Volunteers have been contributing to the life of the Pilsdon Community since it opened.  We particularly welcome those who enjoy being with people and who can see what needs doing and get on with it!
Potential volunteers are invited to make a preliminary visit of 2 or 3 days, and may after this visit be invited to spend a week discovering whether they want to pursue their application.  The first month is viewed as a ‘trial period’; reviewed toward the end of this time, and in conversation with the warden, a decision is reached as to whether an extended stay of a further five months would be beneficial.It might be the case that Pilsdon is not after all the ‘right place’ but where mutual benefit is anticipated, volunteers will be offered a conditional six month stay. There are sometimes opportunities for a volunteer’s six months stay to be followed by a further six month period.
During the first week there is an induction into Pilsdon’s policies ( e.g. health&safety, protection of vulnerable adults from abuse, confidentiality, food hygiene, lone working and appropriate boundaries) and over the first month, familiarity with the routines of milking, animal care, cooking, gardening, painting and decorating and building maintenance are offered through working alongside guests and community members.

There are lots of opportunities to share skills and to learn from others. Volunteers work in specific areas agreed with them and are able to shadow others in their roles.  A volunteer having a current driving licence is of particular benefit to the Community as there are many occasions when guests need to be driven to local appointments.

LIVING AT PILSDON
Accommodation is either in a bed-sitting room or in a sitting room and bedroom and there is, of course, access to all community facilities: library, common room, pottery, craft and art rooms, snooker and television rooms.  (Some of the areas accommodating these facilities are presently under reconstruction but should be fully functional again by late Spring 2011.) We expect that all volunteers will share fully in the life and activities of the community: walks, outings, celebration and special events.  We have four daily offices  in the church, open to all but there is no obligation to attend.  It is anticipated that all volunteers at Pilsdon are sympathetic to its Christian ethos.
Central to our ethos is the concept of ‘living alongside each other’. One important implication of this is that we all share the same regime in terms of Pilsdon being a ‘dry house’. ‘Living alongside’ removes us from the conventional workplace: boundaries between ‘off duty’ and ‘on duty’ are blurred and ‘hours worked’ is not a notion that we embrace.  We operate a six-day week and our days tend to be long, so being robust and flexible is essential; volunteers need a good level of self-awareness and to take responsibility for planning their own leisure and rest periods.  Planning for personal needs beyond the two evenings and one day off entitlement each week, involves negotiation with others and putting community needs first if necessary.  A little adjustment may be needed in getting used to such restrictions.
This said, for time off, the local town of Bridport provides a wealth of cultural and sporting activities with its Arts Centre, cinema-cum-theatre and leisure centre . The Cathedral  cities of Salisbury and Exeter are little more than an hour away.

PRACTICAL MATTTERS
The pocket money for residential volunteers is £90.00 a month and all board and lodging are free; as well as the entitlement of one day off each week there is a further 12 days ‘leave’ during the first six months.  If staying for a full year a volunteer may take a further eighteen days as holiday. In this remote location there is a complete lack of public transport but the bus station at Bridport links up with national buses and there are hourly trains into London from a rail station just ten miles away; we are, of course, happy to give lifts to the stations. Use of a Pilsdon car for free time can usually be negotiated but this cannot be guaranteed. If a car is used on a day off, Pilsdon will pay for the first fifty miles of fuel. 
All those helping at Pilsdon are required to provide two references plus a medical reference (volunteers need to have certain level of physical and emotional well-being) and to have an Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau check before starting with us.
Volunteers have a weekly meeting, and other informal support meetings as required, either with the Warden or an assigned Community Member.