We are an alcohol and intoxicants free place, we keep the 5 buddhist precepts and ask friends and retreatants to do the same during your stay. A detailed description of the precepts can be found here

Ekuthuleni is rustic but comfortable.

We are off-grid, water is pumped up the hill from the village for cooking and washing and harvested for the garden from the roofs into rain-water tanks. Electricity comes from solar panels.

Accommodation

Tree camping. We provide a tent, a foam mattress and a pillow on individual forest platforms, or under shady oaks.

Indoors we have Bunk Beds in shared dormitories.

Other Facilities

There is a large, covered group meditation platform among the trees and an indoor hall.

Indoor kitchen, dining room.

Four showers, one indoors, they include hot water from a solar water heater carried from the hot water sink by bucket.

Three compost toilets with a forest view.

Food

We provide good, plentiful vegetarian food using local, organic, and seasonal produce, with goodies from our garden. And vegan or gluten free option.

We provide individual tents for those sleeping in the forest and a foam mattress and pillow for each person. We also have meditation cushions.

It’s easier to come with a rucksack than a suitcase with wheels.

You'll need to bring common sense things for retreat, camping and different weathers. The climate at Ekuthuleni is dry mainly & hot in the summer and cool to cold in the autumn and winter.

You will need:

• A sheet for hot weather

  • A sleeping bag if you wish

• An alarm clock

• A good torch! This is most important! With extra batteries or plug in system.

• A towel

• A drinking water bottle.

In summer

• A sun hat

• sun cream

• mosquito repellent

• bite & sting cream

• a mosquito net could be useful ( we have a few)

For cooler weather

• a raincoat

• a warm jumper

A small rucksack for carrying things on walks

Good walking shoes

Sandals are good for hot weather.

Any toiletries you use. Please bring only organic soaps, shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes!

Enough of any medication you take. There are no shops nearby.

A solar charger for your phone or torch if possible. There is a place to charge devices, but electricity is limited.

** Please bring enough clothes to not need to wash your clothes for a week as we are limited in water supply.

We charge a fee that covers our basic costs for your stay. This means food, fuel, water, insurance, firewood in winter, cooking gas,and office costs. For larger retreats, a cook from outside will come to cook ……. , otherwise for smaller retreats the manager will do so. The fee for them is kept as low as possible: so people of all income levels can come. The same goes for the manager’s payment: this is paid on arrival.

For the centre and the teachers, we invite you to offer dana/donations. This generosity enables the centre to stay open for others to benefit and gives the teachers their income.

Ekuthuleni depends entirely on your contributions, we not funded by any institutions or government bodies.

Cancellation up to one month before the retreat:

We will refund the deposit minus €20 to cover admin costs.

If you cancel less than one month before a retreat, there will be no refund.

The booking you are cancelling and have paid the basic cost for in advance can be transferred to attend another retreat within one year from the date of payment.

We are only able to refund to french bank accounts or by french cheque. For other countries, we can refund by PayPal as our non-profit bank account doesn't permit us to make foreign transfers.

If Ekuthuleni cancels a retreat, we will refund you fully by PayPal.

TEACHERS AT EKUTHULENI

Noon (Nicolas Baldwin) runs the center and is the resident teacher.

Other teachers who inspire and resonate with the vision of Ekuthuleni come to teach certain retreats. Over the years this has included nuns, (Ajahns Candasiri & Sundara, Ayya Brahmavara Bhikkunni) and ex nuns,( sister Sumedha & Jayati) of the Ajahn Chah Forest tradition, teachers from Nirodha in Finland, Zohar & Nathan from Sangha Seva, and regularly, Jaya Ashmore from Open Dharma and Janna Ferret, the gospel/chanting teacher.

Teacher bios can be found on the About Ekuthuleni page or in the retreat descriptions.

Ekuthuleni offers a safe place for LGBTQI people . Some retreats are LGBTQI only, & others not, but when they are not, we will ensure the space is ok for all to feel safe in. Speaking out against ingrained patriarchal tendencies is ok & welcome.

We often need to make a specific time & space for this so it can be done in a way whereby receptivity & transformation are possible.

This is even more important during Daily Life Activity retreats when we are communicating more.