

You need to have your own practices and topics that you want to work or focus on during you stay with us. Otherwise you will be bored quickly. Beginners on the spiritual path were oftentimes not happy here, as we just "live" a deep spiritual focus that has elements of monastic life.

Activities & Shift

Expected help hours:
25 hours/week for free accommodation and organic vegetarian food (self-catering from the kitchen storage).

Work starts daily at 9.30 a.m.

Every resident and volunteer is required to help a little with cleaning (during the work hours).

The longer you stay with us the more responsibility will be given to you - if you like.

There are morning and evening group meditations, and most of the time all residents, guests and volunteers participate in these meditations. You should only apply if you would - in general - like to join these meditations.

Rules

We only plan ahead for the respective next two months. Please, do not contact us earlier than two months prior to your proposed arrival date.

You are welcome as a volunteer if you ...
1. are longing for a retreat period to focus on your spiritual practices - for example meditation, contemplation, praying, deep bodywork, relaxation techniques, long walks in nature, dream work, certain kinds of reading, etc. These retreat activities should be pursued for a minimum of 30-40 hours per week in your free time.
If you do not long for such activities or if you have other main purposes in your free time - like digital work, sightseeing, etc. - we are not the right place for you.
(Some people depend on music, singing, dancing or intense bodywork as their way of reconnecting. Our place is not suited for these needs, as our center is having a different focus.)
2. like to meditate with us, twice daily,
3. like to pay attention to detail and precision in your work and beyond,
4. would like to reduce your digital media intake to what is necessary, during your stay with us,
5. are 'experienced' on the spiritual path: You have your own spiritual practice and MUST have been on a spiritual retreat at some other place before,
6. don't use intoxicants while you stay with us. We also do not take volunteer who are on pharmaceutical drugs or have an active mental condition, as either can impede your spiritual retreat or lead to unforeseen effects during a spiritual retreat with us.

We do not provide insurance. We recommend you have your own travel health insurance that covers volunteer work (e.g. www.worldnomads.com).