Short-term (2 to 4 weeks) "festival" projects in United Kingdom

Buddhafield (www.buddhafield.com ) is an English Buddhist collective that is part of the international Buddhist movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community (http://thebuddhistcentre.com). Buddhafield emerged out of the coming together of Buddhism and ecological awareness in the 1990s. Buddhafield is inspired by the ideal of living and working more simply and kindly in a community informed by awareness of our interconnections with each other and with nature. We run a programme of camping activities in the South West of England and own two beautiful pieces of land, which we are committed to managing sustainably and which we use for several events each year (not the Festival itself). We are perhaps best known for organising the much-loved Buddhafield Festival , now in its 17th year, and for the Buddhafield Café, which provides vegan food at festivals like the Glastonbury Festival.

The Buddhafield Festival is held over a period of five days, on a beautiful site in the Blackdown Hills, in Somerset, England. The event brings together around three thousand people for a sharing and celebration of alternative social, cultural, political and spiritual values. The mix of activities around Buddhist, environmental, healing and social change themes together with general festival attractions such as singing, dance, yoga, drumming, live music, comedy, craftwork, chai cafes, saunas, hot tubs and a huge range of activities for children, attracts a wide range of festival goers. The feedback we get is that for many the event is a reminder that a more positive and kind alternative to conventional competitive and environmentally damaging ways of living is possible. In keeping with the Festival's Buddhist ethos the event is a drug and alcohol-free zone.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjusbjWLWq8

Needless to say, in order for the Festival to be a life-enhancing and indeed for some a life-transforming experience, much hard work is required. From the day we arrive in an empty field with a small vanguard, our numbers gradually swell until we have around eight hundred volunteers welcoming the two thousand visitors. The set-up crew erect the structures that will act as kitchens and venues. They establish the infrastructure such as plumbing, compost toilets, showers and saunas. They make the site beautiful and safe with flags, bunting, paths, fences and lighting. Then during the Festival we have stewards to welcome and guide festival goers, to manage parking and traffic and to attend to people's well-being. Toilet wizards maintain the compost toilets. A team of recyclers sorts materials so as to minimize landfill. The café crew feed volunteers and festival goers alike. The site crew look after the infrastructure, tents, water etc. During the setup phase volunteers will get one day off and during the festival two or three days either as full days or half days, depending on the needs of the particular area.

VAP volunteers can choose from one of a number of areas of work during the five days of the Festival itself (July 12th - Sunday July 16th) for example: the Dharma Parlour, the Buddhafield cafe, site crew, recycling and ‘toilet wizards’. In addition we have an ambitious ‘barefoot journalism’ project we’d like to invite the VAP volunteers to take part in - see below for more details. The Dharma Parlour is the area of the Festival where there is a daily programme of Buddhist talks and discussions - the work here will be keeping the area beautiful and welcoming.

In the ‘barefoot journalism’ project we will ask those volunteers who want to (and we hope it will be most of them!) , to go out into the festival and find people to interview about specific questions eg “what is Buddhafield?”, “what is meditation?” “what is Buddhism”, etc and then ‘report back’ by speaking live to camera for one or two minutes in their native language – we’d record them on video and that way quickly produce a series of short informal multi-language videos. If people are happy with them we’d post them on YouTube and add them to our multi-language ‘Anybody Anywhere’ internet project.

During the Festival the volunteers will have work shifts, but will also have time to enjoy the huge variety of events taking place and facilities available as outlined above. Volunteers are asked to attend daily morning meetings, the exact time depending on what area of work they choose to join. The work is very team-based. The whole enterprise runs on goodwill, awareness of each others’ needs, good communication and mutual support. During set-up and take-down there will be organised events around Buddhist themes, attendance at which is completely voluntary. There are generally also alternatives such as spontaneous musical gatherings, often around a fire.

If possible volunteers should provide their own tents, however if necessary Buddhafield should be able to provide a shared canvas structure (e.g. a geodesic dome) as an on-site communal camping accommodation. However this may be needed for workshops during the day, especially during the Festival itself. Volunteers should bring their own sleeping gear such as sleeping bag and sleeping mat. Buddhafield will provide food (mainly vegan) and hot drinks are available throughout the day.

The Festival site is in remote countryside, with only two buses per day going near the site. The nearest town is Taunton in Somerset which has good trains to London. Once on site it take a long time to leave and go shopping etc. We are therefore asking all VAP volunteers to arrive in time to travel up to the site together on July 5th. A member of the Buddhafield team will meet people at the train station and help them get to the site. We recommend arriving in Taunton by about 4.30pm to make sure you meet the Buddhafield crew member and to catch the bus in good time!

The nearest station is Taunton. Journeys take about 2 hours from London or Birmingham, 1 hour from Bristol and 30 minutes from Exeter. Book via http://www.thetrainline.com/

Taunton is about 4 hours from London and 1 hour from Bristol. National Express run regular services to Taunton. See www.nationalexpress.com.

Once in Taunton there are two buses per day which can drop you within 5 minutes walk of the Festival site. The bus stops are about 15 minutes walk from Taunton station and five minutes from the coach station.

Volunteers will be asked to pay a fee of £80 GBP upon arrival. VAP charges this fee as without it we would be virtually unable to organise any projects in the UK.

Volunteers applying should write a motivation letter explaining their reasons to apply to this specific project.

The One World Festival is a truly magical mid-summer event. Individuals and families come together from all over the world to share in a unique atmosphere of rest and activity, fun and freedom, challenge and adventure. The One World Festival presents over 200 workshops and lectures throughout the week, with separate activity programs for teens and children of all age groups. All teachers are dedicated and experienced in a range of therapies, natural movement and dance forms, exercise for physical and spiritual development, holistic health, arts, crafts and sports, as well as in specialist areas such as Natural Cookery.

//oneworldcamp.com/

One World Provides 3 meals a day for guests and staff. It is a macrobiotic menu with alternative servings available for children. The catering team lovingly prepares the food, carefully serves the guests and diligently resets the dining area. Angela and Venu, our resident Italian Chefs, have a combined 40 years’ experience providing nutritious meat free dishes. Catering experience isn’t necessary as training will be provided on the job, and teams will be supervised by one of our head chefs at all times.

Volunteers will be expected to work 6 hours a day in a shift pattern.

The catering team has a flexible shift pattern that allows volunteers to participate in the festival's workshops and activates. We appreciate that some people will prefer early morning yoga to late night bands and we try to accommodate all requests for working times in order to allow the volunteers to experience as much of the festival as possible.

Camping. One World does supply tents however we strongly encourage volunteers to bring their own. Our tents are for 2 or more people and volunteers are expected to share. Please bring warm sleeping bags and a sleeping mat. There are toilets, hot showers and hand basins. Food is vegetarian and is supplied free of charge x 3 meals a day.

Brymore academy, Cannington, Somerset.

From Bristol airport you should take the train to Bridgwater and a bus to Cannington. If you travel from London you should take the train to Bridgwater from Paddington station and afterwards the bus to Cannington.

£80 GBP to be paid upon arrival. VAP charges this fee as without it we would be virtually unable to organise any projects in the UK.

Buddhafield (www.buddhafield.com) is an English Buddhist collective that is part of the international Buddhist movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community (http://thebuddhistcentre.com). Buddhafield emerged out of the coming together of Buddhism and ecological awareness in the 1990s. Buddhafield is inspired by the ideal of living and working more simply and kindly in a community informed by awareness of our interconnections with each other and with nature. Buddhafield runs a programme of camping activities in England and owns two beautiful pieces of land, which they are committed to managing sustainably and which they use for several events each year.

Buddhafield's Green Earth Awakening Camp is held over a period of five days, on a beautiful site in the Blackdown Hills, in Somerset, England. The event brings together Buddhists, activists and environmentalists for celebration, joy, and exploring how we might live more in harmony with each other and the environment. There will be workshops, talks, music, crafts, traditional skills and dance. There will also be meditation, environmental discussion, healing area and social change themes together with general festival attractions such as singing, dance, yoga, drumming, live music, saunas, hot tubs and forest school activities for children. The event is for 500 people. The feedback we get is that for many the event is a reminder that a more positive and compassionate alternative to conventional competitive and environmentally damaging ways of living is possible. In keeping with the Camp's Buddhist ethos the event is a drug and alcohol-free zone.

Volunteers will be assisting in setting up the event working in teams with experienced people. Helping put up tents and other structures, decorate and make the site beautiful. Alternatively people might work in the café team helping with the catering or other manual jobs around the site or a variety of task. The event itself will take place from 20th to 24th September. During the camp, volunteers can help in the café and cooking teams or site crew or aid with recycling and after the event help with sorting and collecting recycling and taking the camp down.
The work is very team-based. The whole enterprise runs on goodwill, awareness of each others' needs, good communication and mutual support. During set-up and take-down there will be organised events around Buddhist themes, attendance at which is completely voluntary. There are generally also alternatives such as spontaneous musical gatherings, often around a fire.

Buddhafield will provide food (vegan) and hot drinks are available throughout the day. Volunteers should provide their own tents and their own sleeping gear such as sleeping bag and sleeping mat.

The site is in remote countryside, with only two buses per day going near the site. The nearest town is Taunton in Somerset which has good trains to London. Once on site it takes a long time to leave and go shopping etc. We are therefore asking all VAP volunteers to arrive in time to travel up to the site together on Sept 13th. A member of the Buddhafield team will meet people at the train station and help them get to the site. We recommend arriving in Taunton by about 4.30pm to make sure you meet the Buddhafield crew member and to catch the bus in good time!

The nearest station is Taunton. Journeys take about 2 hours from London or Birmingham, 1 hour from Bristol and 30 minutes from Exeter. Book via http://www.thetrainline.com/

Taunton is about 4 hours from London and 1 hour from Bristol. National Express run regular services to Taunton. See www.nationalexpress.com.

Once in Taunton there are two buses per day which can drop you within 5 minutes walk of the Festival site. The bus stops are about 15 minutes walk from Taunton station and five minutes from the coach station.

Volunteers will be asked to pay a fee of £80 GBP upon arrival. VAP charges this fee as without it we would be virtually unable to organise any projects in the UK.

Volunteers applying should write a motivation letter explaining their reasons to apply to this specific project.