Garden Manager

The Ratna Ling Retreat Center, located about 100 miles north of San Francisco in the coastal Redwood hills of western Sonoma County, CA, is a non-profit retreat center based on the Tibetan Nyingma Buddhist teachings.

Living and working at Ratna Ling inspires inner growth while living in a community of resident volunteers from around the world.

Hours: 48h/week; 9-5pm Tuesday - Sunday (Monday is a day off but you may be expected to water plants).

We have a newly turned 1/2 acre fenced row garden which needs management. Our goal is to be feeding our community of resident volunteers and paying guests from our home grown produce within two years; we are collaborating with the Agricultural Department at UC Davis to realize this goal. Applicant will manage the garden while assisting with minor lodge operations.

Growing food regeneratively can hold a bottomless depth of meaning and fulfillment. Not only are we providing direct nourishment for our community, but we are experiencing communion with Mother Nature. As in the Buddhist path, the only sacrifice necessary for oneness is the illusion of our seperate-ness.

Qualifications:

• Ability to manage a small team in daily operations

• Cares about the health of the soil, is interested in learning/practicing sustainable methods

• Self-motivated, open to new ways of being

• Strong communication skills

• Willing to work long hours both indoors and outdoors

• Can lift up to 50 lbs

• Previous gardening experience preferred

Benefits:

• An immersive experience in a garden that is simultaneously a sacred living offering

• Empowerment to grow your own food

• A hands-on education in soil health and training from previous manager

• A Dharma education in the context of life’s natural way - taught by the garden herself

• Access to ancient and modern texts with classes from our sister organizations

• A beautiful home, with room and board, tucked within the redwoods

• A small monthly living stipend ($200)

Working at Ratna Ling is not the same as being on a retreat. Our gardeners must be physically and emotionally able to work the agreed times. On this empowered land, it is normal to experience intense healing which can be highly emotional and physically challenging, but applicant must be capable of tending the needs of the vegetable garden. If you regularly need work time off to process emotional or psychological strains, this role is not for you. There will be ample opportunities during and outside work to heal and develop internally.

With full participation, you will find that to serve the community and care for the land is to serve and care for yourself.

Need not be Buddhist to apply. The length of commitment is one year.