The Upper Hamlet Happy Farm family are delighted to announce our next Happy Farm Retreat combining a week’s retreat in Upper Hamlet with a special hands-on experience in helping us on our organic, agroecology farm.
The Happy Farm is a project of agroecology and organic regenerative agriculture within our mindfulness practice community. You will have a chance to experience first-hand the interconnection between earth, rain, sun, and seed with the hand and feet of a “farmer”. The farms use a variety of organic and regenerative methods. The Happy Farms’ volunteer teams practice mindfulness in our work as part of our vision of promoting wellbeing for individual, society and the earth (read more on thehappyfarm.org).
We practice service meditation during the retreat on the Happy Farm when we will enjoy bringing mindfulness to our organic farming work for three hours each session. During the week we will share and experience together what it means to bring mindfulness to work. We also enjoy Plum Village mindfulness practices such as sitting meditation, walking meditation and “Dharma / Farmer sharing” during the week. At the end of the week, we will celebrate together to say thank you for your presence and practice with us.
This retreat is organised and facilitated by the lay members of the Happy Farm team. You will enjoy the core practice schedule in Upper Hamlet, including meal times and other activities related to the farm will be in separation to the wider monastic and lay community of Upper Hamlet.
Important information about this retreat
This retreat is mainly facilitated by the lay practitioners of the Happy Farm team. In this retreat there will be some activities facilitated by the monastics for the wider community of Upper Hamlet and Plum Village, and there will be some activities specific only to this retreat. There will also be another themed retreat running simultaneously. Therefore it will be important for Happy Farm retreat participants to check the whiteboard daily for the schedule.
- Teachings will be in English
- There will be four Dharma Sharing Families in English (60 guests total)
- To support the stability and collective energy of mindfulness, all participants are asked to stay the whole week, and only arrive and depart on the designated days: Friday 13 June and Friday 20 June
- In addition to our usual suggestions of what to bring for a retreat, please bring wet weather clothing, old clothes and suitable footwear for gardening. Consider also bringing a sun hat, sunscreen and a drinking water bottle
More information about Plum Village Retreats
You can find more information about visiting Plum Village for a retreat on this page.
For practicalities such as transportation, arrival and departure, what to bring and what to wear, please see our practicalities page.
Register
This retreat is hosted in the home of the Plum Village monks, Upper Hamlet. For most of the year, Upper Hamlet mainly hosts single men. However, for this retreat, all genders are welcome, including single women.