Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.

Esalen opens May 3, 2024

Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.

Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.

Learn more.

Work Scholar Program

A Seasonal Service Residency in Stewardship and Transformation

Come to Serve. Leave Transformed.

This is not a retreat. This is a calling. At Esalen, we believe the greatest transformation often begins when we commit to something larger than ourselves. The Work Scholar Program is a three-month seasonal, residential work-exchange opportunity rooted in service, discipline, and humility.

This experience is designed for those who have already done the inner work. While you’ll arrive with a foundation of personal growth, you’ll leave with something far more expansive: the strength that comes from consistent contribution, the pride of purposeful action, and the rare wisdom that emerges through selfless service.

Service

Study

THE SERVICE COMPONENT
A three month on-site work program, REEP is designed to help you reset and reimagine, heal and explore, and learn about yourself — all while working in service to the community. Explore new ways of thinking and being while being paid to work at Esalen.

REEP participants are assigned to either Kitchen or Cabins/Housekeeping with opportunities to experience the Farm & Garden.

You'll spend 36 hours per week working in one of the departments, and have four hours per week dedicated to human potential curriculum and training.

Shared accommodations and three meals per day are provided at a reasonable cost.

THE STUDY COMPONENT
Under the guidance of our skilled, compassionate faculty and surrounded by a cohort of fellow students, you will be challenged to expand your personal growth edges and open up to greater discoveries of self and community through these cyclical monthly themes:

Place and Presence: Nurture a sense of place and relationship with Esalen’s foundational elements, including the land, its thought leaders, and vision for human potentialities.

Meditation and Mindfulness: Experience direct instruction and further cultivation of a personal practice, while building a mindful connection to work and community life.

Embodied Inquiry: Practice somatic experiencing and awareness in service of self-inquiry and expression.

What You'll Do

Work scholars are the backbone of Esalen’s mission to awaken human potential through hands-on labor, deep presence, and care for others. You’ll be assigned to one of our core operational teams — Kitchen or Housekeeping/CABinS (Conscious Aware Beings in Service) — and contribute directly to the transformational experiences of over 500 guests each week.

  • Departments: Kitchen or CABinS (Housekeeping), plus 6 hours/week in the Farm & Garden
  • Work Commitment: ~36 hours/week
  • Physical Requirements: Must be able to work on your feet, carry up to 50 lbs, navigate stairs and uneven terrain, and tolerate various weather conditions
  • Environment: Rural, rugged, and beautiful. Esalen is remote — there are no nearby stores or services.

As a Work Scholar, you’ll contribute through focused, physically engaged roles that support the guest experience and the living ecosystem of Esalen. Your tasks may include:

  • Washing dishes and stewarding the heart of our kitchen spaces
  • Changing over guest rooms and cleaning with care and attention
  • Chopping vegetables, following recipes, and assisting with meal prep
  • Folding laundry and supporting the flow of sacred guest spaces
  • Planting, weeding, harvesting, and tending to the land in the Farm & Garden
  • Supporting operational flow with mindfulness, rhythm, and precision
  • Participating in daily rhythms of purposeful action, accountability, feedback, and shared intention

Service

Study

THE SERVICE COMPONENT
A three month on-site work program, REEP is designed to help you reset and reimagine, heal and explore, and learn about yourself — all while working in service to the community. Explore new ways of thinking and being while being paid to work at Esalen.

REEP participants are assigned to either Kitchen or Cabins/Housekeeping with opportunities to experience the Farm & Garden.

You'll spend 36 hours per week working in one of the departments, and have four hours per week dedicated to human potential curriculum and training.

Shared accommodations and three meals per day are provided at a reasonable cost.

THE STUDY COMPONENT
Under the guidance of our skilled, compassionate faculty and surrounded by a cohort of fellow students, you will be challenged to expand your personal growth edges and open up to greater discoveries of self and community through these cyclical monthly themes:

Place and Presence: Nurture a sense of place and relationship with Esalen’s foundational elements, including the land, its thought leaders, and vision for human potentialities.

Meditation and Mindfulness: Experience direct instruction and further cultivation of a personal practice, while building a mindful connection to work and community life.

Embodied Inquiry: Practice somatic experiencing and awareness in service of self-inquiry and expression.

Who This is For

Service is sometimes invisible. But the transformation it sparks is undeniable.
—CABins team

This is a space for those prepared to give their energy in service to others, built on a stable inner foundation.

This program is ideal for those who are...

  • In a life transition and/or seeking purposeful opportunities to serve
  • Already grounded in emotional regulation and self-awareness and ready to give back
  • Capable of contributing and self-regulating in physically and socially demanding environments
  • Drawn to community living, selfless devotion and the stewardship of sacred space

This program is not for those who are...

  • In acute emotional or mental health crisis or deep burnout
  • Intentionally seeking healing or a therapeutic retreat
  • Resistant to feedback, teamwork, or physical labor

Important Note on Program Scope

Please note: The Work Scholar Program is not a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, mental health treatment program, or therapeutic retreat.

While we honor the transformational power of Esalen, this opportunity is intended for individuals who are already on stable ground in their personal growth and are emotionally and physically resourced to contribute in service to others.

If you are currently in crisis, navigating active addiction or recovery, or seeking intensive emotional healing, we encourage you to pursue more appropriate clinical or therapeutic resources prior to applying.

The Gifts of Service

I came to give back, but what I received was beyond anything I could’ve imagined — clarity, purpose, and a sense of true belonging.
—Past work scholar

In exchange for your contribution, you’ll receive more than room and board, you’ll gain:

Service

Study

THE SERVICE COMPONENT
A three month on-site work program, REEP is designed to help you reset and reimagine, heal and explore, and learn about yourself — all while working in service to the community. Explore new ways of thinking and being while being paid to work at Esalen.

REEP participants are assigned to either Kitchen or Cabins/Housekeeping with opportunities to experience the Farm & Garden.

You'll spend 36 hours per week working in one of the departments, and have four hours per week dedicated to human potential curriculum and training.

Shared accommodations and three meals per day are provided at a reasonable cost.

THE STUDY COMPONENT
Under the guidance of our skilled, compassionate faculty and surrounded by a cohort of fellow students, you will be challenged to expand your personal growth edges and open up to greater discoveries of self and community through these cyclical monthly themes:

Place and Presence: Nurture a sense of place and relationship with Esalen’s foundational elements, including the land, its thought leaders, and vision for human potentialities.

Meditation and Mindfulness: Experience direct instruction and further cultivation of a personal practice, while building a mindful connection to work and community life.

Embodied Inquiry: Practice somatic experiencing and awareness in service of self-inquiry and expression.

Curriculum: The Work Is the Practice. The Practice Is the Learning.

In exchange for their service, Work Scholars receive the benefit of two weekly faculty-led classes exploring Esalen’s foundational practices:

  • Landing in Place – Ecological attunement and place-based presence
  • Landing in Body – Somatic intelligence and resilience
  • Landing in Community – Relational awareness and collective care
  • Landing in the Unseen – Ritual, intuition and emergence

Accommodations & Compensation

  • Housing: Shared accommodations in our Garden View rooms (with stairs, lofts, and shared amenities)

These rooms are up 8 mini-flights of stairs equaling 44 steps. Each room has a downstairs and loft space, and each space has a 5 drawer dresser and an approximately 48 in wide closet. Each room has a mini-fridge, and a bathroom with a toilet and shower.

Please note: Due to the shared nature of housing and limited facilities, our accommodations are not suitable for emotional support animals (ESAs). While we comply with all applicable laws regarding service animals as defined by the ADA, emotional support animals are not permitted in Work Scholar housing.

  • Meals: Three nourishing meals per day
  • Pay: $16.50/hour
  • Residential Fee: $200 per pay period (deducted from wages) and includes accommodations, utilities, and three meals per day.
A man dances facing the Pacific Ocean on the pool deck at Esalen.

Imagine if you pressed pause
on your life for four weeks to
give yourself time and space
to transform.

Cleaning porcelain has taught me as much as any workshop. Service is a form of prayer.
—CABinS Scholar
Working in the kitchen to feed and nourish others has not only been deeply rewarding — it’s contributed to my own integration and healing.
—CAitlin
This place held my transformation because I was willing to hold space for others first.
—gracie

If you feel the call to serve, live intentionally, and grow through the discipline of purposeful action, we welcome you to apply.

Start Dates

❯

September 21 – December 13, 2025

December 14, 2025 – March 7, 2026

March 8 – May 30, 2026

May 31 – August 22, 2026

August 23 – November 14, 2026

November 15, 2026 – February 6, 2027

February 7 – May 1, 2027

May 2 – July 24, 2027

July 25 – October 16, 2027

October 17, 2027 – January 8, 2028

Apply Now

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