Help Exchange at ASHA

Live with the land. Contribute to the centre.

ASHA (Alchemy School of Healing Arts) is a retreat and community centre in Southern Tuscany. We host international retreats, trainings, and community events throughout the season.

We welcome volunteers who are willing to contribute practically and live in shared community.

This is not a holiday exchange.
It is a work-based contribution within an active retreat environment.

If you’re looking for meaningful hands-on involvement and are comfortable with shared living, read on.

What we Ask

25 hours per week (approx. 5 hours per day, 5 days per week)

Reliability and punctuality

Physical capacity for practical tasks

Willingness to live in shared accommodation

Respect for community guidelines and ethical standards

Clear communication

Self-responsibility in conflict situations

Volunteer roles depend on seasonal needs and your experience.
These may include:

Landscaping & gardening

Groundskeeping & physical labour

Cleaning & housekeeping

Maintenance & carpentry

Kitchen support

Retreat space preparation

You may rotate between tasks, depending on need.

What we Offer

In exchange for your contribution:

Shared

accommodation

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Three vegetarian meals per day

(when retreats are running)

Pick-up and drop-off from Chiusi-Chianciano Terme train station

Access to selected sessions
(subject to schedule and availability)

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Experience within a functioning retreat centre

How the Application Process Works

Submit your application using the form below

We review alignment and dates with our team

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to a video call interview*

Onboarding & arrival information sent to you

Applications are reviewed in batches, as we receive a large number of enquiries.

If you don't hear from us, please feel free to apply next season.

* Being invited to a call does not guarantee a position.

Application Form

Volunteering at ASHA

ASHA is a retreat and community centre on a hillside in southern Tuscany. Volunteers live here for a minimum of four weeks, contributing 25 hours a week to the practical running of the place: gardening, cleaning, kitchen support, preparing spaces, setting up and taking down retreats.

In return you receive shared accommodation, meals during retreat weeks, a food stipend when the kitchen is closed, and transfers to and from the station. It is an unpaid exchange, not a job.

Before you apply, please read this properly

We would rather you decided this was not for you now than discover it after you have flown here.

This is a remote place. The nearest hospital is 40 to 60 minutes away by car. There are no taxis in the village, no car hire, and no reliable bus. Mobile signal is limited and Wi-Fi is available only in the main house.

There is no care available here. No medical, clinical or psychological support on site. No member of the team is trained in mental health response. We cannot offer a support plan, monitoring, one to one support, or an adjusted placement. We do not store or administer medication.

The work is physical. Outdoor labour on uneven, steep ground, in heat, cold and rain. Ladders, tools, lifting, long periods on your feet.

You live closely with others. Shared accommodation with limited privacy, including tents in some seasons. A rotating international group. Little personal space.

The environment is emotionally intense. Guests and students here are often in open and vulnerable states. Retreat processes happen close to where you live and work.

What we ask of you is stability, self-management, and the ability to regulate yourself without support from anyone here. You are responsible for your own emotional state and its effect on the people around you. Volunteers are not here to be held, and the people around you are not available to hold you.

This is not a place to come while you are unwell, and it is not a place to come in order to get well. If you are in a difficult period, we would warmly encourage you to come as a guest instead, where there is a team holding the space and far more support around you.

Minimum requirements: You must be 21 or over. You must be available for a minimum of four weeks. You must hold your own travel and health insurance for the full period.

If that sounds like the right fit for you at this point in your life, we would love to hear from you.

About You

Full Legal Name*

As it appears on your passport

Preferred Name

Email address*

Mobile number (with country code)*

Nationality*

Country of residence *

Date of Birth*

Day

Month

Year

You must be 21 or over to volunteer at ASHA.

Gender on Passport*

We ask only for room allocation and travel documentation.

How did you hear about ASHA?*

Are you a current or ex-AoB student?

If so, please write your T- cohort number here

Your Availability

What periods are you available to join us at ASHA? *

September 30 - November 11 | 6 weeks

November 11 - December 16 | 5 weeks

December 16 - January 20 | 5 weeks

I am flexible across any of the above

None of these dates work, but I would like to be considered for a future block

Skills & Experience

What are your skills, offerings, and/or experiences that you would like to bring to ASHA?

What are you good at, trained/certified in, or what is your expertise?

Main skill*

The one thing you would say you are actually good at.

Other skills*

What are you trained or certified in, and what is your area of expertise?

Which areas are you most drawn to?

Kitchen support

Garden and land

Housekeeping and room resets

Maintenance and practical building

Guest support and reception

Happy to go wherever I am needed

Everyone contributes across areas. This tells us where to start you.

List 3 things you are happy to contribute to ASHA?*

What 3 things would you like to receive?*

Have you lived or worked in a shared community setting before?*

Yes

Do you have any offering you might like to share with the community?

Movement, music, art, a skill, a practice. Entirely optional and never expected.

Link to a CV, portfolio or anything you would like us to see

Motivation and Inner Work

These questions are about fit between this particular environment and where you are at the moment. Please answer honestly rather than as you think we want to hear. There are no right answers.

Why do you want to volunteer at ASHA? *

List your three core values*

What inner work practices do you follow with regards to integrating your past, and self-awareness?*

Which of the 12 Co-Commitments resonate most with you, and which do you find the most challenging?*

Find them here: www.asha.global/co-commitments

What does a hard week look like for you, and what do you do when you are in one?*

How do you usually handle it when you feel overwhelmed, or activated by someone you live with?*

What do you need in order to stay steady, and what happens when it is not available?*

Practical Fit

Are you physically fit for manual work on uneven ground, in all weather, for 25 hours a week?*

Yes

I have some concerns

Are you comfortable sharing accommodation with limited privacy, possibly including a tent, for your whole stay?*

Yes

I have some concerns

Are you able to commit to 25 hours per week for the full period you have selected?*

Yes

How are you able to sustain yourself financially during your stay?*

This is an unpaid exchange. Accommodation, meals during retreat weeks and a food stipend when the kitchen is closed are provided, but you will need money for travel, insurance, days off and anything personal.

Are you happy to live in a meat free, alcohol free and drug free environment for the duration of your stay?*

Yes

This applies across the whole site, including the volunteer houses.

Health and Stability

Please read before answering.

We ask these questions because there is no medical or psychological care available here, and because volunteers are asked to be the steady part of an environment where other people are doing difficult work.

Answering yes to any of these does not decline your application. It means we will have a further conversation with you before any decision is made. What we are assessing is your current stability and how well you manage yourself, not whether you have a diagnosis or a history. Someone who manages a long-standing condition well and knows their own needs is frequently a stronger candidate than someone who has never examined the question.

Please answer honestly. Withholding something relevant puts you at risk, puts other people at risk, and is grounds for ending a placement once it has begun.

Your answers to this section are seen only by our Volunteer Recruiter and senior management. They are stored separately from the rest of your application and are never shared with the wider team.

Do you have any medical condition, injury or physical limitation that could affect your ability to do physical outdoor work, or that could require treatment while you are here?*

Yes

In the past 12 months, have you experienced a period of significant mental health instability, or a major destabilising life event?*

Yes

Instability includes acute anxiety, depression, dissociation, mania, psychosis, or difficulty managing daily functioning. A destabilising event includes bereavement, the end of a long relationship, job loss or a major upheaval.

Does any of the following apply to you?*

Yes

A diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder, a dissociative disorder or a personality disorder. Acute psychiatric care, crisis services or inpatient treatment in the past two years. Being currently under the care of a psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist or counsellor.

Are you currently taking any medication, including anything that affects mood, sleep, perception or consciousness?*

Yes

Is there anything else about your physical or mental health that could make a remote, physically demanding, emotionally intense residential placement unsuitable for you right now?*

Write "nothing" if there is nothing.

Insurance, allergies and emergency medication

Do you have, or will you arrange, travel and health insurance covering the full period of your stay?*

Yes, I already have it

Yes, I will arrange it before travelling

This is a condition of volunteering, not a recommendation. It must cover illness, accident, emergency treatment and hospital admission in Italy. An EHIC or GHIC card alone is not sufficient.

Do you have any food allergies or intolerances?

Please state the severity of any reaction.

Do you have any other dietary requirements?

Do you have any other allergies, including medication, insect stings or environmental allergies?

Do you carry an adrenaline auto-injector or other emergency medication?*

Yes

Declarations

Please read each statement and tick to confirm. If accepted, you will receive the full Volunteer Agreement and Health Declaration to sign before booking any travel.

I confirm that everything I have written in this application is true, accurate and complete, and that I have not withheld anything relevant.

have read the description of this placement above, including that there is no medical, psychological or crisis support available on site, and I consider myself able to meet what it asks.

I understand that ASHA cannot provide a support plan, monitoring, one to one support or an adjusted placement.

I understand that I am responsible for my own health, my own medication and my own insurance.

I understand that ASHA is regularly photographed and filmed, that volunteers appear in this material, and that I may opt out at any time by telling the Volunteer Recruiter or Volunteer Lead, with no reason needed and no effect on my placement.

I consent to ASHA and Alchemy Healing Arts Ltd holding the information in this form for the purposes of assessing my application.

I understand that the health information in Section 6 is seen only by the Volunteer Recruiter and senior management, and deleted after a limited retention period. I may request access to it or ask for it to be deleted at any time by writing to recruitment@asha.global.

Is there anything else you would like us to know?