Ängsbacka Working Community – share yourself and your skill in presence, service and togetherness
Have you ever experienced both living and working in the same place, while being supported by a shared vision and a set of core values?
The size of the Ängsbacka Working Community changes dynamically with the seasons and the needs of our courses, festivals, and retreats. At times we need quite a few extra volunteers to serve a specific course or project, at times we scale down and only have space for the most essential roles. If you are curious to experience Ängsbacka also outside the main festival season, this is a beautiful opportunity! You can apply for a spot on the general volunteer program or as a Team leader / Skilled volunteer throughout the year. Welcome to also express a more general interest in joining the Working Community, even far in advance.
The foundation of our Working Community; the all-year-round ‘Core Circle’, consists of about 20 or so long-term volunteers and a few employees who have made a strong commitment and are dedicated to the practice of living and working together. Most of the working community members, including the ‘Core Circle’, stay on-site, and some live in the nearby village – all of us united in service to Ängsbacka.
We seek to grow as human beings, we support each other and live purposefully by holding a nurturing space for Ängsbacka’s guests and participants.
Depending on each person’s skills, availability, and Ängsbacka’s needs; a volunteer may end up staying for a week, a couple of months, or much longer. Whatever previous experiences of ‘community-living’ a person has – they are bound to learn a lot about themselves, as we explore daily life while being centered in selfless service, presence, self-awareness & self-responsibility, relating from the heart, gratitude and celebration.
If you are open to extending your comfort zone – welcome to take this golden opportunity for personal transformation, practice living the vision of Ängsbacka, and get the chance to develop beautiful friendships along the way!
Tools & practices to live our vision
- The 12 Guidelines for Living & Working in Ängsbacka
- Honest & open-hearted communication
- Working Meditation
- Sharing
- Silent Sitting
- Workshops that support personal growth
- Working Community Circle (active for part of the year only)
OUR WORKING COMMUNITY MEMBERS COMMIT TO:
- Fulfilling the needs of our area of responsibility by contributing with an average of 5 hours of working meditation, 5 days per week. Please note that for some roles specific periods will require more than 25 hrs, some less.
- Morning meetings 3 times per week in the course season – varies in the summer.
- Sharing 2 times per week in the course season and every day in the summer.
- Each person has their own area for the practice of ‘Community cleaning’ during the course season
- 2 hours of ‘Community hours’ per week during the course season
Team leaders and Special Skilled volunteers
Certain roles make up an integral part of the daily running of Ängsbacka and have their own focus area that requires a special skill or experience. This is what distinguishes these roles from the general volunteer program. They demand more flexibility in terms of active hours per day as the requirements of the areas are changing throughout the seasons.
Team Leaders and Special skilled volunteers with their own area of responsibility have access to private accommodation.
Ängsbacka Volunteer Program
Our general volunteer program is open for those who would like to volunteer during our Course Season (outside of summer) to support Ängsbacka in the serving of courses and retreats by joining teams like kitchen, park & recycling, housekeeping, site building, woodcutting or other projects. As a volunteer at Ängsbacka you receive accommodation, all meals & access to our activity program. We have a maximum amount of spots for volunteers that varies depending on the needs of the course center. When those spots are filled you can still apply to join as a volunteer and pay a self-cost price of 120 SEK per day.
Service
During your stay at Ängsbacka, we invite you to explore the mindset of service. Not as a concept, but rather as a way of living. Service to your fellow community members, to course participants, to the planet and all its inhabitants, and to yourself.
We believe that through selfless service, through connecting back to our deep need to contribute to the world, we grow in compassion and joy.
Working meditation
Working Meditation is our shared daily practice of service and togetherness. We encourage everyone to use their working hours as active explorations of the present moment. Everything that comes to our minds and bodies is welcomed into the moment. We support each other to remain light-hearted and connected.
Ideally, the time spent in work is happy and fulfilling, regardless of the task. The realisation to be discovered is that the enjoyment of the task comes from within ourselves, not from the nature of the task.
Sharing
Sharing is at the heart of Ängsbacka, and supports everybody here. It is considered a sacred space for speaking and listening from our hearts. It invites you to be seen in your truth and to see others in theirs, without judgement, advice or fixing.
One person shares, while the others sit in silence paying attention to the person sharing. Everyone in the group will have the same amount of time available to them, and everything that is said or done stays in the group. We do not bring it up again outside of sharing.
Sharing is an essential and honored practice at Ängsbacka, and we welcome you to this special space with the sensitivity and open-heartedness that is at its core.
AVAILABLE ROLES FOR Team leaders and special SKILLED VOLUNTEERS
Check out available roles and submit your application in the form on this page. For questions regarding the available positions please contact us by addressing ‘Human Resources’ in the contact form.
If you are looking to commit to Ängsbacka for a longer period of time and in a responsible role, please share your expression of interest through the form below.
- VOLUNTEER OFFICE COORDINATOR
You are a natural leader, with humility, great ability to listen, while having a clear connection with your sense of boundaries, and you are comfortable with making decisions that influence other people. In this very dynamic and central role of Ängsbacka you will be working together with management, team leaders, and volunteers to run and develop the daily volunteer program, and plan & execute our bigger festival events. It is important that you have been to Ängsbacka before or have a strong background in a similar position. Read more
- GARDEN & RECYCLING TEAM LEAD
In this essential role, you will be planning and overseeing the entire garden and park of Ängsbacka. To lead the garden team requires someone who is both practically skilled and a people person, who enjoys working with volunteers and holding space for the learning of people of varied skill levels. Our garden is based mainly on principles from permaculture. Read more
- SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
As Sustainability Manager, you have the opportunity to influence and steer how Ängsbacka relates to sustainability in many ways – mainly environmental/ecological, but also economic and social. We would like to find ways how we can optimise and increase our positive environmental footprint without sacrificing the core business. Read more
- CAFE MANAGER
You will be developing the cafe during the course season, and run it during the busy summer festival season. This role is entrepreneurial, social, and both high intensity and low intensity, depending on what time of year. We are looking for you dare to dream and have the passion and competence to take the Ängsbacka cafe to the next level – while at the same time keeping the cafe as an integral community oasis for the onsite community. Read more
- BOOKING OFFICE & RECEPTION TEAM LEAD
You love being in service have a deep willingness and the skills required to support our participants via phone, email and face to face at the reception. Your ability to communicate well, cooperate with others and calmly exercise conflict resolution will be key. Read more
- COMMUNITY CHEF
You know well the standard responsibilities of a Head Chef – and long to execute the tasks in a loving environment while being supported by our team of volunteers and Kitchen management. Read more
- SUMMER SAFETY & EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
Leading this very important summer team, which tasks include emotional support, medical support, fire safety, and more. Since you will be the person who makes sure that people in need of support receive helpful support, it is important that you have a background in therapy or similar practices, as well as a talent for organising both people and systems for optimal flow. Read more
- SUMMER DECO TEAM LEAD
You take on the summer festival deco for all festivals. You are a creative soul with a passion for beauty and elegans. Read more
- CHILD CARE (volunteer role)
Do you enjoy spending time with kids? In this role you get to work with flexible hours and a vider range of tasks than most, as your week is divided both on child care as well as being part of a volunteer team. Read more
OTHER SPECIAL VOLUNTEER ROLES
Every now and then we recruit assistants to support our team leaders in the booking, festival, marketing and volunteer offices. Please check our Summer Volunteer page to see if any of these appeal to you.