VAP UK-03 Buddhafield Festival 2023 Solidarités Jeunesses

PARTENAIRE

BACKGROUND: Buddhafield (www.buddhafield.com) is an English Buddhist collective that is part of the international Buddhist movement, the Triratna Buddhist Community (http://thebuddhistcentre.com). Buddhafield emerged out of the coming together of Buddhism and ecological awareness in the 1990s. Buddhafield is inspired by the ideal of living and working more simply and kindly in a community informed by awareness of our interconnections with each other and with nature. We run a programme of camping activities in the South West of England and own two beautiful pieces of land, which we are committed to managing sustainably and which we use for several events each year (not the Festival itself). We are perhaps best known for organising the much-loved Buddhafield Festival, now in its 20th year, and for the Buddhafield Café, which provides vegan food at festivals like the Glastonbury Festival. THE FESTIVAL: The Buddhafield Festival is held over a period of five days, on a beautiful site in the Blackdown Hills, in Somerset, England. The event brings together around three thousand people for a sharing and celebration of alternative social, cultural, political and spiritual values. The mix of activities around Buddhist, environmental, healing and social change themes together with general festival attractions such as singing, dance, yoga, drumming, live music, comedy, craftwork, chai cafes, saunas, hot tubs and a huge range of activities for children, attracts a wide range of festival goers. The feedback we get is that for many the event is a reminder that a more positive and kind alternative to conventional competitive and environmentally damaging ways of living is possible. In keeping with the Festival's Buddhist ethos the event is a drug and alcohol-free zone.

Localisation

In the outskirts of Taunton, Somerset.

gare la plus proche

Trains: The nearest station is Taunton. Journeys take about 2 hours from London or Birmingham, 1 hour from Bristol and 30 minutes from Exeter. Coaches: Taunton is about 4 hours from London and 1 hour from Bristol. National Express run regular services to Taunton. See www.nationalexpress.com. If you come by coach you will need to allow 15 minutes to walk to the train station exit by platform 2. Local transport: Once in Taunton there are two buses per day which can drop you within 10 minutes walk of the Festival site. The bus stops are about 15 minutes walk from Taunton station and five minutes from the coach station. Departure: The leaving day for International Volunteers will be Friday 21 July. If you could try and arrange your travel from Taunton after 11am that would enable us to take you to the bus or train station.

aéroport le plus proche

LHR

Itinéraire vers le point de RDV

The Festival site is in remote countryside, with only two buses per day going near the site. A member of the Buddhafield team will meet people at the train station and help them get to the site. If you want to travel with a team member it is important that you arrive at Taunton train station not later than 16:45 on July 1st where we will meet you at the upper exit by platform 2!

Informations supplémentaires

VAP HOSTING FEE: Volunteers will be asked to pay a fee of £90 GBP upon arrival. VAP charges this fee as without it we would be virtually unable to organise any projects in the UK. NB: Please check your travel requirements to the UK before applying.

Travail

Needless to say, in order for the Festival to be a life-enhancing and indeed for some a life-transforming experience, much hard work is required. From the day we arrive in an empty field with a small vanguard, our numbers gradually swell until we have around eight hundred volunteers welcoming the three thousand visitors. The set-up crew erect the structures that will act as kitchens and venues. They establish the infrastructure such as plumbing, compost toilets, showers and saunas. They make the site beautiful and safe with flags, bunting, paths, fences and lighting. Then during the Festival we have stewards to welcome and guide festival goers, to manage parking and traffic and to attend to people's well-being. Toilet wizards maintain the compost toilets. A team of recyclers sorts materials so as to minimize landfill. The café crew feed volunteers and festival goers alike. The site crew look after the infrastructure, tents, water etc. During the set-up phase volunteers will get one day off and during the festival two days either as full days or half days, depending on the needs of the particular teams. VAP volunteers will be invited to work in a number of areas before and during the festival for example: the Healing area, the Buddhafield cafe, site crew, recycling and ‘toilet wizards’ décor, welcome and departure teams. During the Festival the volunteers will have work shifts, but will also have time to enjoy the huge variety of events taking place and facilities available as outlined above. Volunteers are asked to attend daily morning meetings, the exact time depending on what area of work they choose to join. The work is very team-based. The whole enterprise runs on goodwill, awareness of each others’ needs, good communication and mutual support. During set-up and take-down there will be organised events around Buddhist themes, attendance at which is completely voluntary. There are generally also alternatives such as spontaneous musical gatherings, often around a fire. They will also have someone onsite who is their direct contact for support and pastoral care. They will meet as a group together each day.

Logement & nourriture

Volunteers should bring their own tents, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and everything you would need for a camping trip. Buddhafield will provide vegan food and hot drinks and snacks are available throughout the day. Showers and toilet facilities are outdoors and though cleaner and better cared for than other festivals they are outdoors and basic.

Emplacement & temps libre

See in the descriptions above