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Dharma Yatra Costs

The Dharma Yatra does not have a fixed cost for participants, it is primarily supported by donations, but in two somewhat different ways.

Firstly we have the Shared Costs which are to cover the expenses of the Yatra; all the practical things that have to be bought and prepared for the event to happen.

Secondly we have Dana; a freely given act of generosity to support the acts of kindness, wisdom and care offered by the teachers and organisers.

Below you will find more details about:

Cost Sharing

The principle of cost sharing is at the root of the Dharma Yatra. Since the first Yatra in France, we have chosen to trust the participants to cover the expenses. We do not ask each person to pay the same amount. With no fixed charge, we sincerely wish to make the yatra accessible to all.

We put our trust in generosity and share the cost as a community, even though we do need to cover the different expenses. We do not ask an equal amount from everyone since everyone has a different financial situation. We wish to offer an event in the spirit of inclusivity: so people with little money to spare are fully welcome to come. We trust there will be people able to give more to support those who give less.

We have a registration fee to cover the preparatory costs. To enable this radical way of supporting the event, we prefer to put out offering boxes at the end of the Yatra.

These kinds of events are important in our modern world. We choose to swim against the flow of consumerism and an increasing disparity of wealth. Let's use this opportunity to break the habit of payment for services. This allows generosity, sharing and responsibility to guide us.

Registration Fee

We ask for a non-refundable registration fee, this assists with numerous setting up costs.

Registration Fee:

  • €100 - for each adult participant
  • €70 - for each child participant over 5 years of age (6-15 years old)
  • €55 - for each child participant 5 years old and under (0-5 years old)

Please note; This registration fee only covers a part of the expenses. The remaining costs of the Yatra will be covered by a donation given at the end of the event.
To give a sense of the remaining expenses: To cover the totality of the costs of running the Yatra we will need most people to give a further €150 each.
Please note that if you cannot give this much you are still welcome to attend the Yatra and to give only as much as you can. Everyone is welcome: The spirit of cost sharing, as explained above, will require some people to give a little more when some of us give a little less, that is all. We trust that in the end we will cover all the costs as we have done each year.

Expenses for the Dharma Yatra

The Yatra expenses include a lot of different aspects, some are listed below.
We try every year to offer a Yatra that is accessible to all by being affordable to all. This means the whole event relies on the generosity of all of us. As participants we support the event financially at the end, but also actively during the event. The organisers and the teachers give their time and energy before, during, and after, the event. All those organising the Yatra, which involves many hundreds of hours of work, are doing so voluntarily.

Expenses for the Dharma Yatra include:

  • all the meals; prepared with as much local and organic food as is possible,
  • administration costs (insurance, phone before and during the Yatra, internet, mail…),
  • buying, fixing and maintaining the equipment for the kitchen and campsite (toilets, showers, shelters…),
  • hiring and fuelling 3 vehicles (trucks and minibus) for the 10 days of the Yatra,
  • teachers' travel fares,
  • travelling costs for the managers to prepare everything in the area (to find the camp sites, the tracks, the food suppliers…),
  • etc.

A spreadsheet will be made available during the Dharma Yatra for people who wish to see a breakdown of the expenses. We recognise that this is helpful for some people.

Dana - Generosity and Donations

We also hope that you will be able to offer a generous donation to the teachers and the main organizers who offer their time whole heartedly, and yet receive no payment for coming, teaching and all the work they do to create the Yatra.

We appreciate that working in this way may seem strange at first, but it is following in the footsteps of an old tradition. Even though it dates back to a time before this consumerist age, it still feels fresh and radical to us. We hope you enjoy the freedom of no fixed price, and the liberation of acts of generosity.

Primarily donations will be accepted on or near the last day of the Yatra, when the process will be explained to the all the participants. But donations can be made before the Yatra also.

Generosity

We ask all participants to support the event in the spirit of generosity. We hope that all will find the radical way we fund this event, and support it's organisers and teachers, as a step on the path towards liberation from attachment.
We recognise that it isn't easy to change our relationship with money. We may fear manipulation, we may just feel confused, or we may feel freed up, for each of us it's an individual process and journey.
We can integrate generosity into our practice by adjusting our ways of looking. Some may imagine themselves receiving the Yatra as a gift from previous participants, which they in turn offer to future generations. Some may feel moved to give more so another less financially able person can come. Some will recognise that it is not the amount that they give, but the spirit of freedom and generosity that is most important.

Money is the energy by which we can support these kinds of events, and these kinds of people who dedicate weeks, months and years to the creation of Dharma events. Events that are aimed at one thing; the liberation of human beings from the devastating influence of greed, hatred and delusion.

Methods of Payment

Acts of generosity can be made with any of the following forms:

  • Cash of any currency
  • French cheques in euros (payable to "Yatra")
  • Paypal and bank transfer (Preferably before the Yatra)

To make a donation before coming to the Yatra visit our Donation page. This money helps to cover the preparation expenses.

Read more About the Teachers on this years Yatra