Bátonyterenye – Taoist Community
2011-08-15 - 2011-08-28; number of volunteers: 10

The camp’s main purpose is to help a Taoist Community in maintaining their withdrawal place, while getting to know eastern philosophies and practices in an authentic location. Bátonyterenye is a small village situated in the north of Hungary near Gyöngyös city. The farm itself is located in a beautiful valley close to Bátonyterenye and is only accessible by walking. It is run by the Hungarian Taoist Community and they regularly organize martial arts (e.g.: tai chi, kung fu) trainings and other programs here. It is a very unique place where practitioners of eastern philosophies and martial arts can withdraw from the cities’ rush and focus on physical and spiritual development. This is going to be the third time the camp is organized and since the first time it has proved to be a great opportunity for volunteers to engage in something different and to experience alternative ways of living.

Work: Since there are only two community members living there constantly there are many things to do around the farm for which the community needs help. The work is going to be mostly gardening, basically helping to tidy up the farm, tasks such as reaping, planting and pruning. Additionally cleaning the territory of the lake of the farm and tending the grove of wisdom are part of the planned tasks too. The work will not be too heavy, but it can be tiring, so please be aware of this during your selection.

Every day in the morning there will be an energizing chi kung practice before breakfast, and in the afternoon there will be 1,5 hours tai chi for the volunteers. Besides the camp aims to introduce eastern philosophies and practices to the volunteers, such as meditation and tea ceremonies depending on who will be there with us from the community. There is also a possibility to make excursions around, discovering the natural surroundings of the farm, including an optional visit to a Buddhist shrine and a Catholic pilgrimage place nearby to make the religious experience more diverse. As an exception we ask 40 euros extra fee for this camp that goes to cover the expenses of the tai chi instructor.