Work Exchange Program

Have you ever been curious about living and working in an intentional spiritual community? Now you can explore the possibilities at Madre Grande Monastery, with our expense-free work exchange program.

What We Offer

Room and board in our communal home.

Free access to a 264-acre nature reserve and sanctuary.

The experience of living in an established spiritual community.

A chance to learn new skills and practices.

The possibility of long-term residency.

What We Ask

A minimum 20 hours of service work per week for the Monastery (specific openings listed below).

Awareness and acceptance of our guest guidelines, policies, and purpose.

Mindfulness and loving-kindness in thought and action.

Programs

Weekender: A visit of two to five days to “stick your toes in the water” and familiarize yourself with our history, future plans, and current situation and residents.

28-Day Sojourn: A month-long stay to gain a deeper knowledge and experience of Madre Grande Monastery and our ways and means. A one-day visit or Weekender stay is required prior to a 28-Day Sojourn.

Longer-Term Residency: Those who find deep alignment with the Monastery, land, and community after a 28-Day Sojourn may inquire about longer-term residency.

Work Exchange Opportunities

Garden Work

We have a large annual vegetable garden with fruit trees and an olive orchard. We need help with general garden labor, including digging, weeding, planting, setting up and maintaining irrigation systems, starting and re-potting seedlings, harvesting, processing, and various other garden tasks. Garden workers may take on additional responsibilities such as seed selection and garden planning as their interests and skills allow.

In the long run, we need a Garden Manager to plan, create, and maintain a schedule of succession planting to provide a steady, year round supply of produce. A good manager will have the ability to direct other garden workers and allow for individual participation in the collective gardening effort.

Landscaping / Groundskeeping

We have various seasonal tasks like mowing, weed-whacking, brush-clearing, trail and road maintenance, trench-digging, irrigation construction and operation, tree-trimming, and more. Our tools include hand tools, gas weed-whackers, a riding lawn mower, and a small diesel Kubota tractor with bucket, back hoe, brush hog, lawn mower, and tiller.

Maintenance / Shop Work

We have a continuing and ever-changing list of maintenance tasks and projects requiring skilled and unskilled labor. Tasks like painting, fencing, tuck-pointing, electrical work, plumbing, well repair and maintenance, shed-building and general construction, and old building demolition and salvage, among other planned projects.

Our shop area has many power and manual tools and hardware, but it is in need of cleaning and organizing.

Librarian / Archivist

Our library contains thousands of books of various qualities, subjects, and value, and needs organizing, sorting, and cataloguing. If you have interest or skills in this area, we sure have a job for you!

Housekeeping / Cooking

We are all expected to clean up after ourselves, but housekeeping and cooking are always needed and appreciated. This is not a job for one person and not necessarily a primary task, but it can be a fulfillment of work exchange. It may also include canning and preserving of the garden harvest, if desired.

Online Store Manager

We have various books and artifacts that we no longer use and wish to sell. We need help setting up an online store, posting items, responding to inquiries, and packaging and shipping.

A Brief Dose of Reality

Monks are humans too.

Madre Grande Monastery is an eclectic spiritual community that encourages everyone to follow their own positive path to spiritual freedom and fulfillment. We observe the Paracelsian Order principles and vows to the best of our ability in our daily lives, but we have no religious dogma or charismatic leader. We support each other, and our guests, on our own individual spiritual journeys, and we offer our home and land as a place of retreat, healing, ceremony, and celebration.

Many people have romantic ideas about life in a monastery, but this is often at odds with the reality of what it is. We are fallible human beings living together in a communal home. We don’t float around the monastery on clouds of light and love—our feet actually touch the ground. We sometimes bump elbows and inadvertently step on toes. We occasionally lose our balance and perspective and have “negative” thoughts and emotions. We are very much still in the school of life, and we are learning every day.

This requires us to be honest about our own faults and projections, as well as our own unique perspectives and abilities. We are each trying to deal with our own “stuff” and accept others as they are, while we navigate life together and open our hearts. Sometimes we nail it; sometimes we hit our own thumbs.

If you come here seeking saints or all-knowing gurus, you will most likely be disappointed, perhaps even a little resentful and angry. If you come here seeking a community of human beings living together in mindfulness and loving kindness, you may find an opportunity for self-exploration and growth.

Living in community can be a wonderful experience of fellowship and joy, as well as a crucible for the often difficult and painful spiritual work necessary to fully open our hearts to love and achieve spiritual freedom and fulfillment.

If this appeals to you, then we invite you to visit and perhaps stay awhile. Maybe you can even help us to float around on clouds of light and love. ;-)

Ready to Apply?

Fill out the brief form below to get started.

Once you submit your interest, we’ll reach out to schedule a call. Next step from there will be an invitation to the Monastery for a “Weekender” experience—a sort of hands-on interview experience for you and us, alike.

Grace happens when we act with others on behalf of the world.