Community ProgrammesExploring Community Life as a Working Guest | wwoof | volunteers Exploring Community Life as a Working Guest
This programme will allow you to experience community life for a while, for personal learning and growth or to become eligible to apply to become a member of our staff. According to your needs you can choose the full time or part time option, the latter gives more freedom to explore the surroundings and requires less work commitment. - Summer in Findhorn: July - August 2009 This summer we will reserve spaces in our best guest rooms for people who want to experiment the Findhorn wider community and the beauty of the area. During these months only the part time option is available at a reduced price (see price list in this page). - Be part of the Newbold House Family Newbold House is a small community that comprises of a core team of staff members and working guests and a voluntary group who regularly come and support us. With our open minds and hearts we welcome working guests of all traditions and religions who want to come here and join us on this programme. The Working Guest programme provides a unique opportunity for individuals from all walks of life and different cultures to come together within a small spiritual Community that has a very special dynamic energy of love and healing. The content of the programme creates a unique and intensive learning situation that gives the opportunity to raise an individuals awareness of their deeper connection to Spirit. The educational programme includes topics such as global climate change and other environmental issues that are high priority to the healing of the world we live in. Our programme is designed to enable people to reconnect with the deep love that is within and around us. From that ‘place’, they will be supported to offer service to Newbold House and extend their love and healing to the wider world. Each working day begins with a brief community meeting. Once a week we meet together for a sharing time and there are weekly educational sessions. You will be required to work in various areas:
kitchen, home care, garden or maintenance, etc. As for all residents here there
will be three or four times per week when you will be on kitchen clean-up. You may find yourself working with other people or on your own. - Connect to the Findhorn Wider Community Staying at Newbold House is also a big opportunity for an introduction to the Wider Findhorn Community of which we are a part. This wider Findhorn Community, started in 1962, is approximately 400 people living in different locations in the neighbourhood of Forres and Findhorn Village (north-East Scotland) These people share a common ground of spiritual and social values and keep alive a rich environment of activities and events. (See www.findhorn.com).
There will be some advice for exploring the area with a particular focus on the Findhorn wider community activities and places of interest. - The
Part time option: exploring the area According to your individuality you can choose to come as a full time or a part time working guest. In the full time option you will share the same work rhythm as the long term members of the community: 5 days a week for about 6/7 hours a day. As a part time working guest you will work either mornings or afternoons (depending on the needs of the house) for 6 days a week, having more freedom to explore the area and attend other activities, or simply to rest and rejuvenate. We will provide you with guidance to enjoy the amazing beauty and places of interest of the area (see www.newboldhouse.org/surrondings). - When the programme starts Working guests are accepted for a minimum of 1 week up to a maximum of 6 weeks. - Prices - Accommodation Our sleeping accommodation is varied. You may find yourself sleeping in a small caravan in the garden or one of our guest rooms sharing with other working guests of the same sex. - Requirements and Reviews This experience requires an interest in “service”, an ability to handle active physical work (in our kitchen, dining room, homecare, gardens, and maintenance departments), and to hold a sense of responsibility for the work done. It also requires an ability to relate and communicate well with others of diverse backgrounds, ages, languages and skills. The working guest programme is not a workshop run by trainers or a healing programme for addressing personal issues. We require that people coming are able to look after themselves at a physical, mental and emotional level. A Working Guest will have a review at the end of the second week to see if our relationship is working for you and us. - What happens after six weeks of Working Guest: co-workers and members At the end of six weeks working guests interested to stay here more may become co-workers following a successful review. Co-workers cooperate with the community in a work exchange programme (i.e. not paying and not being paid). A co-worker can remain in the community subject to periodical reviews. After 7 weeks a co-worker may also apply for steady staff. Please ask details on this at edu@newboldhouse.org since some limitations apply for the part time option. - How to subscribe to the programme If you are considering this option, please send an email (edu@newboldhouse.org) with a brief summary of yourself, your interests and skills, and state why you would like to experience community living, and to which work areas you could envisage yourself contributing. The WWOOF SchemeWWOOF an acronym for “world wide opportunities on organic farms”. Woofers are registered to the international organisation (www.wwoof.org) that keeps them informed of the farms, communities and working opportunities available to them. Woofers are limited in numbers (usually one or two) and accepted for a maximum of one week. We usually encourage wwoofers interested to deepen their relationship with us to join our working guest programme after their wwoofer week. Until October 2008 Woofers are only accepted if they commit to stay at least a second week in the full time working guest
programme. During the "Holidays at Findhorn" period (July and August 2008) woofers are not accepted. Regular non residential volunteersWe also deeply welcome volunteer help with our daily functioning, especially from volunteers who can regularly and consistently participate in the rhythms of our house. In return we offer teas/coffees during your working shifts as well as a free meal at the end. The arrival time for a working shift is 09:00 or 14:00. It is imperative to arrive on time so that someone can make sure your arrival and is well facilitated.For those who are able to offer us at least 4 weeks’ regular voluntary commitment, we’ll reward you with “education credits” as well as a free meal! The “Education Credits” system means that each 3-hour working shift is accorded a value of £10. On sufficient accumulation of credits, these can then be used as full or part-payment for any of the workshops or programmes offered at NewBold House. (Please note that these credits cannot be exchanged for programmes offered by the Findhorn Foundation programme.) Please let us know at the time of your enquiry, or arrival, that you wish to enter the Education Credits scheme, as this requires us to negotiate a voluntary commitment plan to make sure you earn the necessary number of credits in time for the programme of your choice. |
The value of belonging to the Newbold House
Family and to the Findhorn Wider Community by membership of the New Findhorn
Association (NFA) provides a unique experience for a healthy balance between
close and intense personal relationships in a small group and lighter stimulating
and rich connections with a lot of interesting people coming from all walks of
life and countries.
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