PadmaFarm is a WWOOF member – world-wide volunteer work on organic farms and here at our farm (from May till November) you can meet friendly people with similar ways of life from all over the world. Volunteers from Canada, the USA, Great Britain, France, Israel, Australia, Holland, Germany, Poland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Ukraine, Turkey, Albania, Monte Negro, Croatia, Switzerland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Finland, Austria and of course Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia have come here to work so far.

About us

In and through community lies the salvation of the world. Nothing is more important. Yet it is virtually impossible to describe community meaningfully to someone who has never experienced it. Still, the attempt must be made. For the human race todays stands at the brink of self-annihilation. Some of the victims of Hirosima and Nagasaki are described as walking blindly down the street after the blasts, dragging bundles of their own skin behind them. I am very scared for my own skin. I am even more scared for the skin of my children. And I am scared for your skin. I need you, and you me, for salvation. We must come into community with each other, we need each other. 

M. Scott. Peck, psychiatrist, book Different Drum – Community Making (1987) 

Welcome to PadmaFarma

Our community and centre was founded in 1990 and started on 14th february 1992. We are aware that not every one of us can find the power and determination to start and manage such a big project – the creation of a spiritual centre that offers an alternative to the conventional way of living. That is why we are offering you the chance to join us and take an active part in continuing the building of this extraordinary antimatrix project – https://www.youtube.com/watch?…

Our activities

Meditation
Meditation is a basic technique for developing our mind and spirit. Meditation reaches across all religions and spiritual systems. Nobody can own it, everybody can use it. We are open to everybody who is willing to practise his/her own techniques. Our facility provides space for meditation and activities such as tai-chi, chi-gong, falun gong, yoga, etc. The meditation room is under the roof and has a capacity of 20 people. Part of the building is a big hall that is heated the whole year and provides a room for 70 meditating people which is also the maximum capacity for accommodation at this time. 

Ecology
PadmaFarm is a place for organic farming and sustainable living. Through our own example we would like to show that comunity driven farm house and local food supply is the right model for eliminating the negative influences of our nowadays society. PadmaFarm is using a ecological system for heating and energy use. We use the solar panels and other ecological systems for heating. In the front of the farm is an organic garden which offers healthy vegetables for our guests as well as for the local market. On the hill above the PadmaFarm there is a fold for cows, goats and sheeps. Stable and riding hall for horses are building in front of the farmhouse. Further uphill there is even more meadows and fields that could be used for farming. 

Education
Beside ecology we are also supporting art and creative activities such music, painting, pottery, theater, dancing etc. Creativity is an important part of human live, creativity can ewoke new ideas, new views on our everyday live. Throughout the human history creativity played very important role. Creative people can build their own opinion and are indispensable in every democratic society. The nonprofit organization Renata that manages PadmaFarm is one of important member of a network of centers for environmental educational in Czech Republic. Themes such as renewable energy, alternative energy sources, organic farming and others are presented in the farm. 

Permaculture
PadmaFarm can be presented as a permaculture project model. Although is was not planned like this, it has developed this way naturally, through the common sense of its founder and creator, Jakub. Basic human needs are covered in many ways: farm and water are heated by solar collectors, gasification chamber and a stove. Water is taken from a private well (there is a public water supply, if necessary). Rainwater is gathered in a little pond and in the future waste water is planned to be cleaned through vegetation cleaning, which will guarantee enough utility water. A flat part of land with good water supply (little pond) and with only a small threat of a land erosion has been left for vegetable growing. Fruit trees grow scattered on the grass and step by step there will be new fruit orchards planted. Fields suitable for grain production also form part of the farm. The slopes are used for pasture and balks have been gradually set by bushes. The forest is a source of building materials, wood for heating, forest fruits and its position protects the land and soaks up the rainfall. To say it in one sentence: PadmaFarm is permaculture!
Author: Čestmír Holusa, Secretary of the International Permaculture Association of the Czech Republic 

Shambhala
Throughout history, men and women have aspired to create societies that enable them to express the dignity of human existence and to lead meaningful lives within a flourishing culture. This is the vision of Shambhala which Jakub brought to PadmaFarma. At the heart of this wisdom tradition is the view that a dignified life based on meditative understanding is accessible to everyone and can blossom into an enlightened society. Contemplative practices bring into our ordinary lives a natural sense of goodness, fearlessness, and humor. 

„Shambhala – the sacred path of the warrior“
From the great cosmic mirror
Without beginning and without end,
Human society became manifest.
At that time liberation and confusion arose.
When fear and doubt occurred
Towards the confidence which is primordially free,
Countless multitudes of cowards arose.
When the confidence which is primordially free
Was followed and delighted in,
Countless multitudes of warrior arose. 

What is PadmaFarm?

PadmaFarma in Bela u Jevicka is a precious place where people are seeking for alternatives to a contemporary lifestyle based around consumption, which we feel is developing a little too fast. We have been rebuilding (from 1999) an old ruin of a farm into a centre devoted to ecology, art and meditation and which is there for all of you: 

• people interested in ecology and who have a concerned attitude towards the world
• families who are aware that we are responsible for what we leave behind for our children 
• all those who not only talk about good things, but also do them 
• all those who are willing to give up their egocentric thinking, open up and co-operate with

others and people searching for their own way and for whom spiritual development has become a natural part of their lives

PadmaFarma – Description of the place

Farm consist of people, animals, buildings, meadows, fields, garden, pond and forest. The bigger part of forest is not commercially used because the trees are too young. The older forest was used for a log chalet and farm buildings. We raise our stock of cows, sheep and goats on five hectares of meadows. On PadmaFarm there are four buildings – the farmhouse, a logcabin (loghouse), garrages (with apartments) and a stable (barn) for the animals. The farmhouse is the main building both in size and importance. It is about 25×40 m, covering an area of 1000 m2 and it comprises four wings and an inner yard with a terrace. The front(entrance) wing and the two side wings are the same size (175 m2), the back wing is formed by a former stone barn (250 m2). Inside the house there is a terrace which creates a flat utility roof. Under the terrace there is a hall and a yard (terrace hall is 80 m2; the yard is 220 m2). The front and the two side wings were demolished and fully reconstructed into its originál shape in the last twelve years. A new first floor was built, on which there are rooms for sleeping and upstairs apartments. So far there are three rooms in the front wing, and there are four two-room apartments and another five rooms for sleeping in the side wings.
The overall capacity of the Padma Farm (when all the work is completed) will be seventy people; so far it is designed to hold fifty people. There is also a smaller bathroom with three toilets on the first floor and two bigger bathrooms in the side wing. In this wing there is also a boiler room, workshop, passage, basement and cellar. These large areas are suitable for organizing bigger events (even events being held at the same time without disturbing each other).
Five to ten minutes from the farm there are several beautiful venues suitable for carrying out a range of programmes. There is a meadow on the top of the hill and a camp site in the valley. In front of the farm there is a garden (2000 m2) and a pond (100 m2). About 200 meters from the farm there is a ski lift but it is broken and does not work now. It runs up the hill above the farm and it is good for children and ski beginners.
Under a big lime tree, about 30 meters from the farm, there is a beautiful residential log chalet. In the near future a new owner or renter will have the chance to use it as their dwelling house or a holiday residence where they can relax in the fresh air and calm surroundings. Because of its close distance to the centre it is perfect for people of a spiritual or ecological nature. The chalet is situated in a spectacular valley near the Mala Hana region in a forested and hilly area. Above the chalet there is a meadow where cattle, sheep and goats graze. Below the chalet there is a field with a permaculture garden and a pond. The chalet occupies an area of 77 m2, and attic is larger with a balcony (14 m2). The ground floor is divided into a living room with kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, boiler room, and staircase leading to the first floor. The first floor is divided into four single rooms (a thre-room apartment) – kitchen with a living room, bedroom, children rooms and a bathroom. It will be heated by hot-air heating and underfloor heating. We offer this log chalet for purchase or for long-term hire. Agreement can be reached to construct the interior to suit the requirements of the new owner. There is some land that belongs to the chalet that can be used to create a garden or for keeping animals.
Several kilometres from PadmaFarma are two places that can provide bathing – a big pond three km far away and a quarry five km far away. The water in this quarry is ranked as one of the ten cleanest bathing sites in the Czech Republic (source: MF Dnes – journal).

Simply accomodation (in sleeping bag): 10 Euro per day 

Vegetarian food (bioproducts) 3 times a day: 15 Euro per day 

Comfortable accomodation (bed and breakfast): 20 Euro per day