Welcome to Viveka Gardens’ Work Exchange Retreats. It’s a chance to work outside in this peaceful corner of Devon.
It’s a six-hour work day in return for:
– vegan meals
– morning meditation
– yoga classes
Look up Viveka Gardens on googlemaps for precise location and 80+ reviews.
Scroll down for Chloe and Yolanda’s detailed reviews on their stays.
Residential stays
Accommodation is shared in a converted cob barn
Tasks include: weeding, planting, clearing, managing the woodland, barrowing stuff
Projects this year include: developing the rewilding in the big hare-prayer field, re-modelling the pond for wildlife, preparing the north garden for planting. And in October, picking apples, juicing and holding the Community Orchard Day.
Day volunteering
It is possible to join the group for individual days if you are local. Arrive in time for the group briefing at 9am (c8.45)
We are looking for practical people used to working outside who can garden, clean, have land skills; we are NOT not looking for yoga teaching or cooking, or therapies, though practitioners are, of course, welcome
Requirements:
– physical strength and fitness for outdoor work (work will be safely paced)
– willingness to listen to safety and task guidance
– taking personal responsibility and caring for the safety of the group
Benefits
-an opportunity to develop yoga practices and explore spirituality
-ad hoc training in horticulture according to the tasks in hand of the season
-a safe, warm and inclusive environment for relaxation, learning and sharing
-an ashram/monastery-style ‘rule of life’
-accommodation and vegan soulfood
To comply with employment rules (volunteering is classed as employment) you must either be a UK citizen or Commonwealth citizen with the right to abode in the UK, EU Settled Status, BNO passport holder (Hong Kong) or have a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme (working holiday) visas. We reserve the right to ask for proof of this.
As a 100% vegan retreat place there are no livestock or pets here. The land is managed to increase plant, animal (especially pollinator) and fungal diversity. Barn owls have moved in and the main field is the Hare-Prayer field. Fox, deer, badger, field voles and possibly dormice are among the other mammals using the land.
March 23 – 27
THREE WOMEN ONLY
£30 to confirm your place
Viveka Gardens is keen to make yoga available to all – bursaries for those on low/no income. Please contact to discuss
Or do you have a group of friends you’d like to bring? Be in touch to see if we can work out dates that suit
APPLY
Please complete the form in the tickets link and include:
how you found Viveka Gardens
what your skills and experience are
why you’d like to stay
a little bit about where you are in your life
it always helps if you’ve already developed a relationship with VG by attending online events or engaging on social media, for instance
Sign up to the newsletter for updates
see more info at
https://vivekagardens.com/work-exchange-retreat/
more 2026 dates
April 22 – 26
July 1 – 5
October 7 – 11
You may also like the following events from Viveka Gardens Retreat Place:
- This Tuesday, 24th February, 07:00 pm, Gentle Yoga Online in Crediton, Devon
- This Thursday, 26th February, 07:00 pm, Newbies Yoga Course in South Molton
- This Friday, 27th February, 07:00 pm, Friday Night Nidra Live Online from Viveka Gardens in Crediton, Devon
Also check out other
Health & Wellness events in South Molton,
Workshops in South Molton.
