Work Study Service Team for the Shamanic Permaculture Design Course

This is a special Work Study Service session open for those inspired to come and support behind the scenes for the Shamanic Permaculture Design Certificate Course.

During this time, the first priority of all service participants will be to support the needs of the course. This includes but is not limited to, working in the kitchen, cleaning, and being available to support facilitators’ and retreat participants’ needs. Service participants will have the opportunity to be in the energy field of the retreat group and will be included in some of the course work, practices and sacred plant medicine ceremonies as it can flow with service responsibilities. When not needed to support the retreat group, participants will also have the opportunity to work on permaculture and infrastructure projects on the land both in collaboration with the Design Course group and independently.

More About the Work

As a work study service participant at the Paititi Institute you will be coming to be a part of our community and will be involved in the day to day functioning including preparing community meals, participating in community meetings (both relating and strategy), master planning, hands on project work, personal transformation work and more.

Paititi is a labor of love and grows through the contribution of its residents, short and long term. Here, our work is our prayer and as a community we practice presence, compassion, selfless service and hard work for the benefit of all beings. We work together to cultivate the highest view – a perspective where the individual happiness and welfare of all are considered with the wish that all beings will be free from suffering.

As a community we work to harmonize with the natural cycles of the day, the land and the seasons. Most days we will wake at sunrise and will head to bed in the early evening. We make an effort to share in daily practice and daily check in meetings. The kitchen is always a busy place and the service group will rotate through kitchen service.

We will focus on a number of community projects during this time – many of which will be planned together with the retreat group. Some key elements we expect to focus on include planting vegetable gardens and trees, working on water flow designs for the property and implementing portions of the designs, emergency training and planning, natural building projects (working with stone and adobe), remodeling/refinishing existing structures and overall master planning design process. Participants will have the opportunity to immerse into the natural cycles while learning to collaborate with a community though uniting in shared heart and vision. As mentioned above, community projects will revolve around the needs of the Permaculture Design Course during this period.

As an essential and core part of this process we will be exploring deeply what it means to be stewards of nature, and starting with this enchanted  land where for thousands of years the ancestors of humanity cultivated the same intention.

Be prepared to have your comfort zone challenged. Work can be hard, sweaty, dirty but also deeply fulfilling, grounding, fun and a great way to gain knowledge and a deeper connection to the inherent true nature in all of us.

To learn more about our philosophy of Shamanic Permaculture please read a recent blog article we published on the subject >>

Participation Requirements:

• Participants are required to stay for the full service period during the PDC course. Participants may not have the opportunity to leave the center during this time except in the case of an emergency and should arrange their personal affairs so that it will not be necessary to leave. Each participant will have one personal day a week except for weeks with ceremonies.
• Participants should be healthy and in good physical shape. During this program you will be on your feet all day and will do a lot of walking in the mountains. At this time, while the road is still being built, there is a 2+ hour hike into the property. In addition, many tasks on the property itself involve steep ascents and descents.
• There are many unknown elements as we embrace this early phase of establishing roots. We will be working with simple and young infrastructure. Those who join should be willing and able to embrace this with a positive, solutions-oriented attitude. Participants should be comfortable living in a tent, taking cold showers, living with minimal solar electricity, solving unexpected challenges, and hiking steep terrain.
• Work study service participants must be minimum 21 years old. Younger participants may be accepted with letters of recommendation. Contact us to discuss.
• Previous completion in a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is a plus but not required.
• All work study service participants must be physically and mentally healthy and stable. If you have a chronic and or debilitating health condition this program is not appropriate for you at this time. Instead we are happy to work with you as a patient where we can offer the proper support in your healing process. Read more about working with us as a patient >>
• All participants are required to have personal travel insurance with emergency evacuation coverage. More details can be found in the info and prep document.

Sacred Plant Medicine Ceremonies & Transformation Practices

All participants will have the opportunity to participate in the sacred plant initiation with the course participants, which includes an Ayahuasca ceremony, integration day and a Huachuma (San Pedro) ceremony. An additional ceremony at towards the end of the course may be possible.

At key moments during the retreat, we will offer a traditional Andean Coca initiation and ceremonies. Service participants will be invited to join for these ceremonies.

Contribution

• $750.00 – Shamanic Permaculture Work Study Service w/ Ceremony Initiations

A deposit of 30% is due in full at the time of registration. If we are not able to accept you into the retreat, the deposit will be refunded. Please review the Info & Prep document document for more information on our refund policy. Contribution includes all food, course instruction, guidance & personal support, ceremonies, plant medicines, the stay on a pristine land, and transportation from and back to the Sacred Valley during this 33 day retreat. Any profits are devoted to the continuation of this worthy cause for the benefit of all beings.

Extended Stay:

It is an option to extend your stay. If you’re interested in extending your stay past the end date of this shamanic permaculture program, it’s not necessary to apply again. Please note how long you wish to stay in your application and email us to discuss availability.

• During the second month of service the contribution is $20 a day.
• During the third month of service the contribution is $15 a day.
• After 3 months potential scholarship sponsorship (non-paying roles) may be available upon review. In some cases scholarship may be possible sooner than 3 months.

Please note that during the period of December 2 – January 24 we are full to our capacity during our Embodying True Nature Retreat. We welcome participants to extend till Dec 2nd if you wish and also to return after January. If you are interested in an extension or return please contact us to discuss the details directly.

Additional information is available in the INFO AND PREP DOCUMENT.

Testimonial