Arco Isis Sanctuary

Leave something of yourself on this mountain

We are a retreat sanctuary above San Marcos La Laguna, on Lake Atitlán. There is more here to build, grow, mend and tell than our team can hold alone. If you have a craft and some time, there is a place for you — and a project with your name on it.

Apply to volunteer →

The exchange

A place to sleep and food from our kitchen, for an agreed project

What we give

A bed on the land in shared volunteer accommodation, three plant-based meals a day from our kitchen, and the sanctuary itself: the temples, the lake, the people who work here and what they know.

What we ask

One project, agreed before you arrive, with a scope, a number of hours a week, a start and an end — and something real to show for it when you leave.

The hours, the dates and where you sleep are settled with our volunteer coordinator before you book anything, and written into a short agreement you sign. No money moves in either direction.

Eight ways in

Where we need hands

Arts

We are opening the space to visionaries who want to leave a bit of their heart on the land, in murals or in sculpture.

A mural on a wall we agree on together
Sculpture and land art, in stone, clay, wood or found material
Restoring and finishing pieces already here

Show us your work. We care more about what you have actually made than where you studied.

Permaculture farm

We have what is needed and we are just beginning our own vertical farming. What we need is hands, to get the most from four reforested acres of mountainside.

Beds, compost, seedlings, irrigation and the daily rhythm of growing food
Building and running the vertical growing systems
Caring for the reforested slope and the paths through it

Somebody who likes being outside in real weather, and who finishes what they start.

Volunteering in the community

There is a lot we can do for the lake and for the community we belong to, beyond our own gate.

Lake and shoreline work alongside local groups
Projects with neighbours in San Marcos, on their terms
Teaching, translating or lending a skill where it is wanted

Humility, and Spanish if you have it. We are guests in this town, and we behave like it.

Signs and wayfinding

From the town to our gate, and from the gate through every path on the property, people should always know where they are.

Designing and making signs that look like they belong to this land
Carving, painting, lettering and mounting them
Mapping the paths and deciding what a visitor needs to know, and where

A maker's eye and a steady hand. Carpentry, carving or lettering experience is a gift here.

Eco garbage system

Separation, composting, reuse and what leaves the mountain: a system that works without anyone having to think about it.

Designing and building the separation and composting stations
Setting up what happens to each stream, and who does it
Teaching the team and the guests how it works, in both languages

Someone practical who has done this somewhere before, or is stubborn enough to get it right.

Audiovisual

The land is beautiful and almost nobody sees it. Photography, film, sound and editing, for the sanctuary's own story.

Photographing the spaces, the food, the ceremonies we are allowed to film
Short films and reels for the sanctuary's channels
Sound, drone and editing, if that is your craft

Your own gear, a portfolio we can look at, and a feel for when not to point a camera.

Host and guest experience

The hundred small things that decide how a guest feels: the welcome, the room, the detail nobody asked for.

Welcoming arrivals and walking them into the place
Preparing spaces, and the details that make a room feel cared for
Being alongside retreat groups and their facilitators

Warmth, attention, and the patience to repeat the same welcome as if it were the first.

Front desk

The first voice people meet: bookings, messages, arrivals and the daily order of the house.

Answering messages and bookings, in English and Spanish
Check-ins, check-outs and keeping the day's list straight
Keeping our records honest so nobody is forgotten

Organised, reliable with a calendar, and comfortable talking to strangers all day.

After you send it

We take one to two days with every application

1Your application goes straight to our volunteer coordinator. A person reads it, not a filter.
2Within one to two days you hear back either way. A no is still an answer, and we will send it.
3If it is a yes, we talk — usually a short call — and shape the project, the dates and the hours together.
4You receive a short volunteer agreement to read and sign, with everything we agreed written in it. Then you book your travel, not before.

You

The basics, so we know who we are talking to and how to reach you.

Full nameEmailWhatsAppWhere you are from, and where you are nowLanguagesAnd how well you speak each one.LinksInstagram, portfolio, website — anything that shows your work.

I am 18 or older.

When, and for how long

Projects here have a start and an end. Tell us the window you are working with.

Earliest you could arriveLatest you would leaveHow many weeks could you giveHours a week you can commitBe honest. We would rather plan around the truth.

Have you been to Guatemala or Lake Atitlán before?

What you would like to give

Choose one or two areas. Two is the most we can hold well at once.

Why that, and what would you want to make or do here?What are you genuinely good at?The things you are actually good at, not the things you have read about.Experience that matters for thisWhere, for how long, and what came out of it.

Training or certificationsPermaculture, first aid, electrical, food handling, teaching…Anything you bring with youCamera, tools, instruments, a laptop that can edit.

What would you like to learn while you are here?

How you are with other people

You would be living and working alongside a small team and real guests. This part matters as much as the skill.

Three words your friends would use for youWhat is it like to live in a community with you?When you disagree with someone you work with, what do you do?Tell us about a time a shared project went wrongWhat happened, what you did, and what you would do differently.What does service mean to you?

Early riser or night owl?The farm starts early. Some work is better late.How do you feel about simple living?Shared rooms, cold showers some days, insects, mountain weather, no shops at the gate.

Practical

So that if you come, you arrive to a place that is ready for you.

FoodOur kitchen is plant-based. Allergies and restrictions are welcome here.Emergency contactName, relationship, phone number.

Anything we should know to support you well?Only what you want to share. It stays between you, the coordinator and the owner.

Do you have travel or health insurance?Travel and health cover is your own responsibility.Anything else you want us to know

Before you send it

I have read how the exchange works: a place to sleep and three plant-based meals a day, in return for an agreed project with agreed hours and a start and an end. This is not paid work, and travel, insurance and visas are mine to arrange.You may photograph or film me and the work I make here, and use it for the sanctuary. (Optional, and it changes nothing about your application.)

We answer every application within one to two days.

Before you ask

Questions people send us

What exactly is the exchange?

A place to sleep on the land and three plant-based meals a day, in return for an agreed project with agreed hours, a start and an end. The hours and the dates are settled with the coordinator before you travel, and written into a short agreement you sign. It is not paid work.

How long do volunteers usually stay?

As long as the project needs, which is why we ask what you can give rather than telling you a number. Short visits rarely leave anything finished behind, so we tend to look for several weeks.

Where would I sleep?

In shared volunteer accommodation on the property, which depends on what is free when you come. The exact place is named in your agreement before you arrive, so nobody travels without knowing.

What is not included?

Flights and travel to the sanctuary, travel and health insurance, visas, and your personal spending. Insurance is yours to arrange and we will ask you about it.

Do I need Spanish?

Not for every area, but it changes what you can do here, and in the community track it matters a great deal. Tell us honestly what you speak.

Can I come with a partner or a friend?

Say so in your application and we will tell you straight whether we have room and work for two. Each of you applies separately, so we can read you both properly.

Can I bring my children or my dog?

We are a working retreat centre with guests, so it is rarely possible. Ask before you plan anything around it.

What about visas?

Your visa is your own responsibility and the rules depend on your passport, so check with your nearest Guatemalan consulate. If an invitation letter helps, we can write one once you are accepted.

Is there wifi, and days off?

There is Starlink wifi on the property, and your days off are part of what we agree before you arrive and are written into the agreement.

What would make you say no?

An application that could have been sent to any place in the world. We read for the person: what you make, how you are with others, and whether the project you want is one we can actually hold right now.

Still unsure whether you fit? Write to us and ask.