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Description
Our budding conscious community exists as a living research project into deep personal growth and sustainable social and ecological living. We are located on 200 acres (1km squared) of private conservation forest in Hockley Valley, just one hour north of Toronto -- the largest city in Canada! Come help us care for our land and infrastructure while also learning to build small-scale intentional community based in trust, authenticity, and love. Engage in daily group meditation and movement practices, live in intimate connection with nature and others, and deepen your journey of personal/spiritual growth!
We hold the vision of one day running a non-profit retreat centre where we can share this personal work with others. We are currently renovating our barn into a yoga/ecstatic dance/meditation/art space for community use, but we do not host retreats or operate a business yet.
We are entering our fourth season (Chapter 4) of communal living and building a retreat centre in service to humanity. The intentions and focus of this chapter include:
1. Making significant progress on land-based projects. This means building, improving and/or maintaining our trails, glamping tent village, garden, and our renovated barn.This season will involve lots of physical outdoor work -- working on these concrete projects will leave a meaningful legacy of your contribution to our beautiful campus!
2. Intimate community-building within our volunteer group. We will be organizing volunteers as cohorts that arrive and depart on similar schedules (tentative cohort dates displayed below). This allows us to truly deepen our relationships and build an intentional community "container", and volunteers can stay for multiple cohorts. Our community research questions this season are: How can small groups of people work and live together sustainably? What structures support our ability to move the retreat centre project forward in a significant way while also engaging in personal and spiritual development together? What model of intentional community supports our long-term vision of running a retreat centre in service to humanity?
COHORT DATES:
1a --> May 17 - June 14 (4 weeks)
1b --> June 17 - July 14 (4 weeks)
**July 14 - August 9 --> No cohort running, but volunteers from Cohort 1a/b may be able to stay during this time**
2a --> August 9 - September 1 (3 weeks)
2b --> September 3 - October 1 (4 weeks)
2c --> October 3 - October 27 (3 weeks --> flexible departure dates available for those staying from cohort 2b. This is the time to watch the trees turn bright red and orange, and help us prepare for winter!)
Overall, there may be some flexibility in these cohort dates, so please contact us anyway if this opportunity interests you!!!
We are currently 4 adults. Two of us live in the community house on the retreat centre land, where volunteers will also stay, and the other two members live nearby in their own home. If there is strong interest and alignment, opportunities can be discussed for volunteers to live with us longer term and contribute to the project in a more permanent way.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Volunteers will learn to live and work in small-scale intentional/conscious community based in transparency, trust, authenticity, love, and a shared dedication to self-awareness. This means diving into personal growth, authentic relating practices, daily group practices (meditation, yoga, breathwork), and intimate connection with mother nature.
At the same time, they will learn practical skills in construction, forestry, gardening and more as they help materialize our vision of a retreat centre that brings people into deeper connection with themselves, others, and nature.
If there is mutual interest and alignment, volunteers may be able to stay longer-term and contribute more deeply to the retreat centre's development!
Help
GENERAL EXCHANGERS:
General helpers will work on a combination of projects depending on the current priorities. The exact tasks will vary day-to-day, but here are some representative examples:
Forest and Land --> creating and maintaining forest trails; creating special forest sitting spots; land maintenance (mowing, weeding, wood splitting, invasive species management)
Organic Garden --> soil building and remediation; tending small vegetable crop; growing medicinal flowers and herbs; caring for fruit trees
Construction Projects --> wood platforms/decks for glamping tents and outdoor meditation/yoga/workshop spaces; finishing the inside of our new barn (including yoga studio, art studio, lounge)
The schedule runs Monday-Friday, with weekends off:
7:15-8:15 - Morning practice (Meditation & Movement)
8:15-8:45 - Breakfast + Group Check-in
8:45-12:00 - Work
12:00-1:30 - Lunch + Rest
1:30-3:30 - Work
3:30-6:00 - Free time
6:00 - Dinner
7:00-8:30 - Sharing/Relating Circle or Recreational/Games Night (1-2x per week)
SPECIALIZED Opportunities:
Kitchen Mama/Papa --> Managing the community house kitchen and nourishing our volunteer team with love, care, and wholesome organic meals! Meal planning, shopping, cooking, and generally being a warm heart at the core of our conscious community. Possible to combine this with garden tasks if interested. Private room and stipend to be discussed.
Kitchen Schedule: Monday-Friday, 11:30-18:00 (11:30AM-6PM), with weekends off.
- Setting out a simple lunch of soup, bread, and salad for 12:30. Perhaps leftovers from the previous dinner. Lunch cleanup with help of 1-2 volunteers.
- In the afternoon, overseeing kitchen food stock and making trips to the supermarket if necessary. Preparing soup for next day lunch.
- Preparing and setting out dinner for 18:00 (6:00PM). Cleaning up as much as possible during preparation, but dinner is mostly cleaned up by volunteers after eating -- your working day ends!
Workaway Co-Coordinator --> Working alongside Sarah, you will organize the workflow of our volunteers and ensure that there are always appropriate tasks lined up throughout the day/week. You will be a motivating force that works alongside our volunteers, keeping the energy light-hearted, fun, and productive! Experience volunteering in intentional communities or other group-based Workaway opportunities is a major asset. You will share the same schedule as general volunteers, with additional organizational meetings throughout the week with Sarah. Private room and stipend to be discussed.
Group Practice Facilitators --> Are you an experienced yoga teacher or other facilitator that wants to live in community and lead regular practices for our volunteer group? This position may be combined with general help to fulfill your 25 hrs/week. Depending on your experience and the timeline of construction for our practice spaces, there may be the opportunity to facilitate some classes or events (ex. outdoor yoga in the valley)
Garden and Permaculture Head --> Looking for someone with experience in permaculture farming, growing medicinal herbs, soil remediation, or all of the above! Tend and improve our organic garden, and manage volunteers as your assistants. If experienced and wishing to stay on a more permanent basis, create and implement a vision for the future of permaculture farming at our project. Private room and small stipend to be discussed.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Beginner
Accommodation
The main accommodation space is located in our beautiful community house overlooking the valley. There is a 3-person, dorm-style room with an attached toilet and shower for general volunteers. There is also the option to camp outdoors if you wish to have a more private space (we have two medium-sized tents and camping mats available, or bring your own).
There are a few private rooms available inside the community house or in caravans. Priority for these spaces is given to specialized/management positions, couples, or those staying longer term.
All meals throughout the week are free for volunteers. During the workweek (Monday-Friday), nourishing, organic, vegetarian meals are prepared by our kitchen manager (which we are searching for if this interests you!). On weekends, meal preparation is assigned to different volunteers, and they will use what is stocked in the kitchen. Personal snacks or special items can be bought in town by individuals.
The community house includes a washer and dryer that can be used free of charge. The house also has internet, although it is slow as we live in the country.
What else ...
During the weekends, there is so much nature to explore right in our backyard. Our own property includes 200 acres (1km squared) of private conservation forest through rolling hills and valleys. You will be part of increasing the number of trials available on the property, which already connect to the Bruce Trail, a famous trail network that stretches over 1000km! There are also numerous conservation areas within a 15 minute drive, including Island Lake and Mono Cliffs Provincial Park.
We are a 15 minute drive outside of a small town called Orangeville, where you can grab a meal on a patio, visit a cafe, or go to a yoga class. You can buy all your basic necessities there, with a mix of small independent and larger commercial shops.
We are 1hour 15minutes north of the largest city in Canada -- Toronto! There are many amazing museums, restaurants, and activities to do there. Niagara Falls, one of largest waterfalls in the world, is also 1.5 hours away. There will be the opportunity to organize rides down to these areas on some weekends.
Other weekend group trips may be organized to the beaches of Lake Huron, to Bruce Peninsula National Park, or to other gems in the province... depends on the group desires :)
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We have lots of space for campervans and caravans, although no electrical/plumbing hookups.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
5 hours a day, 5 days a week
