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Our year-round headquarters is in North Kohala on The Big Island of Hawaii; a beautiful area, with clean air and lovely surrounding countryside. We have a large vegan-organic garden with which we demonstrate how easy it is to grow food without the use of chemicals or any animal by-products. This location is our headquarters, from which we share our message with the world. Gentle World is not a business or a working farm, but a team of dedicated volunteers who work cooperatively to accomplish the goals of the organization. Our gardens, rather than being for profit, are used to demonstrate the principles of veganic growing, and to feed the member-volunteers and visitors. We ask that all visitors who come to help us be prepared to exercise their personal integrity and work ethic during their stay. Because volunteer duties do not always follow specific hours, and our needs change every day, helpers are asked to participate in a variety of tasks, including garden maintenance, landscaping, general yard work, painting, carpentry, food preparation, cleaning and organizing storage sheds. We understand that different tasks suit different people and always do our best to take that into consideration. Gentle World does not charge money for our educational program, but we welcome donations from guests and volunteers to help with the rising cost of organic food and basic necessities (such as food, gas, water, electricity, internet, etc.). Making a donation is not a requirement for visiting however, and no matter what a person’s situation is, we welcome all applications for visiting Gentle World and all inquiries into the programs we provide.

We own 454 acres of magnificent New Zealand countryside that we call Shangri-La; a private valley, with two pristine rivers. Here we welcome volunteers each summer season (from November-May) to help lift Shangri-La up to its name, which includes the planting and maintenance of hundreds of fruit trees, flower gardens and vegetable patches, all grown veganically. Shangri-La is home to an orchard of young fruit trees: avocado, persimmon, pear, apple, fig, plum, sapote, cherimoya, mandarin and navel oranges. Nut trees—walnut, almond, and macadamia—have also been planted. From the vegetable garden they harvest a variety of greens for salads and steams, as well as celery, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, squash and zucchini, beans and peas, carrots and beets, onions, garlic, and more. This feeds the members of their community as well as guests and wwoofers, with the surplus occasionally sold at the local health food store or farmer’s market. Since the produce is primarily intended for their own consumption, they are not planning to become officially certified. Hay is used as a mulch, and vegetable compost is added to maintain fertility. Lupines are planted at the end of the season to fix nitrogen and are mowed down in the spring to become a green manure. Occasionally seaweed, rock dusts and wood ash are also added. JPEG – 59.3 kb Get involved: Gentle World welcomes help in developing their projects in either location, whether through talents, skills, or resources. They accept WWOOFers (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) through an application process found here. They are also open to visitors if contacted in advance. For more information about the work Gentle World is doing to promote veganism and veganic gardening throughout the world, visit gentleworld.org Please be aware that our New Zealand center is open only during the summer months, and is closed to visitors from the end of April until the beginning of November. Our Hawaii center is closed to visitors from the end of December until the beginning of April.