About Us

Dancing Shiva Residential and Work-Trade-Residency Details

 

Dancing Shiva Tantra Monastery & Healing Center is an active queer-friendly tantra monastery and healing center located at Earthaven Ecovillage. Events, gatherings and visitors are common at Dancing Shiva March through October.  Dancing Shiva’s founder and executive director are queer/gay men and many of our gatherings are geared towards queer/gay men. Our visitors and our events explore spirituality and sexuality in a “safer” space. We value freedom, experimentation, curiosity, and playfulness in the exploration of eros and spirituality. 

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We seek to welcome work-traders who share an interest in living and practicing a spiritual path and being in service to the gifts that the monastery offers to the world. An ability to joyfully and respectfully co-create and support the safer space we describe above is an essential quality for potential residents. Additionally, Dancing Shiva residents are also active participants in our larger community, Earthaven. This will not be a good fit for folks simply looking for a standard rental opportunity or a low-cost housing option.

 

Please explore ALL of our FAQ Pages in depth, and read the parameters below, to get a sense of the monastery and feel out whether you might be a fit. ​

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• Work-Trade

  • Desired Skills:

    • Organic gardening skills, including but not limited to: knowledge of food, medicinal, and decorative plants and their various needs; soil tending, seeding, transplanting, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, landscaping, etc. 

    • Building maintenance, including: carpentry; minor repairs of various types (plumbing, electrical, etc); cleaning, organizing, etc.  

    • Personal responsibility and management skills: ability to self-direct, carry a project through, and notice what needs tending. 

    • A willingness to pitch in with whatever is needed, making yourself available for event preparations and cleanup (emptying compost, laying wood chips, refilling sawdust bins, making beds, doing laundry etc)

    • We know that not every prospective work trader will have all of these skills. However, candidates with a variety of skills from this list will be prioritized.​

• • Work trade hours compensation equivalent to between $15-$20/hrdepending on experience

  • Expectation for single occupancy  work-trade is 50 hrs/month, per person

  • Partial work-trade is available, beginning at a minimum of 32 hrs/month. Remainder of the month rental is payable in Cash

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• Minimum 2 month stay, with a 1-2 week trial period depending on individual circumstances

• No pets

• Rental: $750/month or full/partial work-trade equivalent

  • Primary living space is a 270 sq. ft. furnished tiny home which includes:

    • Double beds in 2 lofts;

    • Kitchen with gas range and oven, fridge, kitchen utensils, cookware, and equipment;

    • Small living room/eating space with table and couch; limited storage.

    • For double occupancy, there is a second loft, also with a double bed. Each loft is semi-private. All other facilities are shared.

    • Propane, wood, internet are all included in these costs/work-trade hours

• There are shared toilet and shower facilities nearby, which include the option of indoor and/or outdoor compost toilets, and indoor and outdoor showers in next-door building, the ashram. 

• Required Security Deposit: $200 - refundable when you leave, if there are no damages

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• Optional Shared-Meal Opportunity (this is not is not a requirement, but it is encouraged, and helps to build neighborhood cohesion and rapport)

  • $150/food/month

    • This includes 8 shared meals per month

    • This cost not covered by work trade

    • You are responsible for the rest of your food needs

    • Tending to meals (prep and cleanup) is expected if you are participating in meal plan

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• Dancing Shiva Neighborhood Practices

  • These are not included within the work trade hours, but they are an important part of neighborhood cohesion. We will prioritize applications from people who have a desire to participate in these practices.

    • Morning movement and contemplation practices (yoga, meditation, silence - each morning)

    • Personal spiritual practice in our sacred spaces (yogasthan, yome, ashram, casita). Tending these spaces after your personal use is expected, and tending them regularly as its own form of spiritual practice (karma yoga) is encouraged.

    • Similarly, the tendency to elevate beauty and organization in all spaces, indoor and outdoor, particularly garden and tool shed, is a valued practice.

    • Helping to create an energetic container of support, clarity, and guidance for guests and event participants, without distracting them from their purpose.

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• Earthaven New Root Requirements - these kick in after you have been in residency for 2 weeks

  • ​These are in addition to Dancing Shiva Neighborhood Practices:

    • Short Term New Root dues and fees ($50/month to Earthaven, plus a one-time administrative fee of $25)

    • Community service - 16 hrs/month

    • Monthly New Root Check-ins - not a requirement but recommended

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• Application Process: 

• • Preference will be given to Work-Traders

  • Fill out the online Residential Application Questionnaire

  • We will contact you to follow-up if there is an opening

  • At least one zoom call interview for applicants moving forward in the process

  • In-person Earthaven tour required either before moving in, or within first 2 weeks of arrival.

For a more in-depth dive into our practices, consider a Private Retreat. This option carries different requirements, expectations and costs.