Open call · Artists welcome · 45 days min
Volunteers and artists share the same roof and the same table here. Bring whatever you're good at (a song, a paintbrush, a camera, a way with people) and put it to work for at least 45 days, long enough to actually settle into valley life. It suits a gap year, a break between jobs, or a creative project you've been meaning to start somewhere that isn't your bedroom.
Build skills, meet people, and live in the mountains.
The Rustic · volunteer & artist exchange
WHO WE WANT
There's no corporate job description here. If you can help the house feel more alive, whether that's through a wall, a stage, a camera or just a way of making guests feel welcome, we want to hear from you. Students on a break, working artists between projects, and people who just need a few months in the mountains have all found a role here.
01
You’re the one making sure nobody sits out a trek plan because they didn’t know it was happening, and that the guest reading alone in the café knows they’re welcome to join in. Half the job is noticing who needs an introduction.
45 days minimum
02
A camera in hand most evenings (the bonfire, the dorm chaos, first light on the ridge), turned into the photos and reels that actually show people what a night here feels like.
45 days minimum
03
You bring the playlists, help the jam nights actually happen, and keep the evening moving when the group needs a nudge from quiet to loud or back again.
45 days minimum
04
Hand you a bare wall, a garden corner, or an unused nook, and you turn it into something guests stop and look at for the rest of the season.
45 days minimum
05
Guest journals, valley stories, the odd blog post, maybe a spoken-word night if enough people are up for it. You’re putting the place into words for people who weren’t here.
45 days minimum
06
Run a workshop, teach an upcycling session, get people moving: whatever skill you’ve got that’s more fun taught than described.
45 days minimum
The exchange
Think of it as shared living rather than a holiday. You pitch in on the day-to-day, help keep the common spaces in decent shape, and treat the valley, and the people in it, with the same care you'd want shown to you. In return, you're genuinely part of the household for however long you're here, not a guest being tolerated.
Shared volunteer / staff accommodation
Selected meals or café credit
Days for trails and slow mornings
Walls, nights, and curious people
HOW TO APPLY
Volunteer applications: WhatsApp +91 83685 59027
We do: a volunteer and artist exchange at The Rustic. You could end up hosting guests, helping run music nights, painting a mural, or documenting hostel life, and in exchange you get a bed and some meals covered.
We ask for 45 days minimum. Anything shorter and you’re just settling in as it’s time to leave; six-plus weeks is what it actually takes to get to know the place and contribute something worth contributing.
Absolutely. We’re regularly looking for musicians, muralists, photographers, filmmakers, writers, poets and movement artists. Come with a clear idea and something to show us, like a portfolio or a reel.
No, it’s an exchange rather than a wage: a bed and selected meals or café credit in return for your time. If a genuinely paid role ever comes up, we’ll say so plainly.
Roughly 4 to 5 hours of contribution a day, with time off across the week. The exact rhythm shifts depending on your role and the season.
Your dates (45 days or more), the role or art form you’re bringing, a short portfolio or reel link, what you’d actually like to make or host here, and why this particular chapter appeals to you.
We do take couples, as long as you’re both applying for roles we actually need filled and there’s space for the same dates.
