Volunteer or work on our Yoga Retreats in Portugal
We’re currently offering a volunteer programme or work (a Karma Yoga work exchange) at our retreat centre.
Working as a Chef on our yoga retreat in Portugal with us
As a retreat centre for more than 19 years, we’ve offered many people the chance to work with us. We don’t accept collaborations or partnerships that try to put Yoga Evolution in the background for someone else’s project. We do welcome experienced chefs who want to develop their skills by cooking from the Yoga Evolution Retreats cookbook (a collection of recipes refined over many years). If you’re a chef and this resonates with you, we’d love to hear from you—please tell us about your experience and how you feel you could contribute to our retreats.
Volunteer on our yoga retreat in Portugal
We’re looking for committed, motivated, and enthusiastic people who have a genuine interest in yoga and the natural environment. Over the years, we’ve found that the people who thrive here are those who approach the experience with an attitude of “How can I be of service?” rather than “What can I get out of this?” We’re looking for people who bring a peaceful, caring, and helpful energy—those who naturally want to support the whole community rather than focusing only on themselves.
You’ll be asked to work around 20 hours a week, spread over 5 days (roughly 4 hours a day).
This is a lovely opportunity to learn about healthy vegan cooking and the day-to-day running of a community yoga retreat centre (or rural estate). Duties mainly involve working alongside our chef in our beautiful retreat kitchen—prepping vegetables and helping create delicious meals. Outside of retreat weeks, the work is different and will be explained to you by the property owners, Sue and Peter.
Other tasks can include:
- Helping look after our animals (we call this “feeding time at the zoo”)
- Hanging out laundry
- Watering the flowers
- Strimming and chopping firewood
Please note that cooking full meals is not part of the volunteer role—this is a shared responsibility among the team.
In exchange, you’ll receive food, accommodation, the chance to join all the Yoga Evolution yoga classes, and the opportunity to meet wonderful like-minded people from around the world. Or simply enjoy the peaceful experience of living in our little haven.
We want to be honest: it can be demanding both physically and emotionally to take part in the retreat while also being part of the work team. We’ll do our best to support you if needed, but we kindly ask you to reflect carefully before applying to make sure this feels right for you at this time. We need a strong, reliable team so we can continue offering a high-quality experience for our guests.
If you’re interested, please email sue@yogaevolutionretreats.com and tell us a little about yourself, why you’d like to join the programme, and when you’re available. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. We recommend staying for at least two weeks so you can fully immerse yourself in the rhythm of the place. Please plan to arrive on a Sunday and leave on a Saturday so you stay in sync with our guests. Longer stays are sometimes possible and will be discussed with Peter and Sue.
This is a popular opportunity, and if you’re accepted we’ll make sure you leave with a genuine insight into how a well-established retreat (with over 20 years of experience) actually works. We’re not looking for people who simply want a free holiday or a free ride—this wouldn’t align with our values or the rhythm of the retreat.