Form part of our vibrant community of yogis, participating in work as meditation and service. Receive trainings in community living, take part in our yoga classes and make friends for life.
COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Grow through service
Being a karma yogi (volunteer) at Shambala can be one of the most enriching experiences of your life and is the backbone to Shambala Gatherings. We come together as a community in selfless service, bringing awareness to work in a playful way, and watch each other grow along the way. We are looking for volunteers from all walks of life, different ages and backgrounds. We’re asking for a minimum of 22 years old to apply as a volunteer, with abundant energy. Please note that if you are in a vulnerable, tired place in your life, it is better to apply as a part-time volunteer or as a guest.
Make friends for life
You will start your volunteering with us, with a short training on how to relate to each other in a loving and conscious way. We empower a loving-kindness connection within our volunteers. At the same time, we invite you to abstain from entering a new romantic relationship whilst at Shambala and harness the energy to cultivate a different kind of intimacy with the group, with life and with yourself.
Be Yourself
We would like our volunteers to engage in that which makes them shine and thrive. For this reason, we have different roles you can apply for(read below). There are two ways in which you can participate as a volunteer. As a full time volunteer, you will engage in 5 hours per day of volunteer work and 1 day off per week. As a part-time volunteer, you engage in 2,5 hours of volunteer work per day, with 1 day off per week. Do you wish to learn to cook from the best? then apply for our kitchen apprentice role!
Live in nature
For your volunteer accommodation, we have a choice of a separate for 3, or a single Soulpad tent with a bed, bedding, electricity and heating, or in our dorm room of 3-4 beds. The kitchen apprentice stays in a caravan. All accommodation has shared bathroom. Our volunteers eat from our delicious vegan food buffet 3 times per day.
During the winter months, all accommodation is shared.
Deepen your yoga practice
As part of your exchange program, you will participate in a minimum of 3 yoga classes per week. There will also be opportunities for you to share your practice with others. You will participate in sharing circles, evening sauna sessions, forest walks and music/chanting sessions led by other volunteers.
Why do we charge?
With the exception of some of the roles (kitchen apprentice, cleaning leader and handy), Shambala charges a small fee of 65kr per day for full time-volunteering and 250kr per day for part time volunteering. We invest this small fee in the smooth running of the volunteer team and in improving the installations of our community.
* Please let us know if you have difficulties paying this fee, and we will do our best to support you *.
Please find below how we aim at investing this fee:
– Individual accommodation in Soulpads:
During the high season, those that wish, can choose to stay in Soulpad tents and have an individual accommodation in a quiet area of the centre, overlooking the lake. These Soulpads have beds, electricity and heating and it’s a wonderful way to be closed to nature, with dips in the lake and close to our floating sauna. Soulpads can be used from May to end of October. In other months, accommodation is always indoor in shared rooms.
– Paid Volunteer Leader to ensure the smooth running of the volunteer team:
During the high season, with the profits earned from this small daily fee, Shambala employs a volunteer leader that ensures the guidance, support, inspiration and emotional support of the volunteer community throughout their stay.
-Training on community living:
On arrival at Shambala, you will receive a 2-day training on community living, where you will learn topics such as conscious communication, the art of listening and other topics on conscious community living.
– Participation in international retreats:
As a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to participate on some of the retreat classes of great international teachers (please note that some of these classes will be in Swedish).
– Dedicated volunteer space for practice:
We have invested on a beautiful Yurt, located near the lake, as a sacred space for our volunteers. Here, the volunteer leader will provide classes and gatherings. The volunteers themselves will also have the opportunity to share their practices with each other.
– Daily sauna:
As a volunteer, you will enjoy daily sauna sessions, sometimes with retreat participants, and sometimes with the community only. These saunas are often the highlight of our day, with dips in the lake and sun bathing.
We trust that these investments make your daily fee payment worth it!
FULL-TIME VOLUNTEERS:
Volunteers are welcome to stay for a maximum of 2 slots.
Please apply to one of the roles below. Please note in the role description below that some roles are paid, and others are not.
Spring/Summer 2023 Dates (HIGH SEASON):
Slot 1:
Arrival: 23 April ’23
Depart: 25 May ’23
Duration: 4,5 weeks
Cost: FREE OF CHARGE
Slot 2:
Arrival: 21 May ’23
Depart: 5 July ’23
Duration: 6,5 weeks
Cost: 2900 sek
Slot 3:
Arrival: 2 July ’23
Depart: 30 Aug ’23
Duration: 8,5 weeks
Cost: 3900 sek
Slot 4:
Arrival: 27 Aug ’23
Depart: 11 Oct ’23
Duration: 6,5 weeks
Cost: 2100 sek
Autumn/Winter 2023-2024 Dates (LOW SEASON):
Slot 1:
Arrival: 8th Oct ’23
Depart: 30 Nov ’23
Duration: 7,5 weeks
Cost: 3400 sek
Spring/Summer 2024 Dates (HIGH SEASON):
Slot 1:
Arrival: 14 April ’24
Depart: 12 June ’24
Duration: 8,5 weeks
Cost: 3900 sek
Slot 2:
Arrival: 9 June ’24
Depart: 14 August ’24
Duration: 9,5 weeks
Cost: 4300 sek
Slot 3:
Arrival: 11 August ’24
Depart: 13 October “24
Duration: 9 weeks
Cost: 4100kr
Managing Assistant
During the winter months only, our manager needs a right hand person to run the centre. This opportunity is ideal if you would like to learn how to run a retreat centre, and you will be included in tasks such as volunteer task scheduling, running team meetings, and handling guests and teachers. This role is FREE of charge. You will have your own accommodation in our peaceful Nature Hut.
Kitchen Apprentice
Ideal for those that are passionate about cooking, already have some valuable skills in the kitchen, and wish to learn the ropes from the main chef. Taking on this role is FREE of charge. You will enjoy 1,5 days off per week. Accommodation is in your own cozy van with its own heating and electricity.
Full-time kitchen assistant
In this role, you will work alongside our chef and kitchen apprentice. The chef sets the menu and distributes the work. We’re looking for people who love to cook, we enjoy team-work, and love the fast-paced, dynamic and creative nature of being in the kitchen.
Cleaning & Beautifying Leader
We have one opening for a team leader of the beautifying crew. You’ll be in the team and also have some time set aside for the birds-eye view, leading team meetings and ensuring that your team has all its needs to fulfil their tasks optimally. This role is FREE of charge.
Full-time cleaning & beautifying volunteer
If you have an eye for cleanliness and you enjoy making spaces feel and look beautiful, then this is your team. This role also includes clean up after meals. Are you a highly creative individual who has a great eye for details and love to beautify? Please specify this in your application, as we have one role within this team that is mainly involved in beautifying.
Half kitchen / half cleaning volunteer
If you enjoy beautifying, cleaning and cooking, and you want to have a more flexible role to experience all aspects of Shambala, you can apply for the kitchen and beautifying role. You will alternate weekly between the kitchen and the cleaning team.
Maintenance handy & outdoor carer
Under the supervision of one of our managers, you will be doing some maintenance jobs, such as fixing fuses, light bulbs, easy plumbing and electrical jobs, etc. This role is ideal for those that love being outdoors and who have some knowledge of handy work. This role is FREE of charge. We prioritise those that can already arrive on the 16th April.
Special projects handy
We need an experienced builder to help us renovate some buildings. You will work alongside others. As this role requires specific skills, such as carpentering or building, this role is FREE of charge. We prioritise those that can already arrive on the 16th April.
Media content creator & marketing assistant
We need a content maker that loves taking pictures and video, as well as to assist our marketing manager on easy jobs on our social media. We will prioritise those that have a professional equipment with them (camera, videocamera, etc). You will need to bring your laptop with you. This role might involve other tasks such as kitchen and cleaning shifts.
PART-TIME VOLUNTEERS:
Part-Time volunteers pay 250kr per night and work only 2,5 hours per day, with one day off per week. Their tasks typically involve helping out with cleaning, cooking and beautifying. These tasks will alternate weekly. You are welcome to apply for more than 1 period below. Please contact us if your dates don’t match any of our slots and we will try to accommodate you.
Spring/Summer 2023 periods:
Period 6: 2nd July to 24th July (22 nights, 5500kr)
Period 7: 24th July to 14th August (21 nights, 5250kr)
Period 8: 14th August to 27th August (14 nights, 3500kr)
Period 9: 27th August to 18th September (22 nights, 5500kr)
Period 10: 18th September to 8th October (20 nights, 5000kr)
Autumn/Winter 2023-2024 periods:
Period. 1: 8th October to 25th October (15 nights, 4250kr)
Period 2: 25th October to 13th November (19 nights, 4750kr)
Spring/Summer 2024 periods:
Period 1: 14 – 30 April (16 nights, 4000kr)
Period 2: 1 – 15 May (14 nights, 3500kr)
Period 3: 16 – 29 May (13 nights, 3200kr)
Period 4: 9 – 24 June (15 nights, 3700kr)
Period 5: 24 June – 14 July (20 nights, 5000kr)
Period 6: 14 – 29 July (15 nights, 3700kr)
Period 7: 29 July – 11 August (13 nights, 3300kr)
Period 8: 11 – 27 August (16 nights, 4000kr)
Period 9: 28 August – 17 September (20 nights, 5000kr)
Period 10: 18 September to 6 October (18 nights, 4500kr)
We would love to hear from YOU!
Please fill out this, and you will soon hear from us:
We’re looking forwards to meeting you and spending a transformative summer with you!