Three month volunteering at Alfoxton Park

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‘Some of the early communities were very primitive. People squatted in derelict, unwanted properties (which was legal then). They were very happy, and that was the formative stage in the development of our movement. These days communities are comparatively lavish, but some people still think back to the good old days when they unrolled their sleeping bags on the floor and set up a little shrine and that was their community’.

Sangharakshita, The Rain of the Dharma

Alfoxton Park is, arguably, the closest one will get to an early days Triratna community experience. Are you interested in joining us this summer?

We are particularly looking for people to support the running of our retreat season, to stay with us from May-August.

Alfoxton Park is an ambitious project. During summer the community are spread across retreat management, construction and gardening roles. On a regular day there might be 20 people on site, moving up to 50 when we welcome retreatants. The ideal volunteer would be someone keen to embrace the bustle this brings, someone looking for a radical mode of work as practice and a keenness to support our community with practical skills, groundedness and presence.

We require volunteers with experience either cooking for retreats (catering for 40+ people) or gardening (including waking up before morning meditation to water) or digital skills (including using Canva).

What’s the day to day like?

The core community is a mixed gender group, with six Dharmacharins. In total there are 15 of us living here full time, with eight GFR mitras. We live in a mix of caravans and vans, with a small number of indoor spaces. As well as the core community, there are short term volunteers and guests.

We meditate together and have silence until 9am. We meet for a morning circle and have a short Dharma input by Jayaraja. Work is from 10-5. We eat lunch and dinner together. Evening activities include Dharma study, community night, music jams, sauna and film nights.

We have a small amount of shared dormitory space, or you can camp/bring a live-in vehicle. All meals are provided. We understand that long term volunteers may have other commitments through summer. There is some flexibility to fit these in around contributing to the project.

Please contact [contact hidden] with the title ‘long term volunteer’ in the subject line for more information.

https://www.alfoxtonpark.org.uk/volunteer

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