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10/08/2020
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*** NOTE: We are currently looking for short-term Workawayers who can help us anytime this summer and fall for periods of 1-4 weeks. Longer stays are negotiable for the right fit. Read on for details. ***
This is your chance to get involved with a unique, volunteer-driven eco-retreat and education centre operated by the New Earth Institute (NEI) on beautiful Bowen Island, in British Columbia's lower mainland, very near Vancouver. You will be joining a community of people who are converting a beautiful lakeside home that borders a protected forested park into a community gathering place for social and environmental leaders exploring how inner work and outer transformation interact. Joining this project means joining a wider community of people from Bowen and beyond who are exploring these topics.
The NEI mission is to harness the power of small collectives/communities of change makers to awaken culture for the benefit of the earth and our collective journey. To hold the transformational culture that is emerging, we need new structures and centres around the world that function as a kind of grid that is connected by common principles. We want to build a grid of 100,000 "points of light." This requires a new model for learning (educating hearts and minds!), organizing, and collaborating.
If this sounds exciting to you, please apply to join us this fall! We are looking for diverse skills to help us manifest our dream through fields as diverse as strategic and business planning, video editing, marketing, grant writing, blogging, vlogging, website design, and outreach. You may also be involved in the more "dirty" work of supporting us to further refine the house as a space for gathering. The house you would be staying in is currently being transitioned to one that can be off-grid and a model of sustainability. It's great if you are enthusiastic about gardening, (light) building/renno work, cleaning and design. This is a volunteer driven and run project, and we need as many hands as we can to make this happen.
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Charity work
Art project
Help with Computers / internet
This is such a totally unique opportunity to come to a beautiful place in coastal BC, close to Vancouver but a world away in terms of feeling. This position is best suited to a traveller who would appreciate a retreat-like environment. There will be times when there are many people in the home helping with rennos and gardening etc., and other times when you have the space to yourself. You will interact with and get direction from us, and you will also get to hang with a pretty sweet group of little ones that tag along with us everywhere. We will invite you to beach dinners and night swimming in the summer months, and potlucks and games nights with friends during the rainy season. You will have as little or as much social interaction with us and our community as you like!
This is a great opportunity for people who care about community, connection, personal development, spiritualty, and who want to be of benefit in the world. You will be surrounded by many others who are excited to explore the ways in which small groups of people can make a difference in the world.
THIS SUMMER, we are looking for one or two Workawayers who can commit to a minimum stay of 2-4 weeks or longer to help with projects around the house. For this work, we are looking for people with a lot of initiative, who are passionate about sustainability, design, getting hands dirty in the gardens, and more. There is much to do, and you will be part of small team of volunteers who are helping us to create this space for awakened agency. On a day to day basis this summer, we will need help with cleaning and some basic renovations to the house. Other work might include gardening, light carpentry (if you have this skill), painting, sign making, trail restoration work, and more. There is SO MUCH room for creativity, and so we will welcome your initiative, vision, and skills!
THIS FALL AND WINTER, we will be launching the centre as a headquarters for the educational and global community building work, and we will be looking for Workawayer's who are passionate about cultural transformation, human rights, environmental sustainability, grounded spirituality as a force for awakened agency in the world, health and wellbeing, and more. We will need people with diverse skills—e.g., strategic and business planning, video editing, marketing, grant writing, blogging, vlogging, website design, and outreach. We can share details about the projects we are launching if you inquire for details. Ideally we would find people who are interested in living in community in a beautiful large lakeside home to support the core founding team that is leading this work. The home would be occupied by Workawayer's and university students and interns who are contributing energy to this project, and so this will be an opportunity for you to taste community living and working with others. We are seeking people who would like to stay for 2-4 months or longer for this work.
Regardless of when you come, we really respect your time and energy and so will make it a priority to develop a schedule with you that works. While there may be some daily tasks, most things can be completed flexibly and so you will be able to take charge of your schedule/time. You will have plenty of days off and lots of time every day to explore our beautiful island, its forested trails, hidden beaches, as well as Vancouver and the wider world of the lower mainland and coastal mountains, which are all very near.
Czech: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Hebrew: Fluent
The house is in the forested hills of Bowen Island, overlooking Killarney Lake. It is a magificant, large home that is shared by others. You will have your own private bedroom on the upper level of the main house, or if you come as a couple, you will share a room. There are enough beds in the room for up to four couples or individuals to visit. The house is uniquely situated along one of the most beautiful trails on Bowen Island—a 1.5h lake look that joins many other trails that criss-cross the island. You can walk to the cove, where the ferry comes to the island, entirely along forested trails in approximately 40 minutes, or you could get there on mostly flat trails on a bike in 15 minutes.
You will likely need to cook your own meals (though shared cooking and meals could be negotiated with the other members in the house). We will have a box of local fresh veggies and grocery items delivered to the house weekly for our WorkAway guests, and you can have a say in what should be included so that nothing goes to waste. Sometimes we will have shared community meals, to which you can contribute by cooking or joining in the efforts!
Bowen Island is a really special place. A lot of people say this about the places they live, but we really, really say it emphatically in this case. It is only 60 minutes by bus and ferry from downtown Vancouver, but a WORLD away in terms of the feeling. The house is situated right above Killarney Lake in Crippen Park, which is huge and has many interconnected trails that start right in Snug Cove—the main hub on the island, where the ferry comes in. There are independent coffee shops, galleries, cafes, restaurants, an organic grocery store, organic food coops (family/volunteer run), local agriculture, amazing forests and beaches. It really is a little paradise/God realm. It's a fantastic place to come with kids, as there are more kids per capita here than anywhere in Canada!! There is a strong emphasis placed on community on our little island, and so you will find people to be really approachable and friendly. There are so many wonderful trails and beaches to explore, and you can network with other Workawayers on the island easily through a Facebook group. This location is a great jumping off point for people who want a more quiet place from which to explore the BC coastal regions. It is close to the city so you can go in and enjoy that buzz easily, but you'd LIVE in a place that is super chill, beautiful, and abundant with natural beauty. We are excited to welcome you into this special little community, and feel confident that people who come will love it.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
