“Knowing others is intelligent, knowing yourself is true wisdom” – Lao Tzu

Vision

The Mindfulness Project is part of a global movement which wants to make a difference.

We deeply believe that all the solutions for our current problems are already out there and we only have to tie the strings together into a healthy and healing system where we combine natural building, organic farming, alternative energies and water systems with a strong emphasis on personal growth and meditation.

Albert Einstein once said, that a problem can NEVER be solved with the same mind state that created that problem. So we deeply believe that a change has to start with our own mind and heart.

The development of your full potential, your creativity, your liveliness is so much more important than houses, gardens and structures. And the old traditions show us the way! We create an atmosphere where people feel at home and we work and life together like one big family.

The Mindfulness Project System has been scientifically researched by the University of Murcia, Spain and has shown amazing results! So come in and become part of the change!

What you will learn and work on

We have been operating since 2012, but have migrated to different locations over the years. From January 2016 to this past May 2024, the Mindfulness Project was developed on property in Khon Kaen. However, in May of 2024 we permanently moved to a beautiful piece of land in Loei, Thailand! Here we are currently building our new ecovillage from scratch!

It has been a fascinating process and we are still very much in the pioneering stage, so you can learn everything with hands-on experiences like :

  • water harvesting structures ;
  • natural building ;
  • building with natural stones ;
  • composting food and toilets ;
  • creating natural products;
  • installing alternative energy ;
  • starting permaculture gardens ;
  • earth bag building, and so much more

And the whole community will act as a mosaic on every building. Incredible art! We will rock it and it will be a once in a lifetime experience!

You will also get daily teachings in Yoga, Meditation and teachings about topics like psychology, non-violent communication, permaculture and much more!

Our schedule and important informations

We will take you on an incredible journey of self-transformation.

This involves a commitment from you and a deep willingness to be involved in all our activities, waking up early each day, and working hard for this planet and the people around us.

Drugs and alcohol are strictly forbidden during the whole time of your stay.

You will experience a lot of beautiful moments of meeting and helping Thai people but it also means that you need to be able to adjust to Thai culture, especially the dress-code.

Food

The Mindfulness Project is known for it’s extremely delicious and healthy food.

We cook two large and super tasty vegetarian organic meals per day. Natural snacks and food are always available when needed, as well. This will boost your immune system and puts you on a path to yummy healthy cuisine. Encounter how incredible healthy food can taste!

But the most amazing thing is that we cook with our participants together so that everybody is contributing to the preparation of the meals. By that we have incredible meals from all around the globe every day and learn from each other the fascinating secrets of other cultures and food.

We can cater for vegan, gluten free and most allergies.

Who are our participants?

People are attracted to the Mindfulness Project because they are interested in meditation and personal growth as well as in creative expression and care for the environment and nature.

We have a vision of how our project will be, but we want YOU to become a real part of the project for the time you are here instead of just a participant. That means that we are happy if you contribute your creativity, your ideas and visions and help to make it more diverse, interesting and happy. So you can design the mosaic, help us with ideas for our mindfulness clothes, films, photos, structure, business ideas etc. We have yoga-teachers, crafts people and expert of different faculties coming to our project.

Our dream is to make this place into a learning and healing center for alternative living and helping people as much as possible. There are no limits and we provide a space, where we can all learn from each other and most important can make mistakes.

The Mindfulness Family welcomes you to emerge on an incredible journey inside. And we are just beginning. So you can be part of the magic of the very start!

We are deeply dedicated to make inner and outer change and we are looking for people who want to join in this adventure which means hard work, mentally and physically and be content with very basic facilities!

Costs and facilities

We have a full program here at the Mindfulness Project and are proud of the healing place we have created so far.

We consider ourselves to be more of a working retreat than a simple work exchange, and the feedback from previous participants reflects this.

We ask for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week working time. The work is an essential part of the retreat program.

The instructional side of the program includes yoga (60 mins/day), meditation (45 mins/day) as well as the evening talking circle and lectures (up to 3 hours/day).

The facilities are basic but beautiful and natural. You will be living in shared tents with new friends from all over the world. We currently have 1 outdoor compost toilet (with another in the process of being built) and 4 outdoor showers. Everyone gets a mattress, sheets, blankets, and a pillow. Yoga mats are also provided. Please bring anything else you need to be comfortable.

Our daily price is 450 THB/day.

Our minimum stay is 10 days.

We ask participants to pay the first 10 days upfront upon arrival. The remaining days if you decide to extend, can be paid later in your stay.

Want an example of our teachings?

How to find us?

Photo of a sun setting behind a mountain with two hills full of trees and grasses rolling past each other in front.

Download here our PDF with directions how to get to us. It contains detailed descriptions and photos so you will have no problem finding us. Let´s start your adventure!

What to bring?

  • Clothes to work in that can get dirty.

  • Clothes that cover knees and shoulders when visiting monasteries.

  • A flashlight or headlamp for walking around at night.

  • We sleep on thick mats in tents. We have lots of sheets, pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags but bring anything else you might need.

  • We have basic cushions, but if you need more comfort bring your own.

  • Natural mosquito repellent and self-care items.

  • A positive mindset and all your enthusiasm!

How to make us happy?

We get asked a lot what one can bring from home. So here is our list what you can bring if you want to make us happy:

We never have enough pillows for everyone here at the project. If you want to make future volunteers really happy, bring a pillow with you then leave it behind for someone else 🙂


We love to learn and we love to spread the word… we are trying to build up our Mindfulness Project library! If you have any spiritual, permaculture, natural building, self-development, motivational, etc books, we would love to have them. We also do a lot of outreach work with kids so if you have any children’s books, these would also be super useful!

Frequent asked questions

This will answer most of your questions :

We try to apply Mindfulness to any action we are doing during the day. In order to train this we keep the morning in noble silence until after breakfast. After that we love to chat and talk and have fun !

We all share a large dormitory, sleeping on mats on the floor, separated by mosquito nets.

We intentionally don’t have wi-fi, as we try the best to live in the present moment and connect with the people around us. But if you buy a Thai SIM card, you will be able to receive signal. We recommend AIS company, and if Thai SIM cards aren’t compatible with your phone, you can get a mobile hotpost device at AIS as well. There is the possibility of internet sometimes in the nearby village, and on the weekly free day. And there are plenty of people to talk to instead!

The form of work exchange described on volunteer websites such as Workaway, HelpX and WWOOF implies that the ratio of giving and taking is balanced. We offer so much more than just a place to stay. In our project you will get really delicious and super healthy ORGANIC food, and rustic but beautiful accommodation for 5 hours of work a day, 5 days a week.

AND

on top of that we also offer 60 minutes of yoga, 30 minutes of guided meditation, 1-2 hours of group talking therapy, and 1-3 hours of teaching on topics suchs as earth-building techniques, gardening and permaculture, neuroscience, psychology, non violent communication, zero waste living, intermittent fasting, Buddhist philosophy and meditation, alternative methods of mind training, etc.

Once a week we attend Buddhist ceremonies with 100-200 Thai people. We get teachings from our teacher who is one of three directors of the second largest Buddhist monastery in Thailand. He got a prize from the Queen of Thailand for his exceptional work and is involved in the process of the ASEAN union. You have the opportunity to get a unique insight into Thai life and culture like hardly any project in Thailand can offer.

These (up to) 6.5 hours of extra teachings per day is offered, as well as food and accommodation, for just a very small fee; 350THB, which is the equivalent of around 10 Euros or 11 USD. Thats all. Try attending just one yoga class at home for as little as that!

In addition we are a charity which focuses on creating a strong community, teaching Thai people in English, preserving the forest, and saving the planet. We are incredibly dedicated to make a difference on this planet and thrive for a future for everybody and people love to come here to help us in any way.

Download our PDF with directions how to get to us from the top of the page. It contains detailed descriptions and photos so you will have no problem finding us. Let´s start your adventure!

Our booking calender is updated daily and if it says we are full, then we are full, even if just for one day. We understand that this is frustrating but we want to provide the best experience possible for our volunteers and overbooking makes life quite unpleasant here as our site has limited resources in terms of the kitchen, yoga space and toilets, as well as sleeping space.

Please refrain from e-mailing us to ask if the calendar says it is not possible.

We ask people to stay for a minimum of 10 days as we have experienced this is the absolute minimum time necessary to fully immerse yourself in the project lifestyle. We try to build a community here based on trust and open communication and this is just not possible if people are arriving and leaving any more frequently. We also want you to have the full experience, to go really deeply into meditation and personal development, and this has to include a Buddha day ritual in the Thai monastery. Staying any shorter a time not only limits your experience, but also limits the experience of other volunteers.

All our participants come to us on a Tourist Visa or Visa Waiver. We are a working retreat, not a volunteer program. Please do not attempt to apply for a volunteer visa in order to come to us, this will cause you problems at immigration. We are not recognised by the Thai government for this purpose. Please use a hotel or hostel for your address in Thailand when completing immigration forms.

What they say about us

  • WOW !!! What an incredible experience. This has to have been the most impacting experience of my life.
  • I cannot put into words the impact this project had on my way of thinking about life, myself and other people.
  • I stayed at the project for a total of 40 days and still cannot believe the number of amazing experiences I had.
  • I never could have predicted how enriching and meaningful my time would be at this project. These guys rock, and so does their vision.
  • We learned so much from them about building, gardening, cooking, as well as meditation and Buddhist living.

Watch our video

This video will give you a better insight in our project, our activities and who we are.

Testimonials

  • Michelle, USA

    So much love! You have created a space where people feel welcome, safe, understood and accepted. You have created a community based on LOVE AND RESPECT where we help one another simply because we love [...]

  • Janne, Holland

    Amazing! I spent over 5 weeks at this home away from home and it was one of the most transformative experiences of my life. The people, the community, the work, the meditation, the yoga, the [...]

  • Fred, France

    So inspiring! A rewarding and inspiring experience. Permaculture, mindfulness, sustainability, and organic living, were topics I only read about but now I can say I have experienced them. People usually come and go in our [...]

  • Kevon, USA

    Best thing I ever did “We woke up at 5am for yoga and meditation before work. Surprisingly in the simplest of circumstances, it was the most peaceful and happiest I’ve ever really been. I’ve made [...]

The Mindfulness Project is one of the most transformative experiences you can have! Outer development of nature and forest combined with an amazing self transformative system will make your stay an experience of a lifetime! Come and be part of a worldwide community of conscious people! We heal the world with the heart!

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Start your self-development journey NOW!

Apply for a spot in the Mindfulness Project.

If you are coming in a group please make sure that each person applies individually.

Make a once in a lifetime experience!