Summer Opening 2024

If we are not peaceful, if we are not feeling well in our skin, we cannot demonstrate real peace and we cannot raise our children well either.

Thich Nhat Hanh, “Love in Action”

From July 9th – August 1, 2024, Plum Village will be a kingdom of smiles for families with children and teens.

The teachings and practices will be for all ages with tailored programs for children and teenagers.

To create space for more families, all retreatants (including children and teens) can register for one week only.

Please plan your retreat carefully to arrive and depart on the designated dates, especially if you are coming with children or teens so they can start the retreat together with their new friends. A weekly retreat will be 7 days.

Children’s Program (aged 6-12 years old)

• French children’s program – Upper Hamlet (3 weeks)
  
• Italian children’s program – Upper Hamlet (3 weeks)
  • Week 1 will be for ages 6 – 9 years only
  • Week 2 will be for ages 6 – 12 years
  • Week 3 will be for ages 9 – 12 years only
    
• Spanish children’s program – Upper Hamlet (3 weeks)
  
• English children’s program – Lower Hamlet and New Hamlet (3 weeks)
  
• German children’s program – Lower Hamlet
  • Week 3 only
    

Dear Dutch-speaking families,

In 2024, the Dutch speaking brothers and sisters will focus on offering the Dutch children program in the EIAB. For that reason, we will not have the Dutch children program in Plum Village. 

Thank you for your understanding.  

Teens’ Program (aged 13-17 years old)

• Teen boys’ program – Upper Hamlet
  
• Teen girls’ program – New Hamlet

More information about joining us for a retreat

• Sample schedule
• Accommodation and contributions
• Transportation, what to wear, what to bring, and meals

Application for Children | Teens’ Program

Dear friends,

Thank you for coming to Plum Village each Summer and growing our sangha family together.

We are aware that we do not have the physical capacity to accommodate all the families that wish to attend. We would like, as much as possible, to offer an inclusive registration experience.

Important to note: Programs for children aged 6-12 years old and teenagers aged 13-17 years old will take place in the different hamlets of Plum Village according to language and gender. These hamlets are situated in different towns in the region.

Each child and/or teen would need to have an accompanying parent or adult guardian to be registered in the hamlet. In some cases, your family may need to stay in different hamlets if the programs that you need for your children do not take place in the same hamlet (and therefore ensure an adult is registered in each hamlet with your child).

Also important to note: We can only offer camping places for families in each hamlet, except in Upper Hamlet where there are very limited accommodation options for families. We kindly ask everyone to bring their own camping equipment. In Upper Hamlet, teenage boys will camp separately with the teens program.

For Summer 2024, you will have two weeks to proceed with make your application, then we will have a random selection process. Making an application does not guarantee that you have registered for the Summer Opening retreat. If your application is randomly selected, then you will receive a confirmation email inviting you to finalize your registrations by proceeding with the payment. If you did not receive a confirmation email, then your application was not selected. You can then choose to be on the waiting list.

Important dates:

• December 27: Application opened
  
• January 10: Application closed
  • 15:00 Central European Time (CET)
    
• January 10 – 12: Round 1 of random selection of applications.
  
  • You will receive a confirmation email if your application has been selected.
  • You have 4 weeks to finalize registration and pay the contribution
  • Registration that is not finalized and paid for will be canceled
    
• January 13: Waiting list opens again at 15.00 CET

Registration for singles and couples

Por favor, haz clic aquí para unirte a una Familia de Dharma de habla hispana.

Per favore, clicca qui per unirti a una Famiglia Dharma di lingua italiana.

Volunteering for the Summer Opening

The Summer Opening is not possible without the support of our volunteers. In order to truly offer stability and peace to the retreat, we prioritize volunteers who can make a one month commitment (arrive on July 2 and depart on August 3).