Happy Farm Harvest Themed Week

Imagine your hands in rich earth, the September sun warming your shoulders, as you move mindfully through rows of vegetables and fruit trees—not as labor, but as love. The Happy Farm Harvest Themed Week at Plum Village invites you to step away from the digital world and into the sacred rhythm of agricultural life, where every harvest becomes a meditation and every gesture of service deepens your spiritual practice.

Led by the contemplative wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh's mindfulness teaching, this week-long retreat in the Dordogne draws together seekers, volunteers, and practitioners ready to reconnect with the earth and with themselves. Held at New Hamlet in Thénac, this seasonal harvest retreat combines practical farm work with authentic contemplative practice—offering a rare opportunity to nourish both land and spirit simultaneously. Whether you're new to mindfulness or deepening an established practice, this retreat teaches presence through presence itself: the felt experience of working in harmony with nature and community.

This is for anyone seeking to move beyond theory into embodied spirituality, to understand how service is itself a path, and to leave with calloused hands, a quieter mind, and a renewed sense of belonging to the living world.

What to Expect

Mornings begin in stillness—perhaps with guided meditation or mindful breathing—before you move into the fields and gardens of New Hamlet. You'll engage in seasonal harvest work alongside fellow practitioners, moving with intention and awareness rather than rushing. The rhythm alternates between periods of focused farm labor and moments of rest, reflection, and communal meals. Throughout the week, teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh's mindfulness tradition weave the practical and spiritual dimensions together, showing how turning soil becomes turning inward, and how service becomes transformation. By week's end, you'll leave with a tangible sense of contribution to the Plum Village community, a deeper understanding of interconnectedness, and the lived experience that spiritual practice lives not only on the meditation cushion but in the soil beneath our feet.

About the Artist

Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and pioneering mindfulness teacher who spent five decades bringing the practice of present-moment awareness into mainstream spiritual consciousness. Through his prolific writings, retreats, and peace activism, he made contemplative practice accessible and relevant to modern life—showing that mindfulness is not escape from the world, but engagement with it. His vision of spirituality rooted in community, service, and deep ecology informs the ethos of Plum Village and this harvest week.

Venue & Logistics

Held at Plum Village in Thénac, Dordogne, France, from Wednesday, September 23, 2026, this retreat welcomes participants to New Hamlet. Wear comfortable clothes suitable for outdoor work; bring sturdy shoes, sun protection, and a water bottle. The week accommodates various fitness levels—farm work can be adapted to individual capacity. For accessibility questions, contact the organizers directly.