Volunteer for Cultivate

Volunteering with Cultivate is meaningful and requires commitment. We are looking for enthusiastic, positive, and adaptable participants to help us co-create a safe and inspiring gathering. As you move through the application, you will be asked to select your top team preferences. Please read each description carefully so you understand the role, schedule, and any early arrival or stay-late requirements.

Volunteer Exchange Options: 

  • Full-Time volunteer (includes Thursday set up OR Sunday clean up): $50 ticket for about 30 hours of work.

  • Kitchen volunteer: free ticket for about 30 hours (will miss more of the retreat events)

  • Part-Time: $150 ticket for 15 hours of work.


Please answer the application questions thoughtfully and share anything that may be helpful for us to know. We look forward to getting to know you.


Volunteer FAQs


- All volunteers must be available for the entire weekend

- Must be free (for at least one) EITHER Thursday for set-up or Sunday for tear-down

- Must be physically capable of a weekend of strenuous work/ on foot all day/ heavy lifting/ etc. 

- Discounted ticket price must be paid at upon volunteer acceptance.

-Full time volunteers will receive first preference. Part time volunteers are only considered if volunteer spots are not filled.

Volunteer Team descriptions

  • Food Service
    The Meal Serving Team supports the flow of the gathering by serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner alongside the Kitchen team. Team will report to the Kitchen 1 hour prior to each meal to receive direction from the Chef and prepare for service. Responsibilities include meal tables set up, serving food, maintaining cleanliness of the serving area, bussing tables, dishes afterward, and supporting a smooth and welcoming meal experience. This role requires reliability, attentiveness, and a willingness to support the rhythm of the kitchen.

  • Kitchen

    This is a fun and demanding work trade position. We cook for 100 people every meal during the retreat. We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about feeding and nourishing the Cultivate community. Kitchen volunteers are ideally industrious, responsible, and high energy folks who thrive in spaces where there is always something to be done. Kitchen volunteers like working in a team environment and do not mind taking direction to reach a shared goal. Community is everything in the Kitchen. Volunteers will need to be able to stand on their feet for 5-6 hours a day, lift 25-50# multiple times daily and maintain food safety at all times- all while having a sense of urgency, timeliness and ability to effectively communicate. Please have a willingness to wash dishes and experience with food prep and knife skills! You will be required to bring comfortable closed-toed shoes in order to cook and prepare the food that nourishes us all. Experience in a professional kitchen is a plus. We do need some volunteers to help with early arrivals (a self serve soup station) and with breakdown (Sunday lunch). Priority will be given to those who can arrive early. Please specify if this is you.

  • Dish Team

    Work within the kitchen spaces and learn about community health, kitchen safety, and sanitation best practices. This position will work around meal-time to set up sanitary hand washing and dishwashing stations each day. This team may also assist the kitchen team with food prep. Bring your passion for health, can-do attitude, and a willingness to learn. Successful Health and Safety volunteers need to be able to take direction, lift and carry up to 50lbs, be on their feet, and assist where needed. It is important to us to use as little disposable products as possible so each meal will require work before and after.

  • Refreshment Team

    Preference is given to those with some herbal education or background. Please note that the refreshment station opens early and stays open late, these shifts start at 6am and the evening shifts will past some evening activities. Volunteers will be responsible for blending and brewing large batches of tea and coffee throughout the days. Some heavy lifting is required as well as dishes and clean up.

  • Custodial/ Maintenance Team

    This is a great team for those who are passionate about waste management and keeping the gathering clean. As a team you will gather to remove trash from kitchen, common areas, and bathrooms and take to a refuse zone. On the final day of the gathering you will help to load up all remaining and collected garbage to take off site. Other responsibilities include assisting campers on Friday with tent set up when needed. Laundering napkins between meals and bath towels as needed. Daily cleaning of bathrooms and shower, with hourly check ins, restocking firewood. Some heavy lifting will be required. If all hours are not fulfilled in this hub you will be assigned hours on refreshment or community dish teams. This position should be minimal work during activity hours, but does require several hours on the final day of the gathering so please only apply if you have flexibility in your departure schedule!

  • Operations crew

    This team is essential to keep things running smoothly and on time. We will “reset” the room after meals to accommodate the next activity. Workshop areas will be reset in between to reconfigure for the different learning environments. “Breakfast in the garden” will require tables, chairs, and food to be moved before and after. Panel Q & A on Sunday will need a quick set up. Additional logistics will be needed in the event of rain. Successful volunteers need to be able to take direction, have initiative, lift and carry up to 50lbs, be on their feet, and assist where needed.

  • Welcome/Hospitality team

    Help with stuffing grab bags early Friday morning. Comprehensive understanding of the schedule, the property, and able to help guests know what is going on when and how to locate something. Aware of our hospitality closet an has taken inventory of it for helping others. Self serve hospitality care (first aid) station must be set up before guests arrive and monitored throughout the retreat for refilling. Friday afternoon availability to sit at the check in table and greet guests as they arrive, make them feel welcome, and help them locate everything.

  • Merchandise team

    Must be available Friday afternoon to work our official retreat merchandise booth. Be able to count change and have a smart phone for online purchases. After the official “market” time has ended Friday, the merchandise team will still need to monitor the booth while mingling. Leave electronic way for people to pay at the table, assist them if you see anyone approach the table, break down merchandise booth at the end of the night and reassemble in the morning.