Buddhafield Festival 2026

CODE: GB-IVS 13.5

Work:

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 minimise landfill. The kitchen 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.

IVS/VAP volunteers will be invited to work in one of 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.

Accomodation and food

Volunteers should bring their own tents, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and everything you would need for a camping trip. Weather can be range from very hot in the sun to very cold at night, so please bring plenty of blankets as well as sun cream, warm-weather clothes and proper waterproof jackets and trousers. Showers and toilet facilities are outdoors and though cleaner and better cared for than other festivals, they are outdoors and basic.

Buddhafield will provide 100% vegan food and hot drinks and snacks are available throughout the day. If you need animal products, you will have to bring with you a supply of food that does not need refrigeration.

Location and leisure

LOCATION: The festival is located in the Blackdown Hills near Taunton, Somerset.
LEISURE: 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.

Project hosted by

The Buddhafield Festival is held over 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.

Directions to meeting point

They will be provided with the Information Sheet

Additional comments

Volunteers will be interviewed online by IVS/VAP before they get the final acceptance in the project.

They are required to read the following document before the interview:

Safeguarding Code of Conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HKmzCb7llBp6rKb69L6TQvus6eqHOn1wZ352m0fUFjs/edit