Training and Volunteer Work Period at Dharmalaya (6-25 April 2020)

What: Training and Volunteer Work Period

Topic: Earthen building, organic gardening, and permaculture landscaping

Where: Dharmalaya Institute in Bir, HP, India

When: 6-25 April 2020 (see below for details)

Language: English

Facilitators: Dharmalaya staff, including Anushka Joshi

Description: Volunteer work period, beginning with a six-day residential workshop to provide introductory hands-on training in some of the foundational skills of compassionate living as practiced at Dharmalaya Institute, including meditation, earthen building, organic gardening, and permaculture landscaping, followed by two weeks of volunteer work (which optionally can be extended for another one or two weeks if you wish, until as late as 9th May). The actual training activities will depend on weather and the needs on site at the time. There will be a two-week practicum after the initial training workshop to support participants to deepen your skills and understanding further through practice on site.

For details and registration, see this page

Sustainable Thriving Intensive Workshop (11-28 Jun 2019 @Dharmalaya)

Raising the Roof

What: Intensive workshop-retreat (residential)

Topic: Sustainable Thriving: principles and practices for better living, including permaculture, earthen building, and creative life design

When: 11-28 June 2019 (must attend from the start and stay for the duration), with an optional extended practicum afterward.

Language: English (with Hindi translation if requested)

Facilitators: Mark Moore and artisans from the Dharmalaya community

Description: An eighteen-day residential training workshop exploring key principles and practices of “sustainable thriving,” including voluntary simplicity, permaculture, earthen building, and creative life design. The first six days will provide initial training with hands-on workshops during the day and presentations/discussions in the evenings; the middle six days will be a practicum for improving skills and deepening understanding through morning and afternoon work sessions, while continuing our discussions and explorations in the evenings; and the final six days will be organized according to the needs on site and the interests of the group. For those desiring even more hands-on experience, there will be an optional extended practicum providing an opportunity to improve your skills and understanding further by working alongside our team of artisans. There will be group meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings, and opportunities to practice yoga or chi kung.

› What is ‘sustainable thriving’ and why should I care?
See this page for an introduction
.

For information and registration, see this page

Compassionate Living Intensive Workshop (15-26 Apr 2019 @Dharmalaya)

What: Intensive workshop-retreat (residential)

Topic: Designing a life of compassion in action, integrating personal and professional development with a lifestyle of sustainable thriving

When: 15-26 April 2019 (must attend from the start and stay for the duration)

Language: English (with Hindi translation if requested)

Facilitators: Mark Moore and other members of the Dharmalaya faculty and community

Description: Twelve-day residential workshop-retreat focused on creating a more compassionate life, through opening the heart, informing the mind, developing our innate qualities of sensitivity and compassion, and putting that compassion into practice by reducing our harm footprints and increasing our help footprints in all spheres of life. The primary emphasis in this programme is on identifying areas of our lives where we need to change and grow in order to become more compassionate citizens of the world and more effective agents of positive change.

For more details and the application form, see the Dharmalaya Institute’s website.

Vernacular Eco-architecture Workshop (15-29 Oct 2015 @Dharmalaya)

What: Intensive Service-Learning Workshop in the Vernacular Eco-architecture of the Himalayas
Activities: Hands-on training in earthen architecture
When: 15-29 October 2015 (must attend from the start)
WhereDharmalaya Institute, Bir (Ghornala)
Languages: English (with Hindi translation if requested)
Facilitators: Dharmalaya faculty and artisans, e.g. Mark Moore, et al.

DharmalayaDescription: Residential service-learning programme at the Dharmalaya Institute with hands-on training in earthen building and more. Learn to build eco-friendly structures in the neo-traditional Kangra style of esteemed eco-architect Didi Contractor, while contemplating our relationship with nature and the values of sustainable and compassionate living.

› What is Vernacular Eco-Architecture? See this page for an introduction.

After the introductions, orientation, and general overview of the programme, we will get straight to work doing various hands-on projects around the Dharmalaya campus, including work on several earthen structures that are in various stages of construction. The two main focal points during this programme will be raising the walls of a new earthen structure while doing some finishing work on another. The work will include adobe and other earthen techniques, and may also include stone, bamboo and slate, as well as mud plaster, landscape architecture, and possibly other activities. We will also have theory discussions and other presentations and explorations. If circumstances allow, we may also have a small participatory design process (depending on the needs on site at the time).

For information and registration, see dharmalaya.in/events/2015/3/29/vernacular-eco-architecture-workshop-15-29-oct-2015.html

Earthen Building Workshop (22-27 June @ Dharmalaya)

DharmalayaWhat: Intensive service-learning workshop
Topic: Earthen building methods & techniques
WhereDharmalaya Institute in Bir, HP, India
When: 22-27 June 2015 (must attend from the beginning)
Language: English (with Hindi translation if needed)
Facilitators: Mark Moore, Sidney Rosario, et al.

Description: Week-long, residential service-learning programme at the Dharmalaya Institute providing hands-on training in traditional, eco-friendly earthen building techniques of the Himalayas. Learn by doing, in the real-world context of helping to build a few new structures on the Dharmalaya campus. Activities will depend on the needs on site (and the weather), but are likely to include earthen renders (mud plasters), foundations and plinth, stonework, and possibly other methods and techniques of earthen building.

› What is Vernacular Eco-Architecture? See this page for an introduction.

After introductions, orientation, and general overview of the programme, we will get straight to work doing various hands-on projects around the Dharmalaya campus, including work on several earthen structures that are in various stages of construction. The main focus during this programme will be on plastering and weatherproofing our newest buildings so they will be protected from the rains. The work might include mud plasters, foundation work, stonework, and possibly other techniques. We may do some water flow management as well, in preparation for the coming rainy season.

Workshops and groups sessions may include the following (depending on weather and the needs of the site):

  • Hands-on education in traditional earthen building methods of the Himalayas
    • Earthen renders (mud plasters)
    • Foundation and plinth work
    • Other natural building materials and methods (e.g. stone, bamboo, wood, etc.)
  • Natural landscaping and water management

What to expect:

  • Practical, hands-on training focus (no theory classes in this workshop).
  • Opportunities to learn traditional methods by working alongside village artisans.
  • You will be working with your hands and body for approximately six hours per day on most days of the programme, so it is recommended to be in reasonably good physical fitness when you arrive, and to bring work clothes.
  • Beautiful, rustic, village setting with a simple lifestyle.

For more information see dharmalaya.in/events/2015/3/25/earthen-building-workshop-22-27-jun-2015.html

Tuning Fork Film Workshop (13-18 June @ Deer Park)

What: TUNING FORK FILM WORKSHOP
When: 13-18 June 2015
Where: Deer Park Institute, Bir
Who: THE HIMALAYAN FILM SCHOOL and Deer Park Institute

Bring out the storyteller in you, learn to make films in the mountains

Watch Films | Tell stories | Have fun

Learn to shoot on DSLRs

Edit on professional software

Script – Shoot – Edit & Export

leave the workshop with YOUR OWN FILM

Ankit Pogula – 9810146679

Shreya Kakria – 9717066975

tuningforkfilms@gmail.com

www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/himalayan-film-school-3

Sustainable Living Retreat (26 Nov – 6 Dec @ Dharmalaya)

2012 work retreat

What: Residential Retreat and Service-Learning Workshop
Topic: Sustainable Living in the Himalayas
Where: Dharmalaya Institute in HP, India
When: 26 November – 6 December 2014
Language: English (and Hindi if requested)
Facilitators: Mark Moore, Sourabh Phadke, et al.

Description: A ten-day inner/outer adventure in sustainable and compassionate living, providing opportunities for hands-on learning of various skills and concepts related to traditional earthen building, organic gardening, and natural landscaping, integrated with mindfulness, meditation and other inner explorations.

Workshops and groups sessions may include the following:

  • Hands-on education in traditional earthen architecture of the Himalayas
  • Natural landscaping and organic gardening
  • Meditation and yoga/chi kung (morning/evening sessions)

Cost: Rs 1200 per day (Rs 12,000 total) including comfortable tent/dormitory accommodation and healthy meals.

Information & Registration
For details and registration, visit the Dharmalaya Institute’s website.

Volunteer & Learn: Sustainable Living in the Himalayas (1-30 Nov)

What: Informal volunteer and service-learning programme

Topic: Sustainable living in the Himalayas, including green building, organic gardening, and natural landscaping

When: 1-30 November, 2013 (Participants may arrive and depart anytime in this period)

Where: Dharmalaya Institute, Dhanaari Hill, Ghornala Village, Bir

Languages: English & Hindi

Facilitators: Mark Moore, Raj Kumar (‘Raju’), Naresh Sharma, et al

raising the roofDescription: Informal, semi-structured programme at the Dharmalaya Institute open to both residential and non-residential participants. We will be doing fun, physical work, including green building, organic gardening, tree planting, and more. There will be plenty of opportunities for learning, application, questions, and relaxation (we can also offer an optional meditation programme for those who are interested, at least through 30 November, and possibly later). Feel free to come and go anytime in November 2013 (and you can stay even longer if you wish to participate in our Open Volunteer Programme).

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

Three Treasures: Body, Speech & Mind in the Art (19-20 May)

What: Art workshop
When: 19-20 May, 2012
Where: Deer Park Institute
Who: Andrew Schelling and Rebecca Eland

Three Treasures : Body, Speech and Mind in the Art

A workshop celebrating what’s known in Zen as beginner’s mind, allowing art to be shaped and informed by the immediate environment and the quality of open awareness. Participants will work with movement, dance, and poetry, cultivating avant-garde practices that have roots in traditions of yoga and Buddhist discipline. What sort of movement &what sort of  poetry discipline will reveal the profound interconnection of landscape, event, and one’s own mind? There will be two sessions a day, with sample time for reflection and writing.

The workshop will end with a group performance.

Facilitators:

Rebecca Eland is a dancer and poet from Boulder, Colorado.

Andrew Schelling is a poet and translator of Sanskrit and bhakti poetry, also from Boulder, Colorado. Both artists are from Naropa University.

For more information: http://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/three-treasures-body-speech-and-mind-in-the-2/

Tuning Fork Film Workshop (24-29 April @ Deer Park)

What: Film workshop

When: 24-29 April, 2012

Where: Deer Park Institute

Who: Ankit Pogula and Sachi Maniar

Description: Tuning Fork Film Workshops are about learning how to make films with minimum resources, how to get creative in filmmaking and above all how to evaluate the relevance of what one wants to convey through this powerful and captivating medium.

During the course of the workshop, through different exercises and activities participants will learn to script, storyboard, shoot, edit and finally export one’s ‘own’ film. It is a process that involves creativity, teamwork and self-reflection.

For more informationhttp://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/tuning-fork-film-workshop/