Stay at PPI

Join us for forest and land stewardship, gardening/food production, or traditional Buddhist meditation and practices.

Our staff include experienced instructors who will guide you in workshops and retreats. Tools, equipment, training, room and board are provided as part of our nonprofit mission to educate people in environmental stewardship and sustainable living practices.

Prescribed fire training and practice is under the guidance of staff with federal wildland firefighter qualifications, and follows state and county regulations. We have our own fire truck, pumps, totes, and hose. Protective gear is provided, and you can participate at whichever level you are comfortable at, or not at all.

Projects for spring/summer 2025:
Developing more raised beds to increase food production
Burn-piles
Forestry — thinning using hand and power tools, felling (optional), mapping
Organic gardening (fruit, vegetables, herbs)
Broadcast burns in prepared areas
Food preparation and preservation — baking, making kombucha, yoghurt, etc
Revising our forest management plan

What we offer:
Private room in community house
3 meals a day (mostly vegetarian/vegan)
Training/opportunities in forestry and prescribed fire, food preparation and production, organic gardening (qualified and experienced guests may co-lead certain activities)
Access to library with lots of items on spirituality, art, health, ecology
High-speed internet access (100+ Mbps)
Trips to town and out to local beauty spots (including surfing trips)
Optional participation in Buddhist study, access to practice resources, including joining twice-daily services and larger events, free of charge

Please note that we have strict no-smoking and no-drug policies, and while alcohol is not banned, it is definitely not a feature of our center. If smoking or any recreational drug use, even occasional, are an important part of your life, we recommend applying elsewhere.
Sorry, no pets.

Application:
Please first read through the rest of the information below.
Stays are 3-4 weeks to start with; longer stays are possible by mutual agreement.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, regardless of race, age, education, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation. You should have:

• concern for the environment and interest in land stewardship and sustainable living practices
• a commitment to community life
• an interest in supporting the center as a place of learning and retreat for yourself and others
• the ability to work with clear direction alone or as part of a team
• the ability to communicate clearly with others
• the ability to respect others whose culture and background may be significantly different to yours
• a responsible attitude towards handling assignments
• good physical health and stamina
• no alcohol, drug or tobacco habits (including no vaping, no edibles)

If you are still interested, please write to us at info@padmapeace.org with subject title “Application” and include the following information:
– full name
– occupation or educational/professional background, and most recent jobs/work experience
– why you are interested in this opportunity
– any relevant work or volunteer experience, including community living
– preferences for dates and length of stay

Links to any platforms or apps showing reviews, eg couchsurfing, WWOOF, Workaway, Airbnb etc are also helpful. We may ask for references — if you already have references or recommendations, feel free to include them with your email. Let us know if you have any questions, too.

We will get back to you within the week. Please do NOT plan any travel until you have heard back from us, as spaces may already be full. Once we commit, we guarantee your place and will not give it away.

Thank you very much, and we look forward to hearing from you!

More information about staying at PPI:
The Padmasambhava Peace Institute was established as a dedicated space for the study and practice of meditative traditions and environmental stewardship, accessible to as many as possible. The Padmasambhava Peace Institute is directed and run entirely by volunteers. There are between 8 and 16 people on site full-time, including both long-term residents and college students or overseas visitors staying for just a few months, and about five times a year the community grows to 50-70 people for multi-day Buddhist events.

While everyone arrives at the center from a different background and with different perspectives, there is a shared understanding that here is a community which offers a unique opportunity to learn about oneself and one’s relation to others and the environment.

Living in community can be challenging as well as enormously rewarding. The trick is learning to see even the challenges as an incentive for personal growth and the development of new skills, and we encourage everyone to work to their greatest potential. We welcome people from all walks of life, believing that diversity makes for a richer and more powerful community. While the core community is Buddhist and participates daily in the group practices, this is not a requirement. We have had guests from a wide range of faith backgrounds — active, atheist, lapsed and none — and encourage each person to pursue whatever path makes sense for them.

In terms of outdoor leisure, there are many beautiful places to hike around the property and we are located 20 minutes from the stunning Sonoma coastline and the Russian River resorts. Just over an hour away are the towns of Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, and San Francisco is just over two hours away. Major cycle races pass right by us every year, as the local routes are hugely popular for amateurs and professionals alike.

Spiritual instruction and support are available from the lama-in-residence Tibetan Buddhist master Jigme Rinpoche, and volunteers are welcome to join in the group daily practice and make use of the center’s shrine-room and library. The library has an extensive collection of books on Buddhism, Hinduism and Asian arts, and multi-media materials. Guests can attend twice-daily practices and the center’s Buddhist bigger events free of charge.

The Institute has in place anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and a Code of Conduct, which all prospective residents are briefed on, and which are used as the basis for promoting the well-being of every resident and the integrity of the organization’s operations.

We understand there are many great places out there, and a lot of capable and dynamic people looking at options, so we thank you for your interest in the Padmasambhava Peace Institute!

The Padmasambhava Peace Institute is an educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) registered in the state of California since 2003, with the tax-exempt mission to provide environmental education and support for retreat. EIN 05-0569638.