Buddhafield Base:
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Buddhafield Base?

 Buddhafield Base is a long-term project to create a permanent home for Buddhafield- a resource and events centre on 70 acres of land. It will be a place where individuals, groups and families can come to experience regeneration, develop skills, connect with community and the natural world, and take renewed energy back to their local lives. It is rooted in Buddhist values and open to everyone.

You can find lots more information on it here.

How is it different from a retreat centre?

Buddhafield Base will not be a conventional retreat centre. It will be a resource centre oriented towards practical exploration, community building, ecological care, meaningful work, and meditation and practice. The emphasis is on equipping people to engage more fully with the world. 

When did the project start?

The values at the heart of Buddhafield Base have been present in Buddhafield since the beginning. The Base project, as a distinct initiative, began in 2019 under the name Eco-Sattva. The name changed to Buddhafield Base in 2021, and the project was registered as a community benefit society in 2022. 

Why now?

Buddhafield has been holding temporary events on rented land for thirty years. Owning land would allow the community to develop infrastructure, deepen its impact, and create something that exists year-round and lasts for generations. It is the natural next step in the evolution of what Buddhafield has always been reaching towards.

What will actually be on the site?

The intention is to find a property that is ready to inhabit so that energy can go into community life and events rather than renovation. The site will include space for a permanent residential community, event infrastructure, organic food production, a forest garden, rewilded areas supporting local biodiversity, and eco-conscious buildings powered by renewable energy. It will be a working, living place.

Do I have to be Buddhist to get involved?

No. Being Buddhist is not an entry requirement for anything that Buddhafield does, including Buddhafield Base. Many of the people who work with and for Buddhafield would not identify as Buddhist. The project is underpinned by Buddhist values and ethics, and there are always opportunities for Buddhist practice, ritual and community building. These sit alongside an open welcome to anyone who shares the broader values.

Is Buddhafield a religious organisation?

Buddhafield is a Buddhist-rooted charity. Like the Buddhafield Festival, the Base project is shaped by Buddhist values and offers opportunities for Buddhist practice. It is also firmly oriented towards the wider world and welcomes people of all faiths and none. 

What are the four values of Buddhafield Base?

The four values are Care for Land and Ecology, Authentic Community, Meaningful Work, and the Celebration of Imagination and Creativity. Each has its roots in Buddhist teaching and practice, and each speaks directly to the challenges of the world we are living in. You can read detailed explorations of all four values on this website.

Will the community at Base be sober?

The communal areas at Buddhafield Base will be sober environments, consistent with the drug and alcohol free ethos of Buddhafield's events. Community guidelines are being developed with these principles in mind.

Do you have to be wealthy to be part of the community?

No. Membership of the Base community will be based on shared values, not financial buy-in. We are committed to making participation as accessible as possible and to structures that distribute power rather than concentrate it.

For example, our share offer allows investments of up to £100,000 but operates a one member one vote system so the maximum investment comes with the same voiting power as the minimum investment of £250. And for those that cannot afford the latter amount, there are plenty of ways to get invovled with Buddhafield through investment of energy and our mandate system. 

Isn't Buddhafield meant to live lightly on the land?

Yes, and that commitment continues at Buddhafield Base. The intention is to be custodians of a piece of land, to work in harmony with the ecology there, support biodiversity, grow food sustainably, and avoid placing human needs above those of other beings. Owning land is not in tension with this. It makes it possible to properly care for a piece of land over a long timescale.

Doesn't this just make you another landowner?

The Base project has been deliberately structured to avoid power concentrating in any one person or small group. Buddhafield Base is a Charitable Community Benefit Society, which means any profits serve the community rather than individuals. Buddhafield is run on holacratic principles that devolve power and give agency to anyone who wants to be involved. This system will operate at Base.

The land is held in common to serve a long-term vision that extends beyond any one person or even this generation of people. 

What about the land Buddhafield already has?

Buddhafield holds two pieces of land, Frog Mill and Bowerwood, and will continue to care for both.The Base project cannot be developed on either of these sites due to the size and topogrpahy of each. They are also both inside Dartmoor National park and have been cared for for years for biodiversity and a very light human footprint.

The sites used for the Festival and Green Earth Awakening are rented for each event and do not belong to Buddhafield. One of the practical benefits of Base is that owning event land will reduce rental costs and enable year-round infrastructure development.

Will Buddhafield stop holding temporary events?

No.Temporary gatherings are central to what Buddhafield does and will continue at Frog Mill and Bowerwood, as well as the Base site. The intention is that events grow through community effort, hold a particular practice and energy, and then dissolve away, leaving no trace. Buddhafield Base will enhance that work, not replace it.

What about local communities that already exist where you purchase land? 

We have always had good relationships with our neighbours, both at our rented sites and at the land we already own. We've worked in concert with communities, purchased food for our events locally, had reciprocal land care agreements with local farmers, and invited the neighbours to visit at various events.

We've also had a good relationship with the local authority and services regarding our festival's licensing, and we were granted a license in perpetuity in 2024 based on our exemplary record. Buddhafield Festival is drug- and alcohol-free, which means a clean site, no all-night party and an audience committed to low-impact living. 

Who can live at Buddhafield Base?

Community guidelines are still being developed, but membership will be based on shared values rather than financial investment. There will be space for individuals and families, and both temporary and long-term arrangements are envisaged. Some commitment to practice and to the sober communal environment is likely to be part of the framework.

How will Buddhafield Base be run?

Buddhafield Base is a Charitable Community Benefit Society, which means it exists for the benefit of the community rather than for profit. It operates with a one-member, one-vote structure. Governance follows holacratic principles, which means power is distributed across roles and circles rather than concentrated at the top.

How does Buddhafield Base relate to Triratna Buddhafield?

Triratna Buddhafield is the existing charity, whose aim is the advancement of religion. Buddhafield Base is a separate Charitable Community Benefit Society whose aims are centred on education, community building and environmental management. The two organisations are connected through shared board members, community overlap and a shared vision. They are complementary rather than competing.

Will Buddhafield stop holding temporary events?

No.Temporary gatherings are central to what Buddhafield does and will continue at Frog Mill and Bowerwood, as well as the Base site. The intention is that events grow through community effort, hold a particular practice and energy, and then dissolve away, leaving no trace. Buddhafield Base will enhance that work, not replace it.

What is the Community Share Offer?

The Community Share Offer is an opportunity to invest directly in Buddhafield Base and become a member of the society. You can buy shares from as little as £250 up to £100,000. By investing, you become part of the project and have a say in how it develops.

How are these shares different from ordinary shares?

Community shares are not like shares in a commercial company. They do not rise in value and are not traded on any market. Any profits generated by Buddhafield Base are reinvested in the project rather than distributed to individual shareholders. The return on your investment is the knowledge that you are helping to build something that will benefit current and future generations. You may think of it as a donation that you could one day have returned under the right conditions.

What do I get as a shareholder?

As a member of Buddhafield Base you receive one vote at the Annual General Meeting, regardless of how much you have invested. This is a deliberate choice to encourage financial accessibility and equality of power within the project. You also receive the satisfaction of knowing that your contribution is helping to create a permanent home for Buddhafield and everything it stands for.

Is my money safe?

Community shares carry risk, as with any investment. Buddhafield Base is committed to transparency about its finances and has taken legal advice in structuring the offer through Co-operatives UK. We aim to pay back shareholders out of gratitude and sound ethical practice rather than corporate motivation. We will be able to do this in a number of ways, including through future share offers as the project grows.

What will the money be used for?

Funds raised through the share offer, alongside donations and other income streams, will go towards the purchase of land and property for Buddhafield Base. Once the land is secured, ongoing income will support the development of the site, the running of events, and the care of the community and ecology there.

How do I apply?

You can read the full share offer document at the link below and apply through our online form.

If you have questions before applying, please get in touch and we will do our best to help.

How will Buddhafield Base help me personally?

Many of us feel the weight of trying to navigate a difficult world largely alone. Buddhafield Base is designed to offer an alternative to that isolation, through community, shared purpose, practice, and time in nature. The relief of not having to shore up your own small corner of the world in isolation is real. The project offers resources and tools to help people approach life with more clarity, compassion and effectiveness, and to take that back into whatever context they return to.

Isn't focusing on a big project like this a distraction from Buddhist practice?

Creating good conditions for practice goes hand-in-hand with creating a better world. Equanimity in response to suffering in the world is an active and resourced state that meets the situation of our everyday lives. There may be an aspiration to see one day everything that’s happening around us as an endless paradox of form and emptiness that is whole and perfect. However, while we’re on the way to that realisation, our practice benefits from our ethical conduct, guided by compassion.

Won't this make people more inward-looking rather than more engaged?

None of this is designed to circumvent the genuine suffering and grief in the world. With this kind of resilience, we can also turn towards issues like the consequences of our choices and our alienation from one another. In that recognition, we take the first step towards reconciliation and the transformative power of acknowledging what’s really going on. And then, we can see the next step and the one after that. With clearer minds and hearts, we can be more confident about what to do next and that we’ll be doing it progressively and effectively. 

What is the relationship between personal liberation and collective change? 

Ultimately, we recognise that it’s not an either/or situation. We can both work towards personal liberation and have the change we see when we do that impact the world. When we are in a good state, we tend to act well in the world. For example, when we are truly content, we tend not to buy more things, make poor choices regarding what we put in our bodies, and we feel able to help others.

How long do you hope Buddhafield Base will last?

The aspiration is for something that will last 250 years and beyond, a contribution to the future that is not contingent on any particular group of people, but is held by a structure and a set of values that outlast any individual.

How can I support the project?

You can donate through our Crowdfunder, invest through the Community Share Offer, volunteer, attend events, or simply share the project with people who might care about it. Every contribution, financial or otherwise, helps bring the land within reach.

Where can I find out more?

Click the button below.