faq: Cultural Volunteer

We are often asked if people can bring their personal projects, such as workshops, teachings, performances, or cultural offerings, in exchange for not contributing financially. While we deeply value the creativity, skills, and passions that everyone brings, this can not replace the basic economic contribution.

The essence of our project is to provide an environment for communal exploration and temporary living. Contributions are necessary to sustain this environment: maintaining spaces, providing equipment, periodic deep cleaning, cultivating gardens, supporting local farmers, and covering many other practical needs. These costs exist regardless of individual talents or offerings.

Therefore, if you do not contribute financially, you would need to support these basic needs in other direct ways, by helping reduce the workload or taking on essential tasks that otherwise create costs for the community.

It is also important to understand that, apart from specific programmed events, we do not charge for facilitation or cultural activities. What we invite you into is a co-created community space, where everyone shares their gifts and together we create a rich and nourishing experience. If we treated this as a paid “program,” prices would need to be much higher. Instead, we sustain a model that makes longer stays possible, so that we can go deeper together over time rather than focusing on short, expensive retreats. We also keep our contributions highly flexible so people from many different backgrounds can join.

That said, if you wish to charge others for your offerings, you are welcome to do so. This is entirely your initiative and responsibility. We do not take a share, and we also do not involve ourselves in monetizing your skills, not even to cover your food or your basic contribution toward the shared environment.

We also encourage and support Heart Crew members to organize their own events, individually or in collaboration, and to charge an event fee if they wish. Great ideas include celebrations, gatherings, workshops, or teachings that harmonize with our natural environment and the needs of the community living here. We do not expect any share of the income generated, apart from the basic contribution that every participant pays for enjoying the environment, except in cases where members of our team are actively involved in the event.

In summary: You are warmly invited to bring all your skills and passions. At the same time, independent of what you contribute culturally, everyone is expected to support the provision of our shared paradise, either financially or through essential work.

FAQ: I still don’t understand.
Ok, let’s put it another way: Our job is to provide the environment. This involves both costs and ongoing work. Everyone contributes financially to help cover these shared needs. Now, if instead of contributing money you prefer to offer yoga classes, how do we cover the basic requirements of maintaining the environment with your yoga classes?

Here an overview of tasks covered communally as natural part of living together vs. work exchange tasks