What: Informal, minimally-structured volunteer opportunities

Activities: Earthen building, organic gardening, and natural landscaping

When: 8 December 2014 through 6 March 2015 (Volunteers may arrive and depart anytime during this period)

Where: Dharmalaya Institute

Languages: English & Hindi

Facilitators: Various (Raju, Shekar, Sourabh, et al.)

Description: Informal volunteer opportunities at the Dharmalaya Institute open to both residential and non-residential participants. During this period, there is no structured educational or training programme as such, but there is plenty of physical work to do — including earthen building (adobe, bamboo, etc.), organic gardening, natural landscaping and possibly some tree planting — and Dharmalaya is a beautiful place to get your hands dirty and learn about green living and Himalayan culture in the process.

Since there is no formal instruction during this period and there is no organised programme, one simply jumps in and does whatever needs doing on a given day, learning by watching others and then doing it yourself. In such an unstructured or loosely guided situation, sometimes one needs to ask for help if one needs it, so a certain degree of self-motivation and initiative makes for the best experience. It also helps to bring a healthy sense of flexibility, since the work to be done might vary from one day to the next, depending on circumstances. If that appeals to you, you’re welcome to come and go anytime during this period.

For more information see Dharmalaya’s volunteer page, read the FAQ, and then complete the volunteer application if you’re interesting in volunteering.