Accomodation and Volunteering
For Guests
We offer a bed in a shared room (maximum occupancy: four per room) for the following rates. Food is included, and three full bathrooms are shared by everyone in the house. Everyone in the house also has free access to our various amenities and opportunities, such as our extensive library, our workshop of tools, our fresh organic garden, our musical instruments (currently piano, guitar, ukulele, and violin), our English language fluency training, etc.
- Daily: 10,000 dram ($25 USD)
- Weekly: 60,000 dram ($150 USD)
- Monthly: 220,000 dram ($550 USD)
For Volunteers
We waive the accommodation and food fee for skilled volunteers who can commit to at least 20 hours of work per week on various projects around the property. The minimum stay for volunteers is one week, but many have stayed for several months because they enjoyed the experience so much. Below are the areas we currently need help with, though volunteers are always encouraged to suggest new ways they can contribute:
- Construction
- Gardening and landscaping
- Painting art on the walls
- Interior design
- Video editing and social media
To inquire about booking a stay or volunteering at the
Kalavan Retreat Center, please use our contact form.
How to Get to Kalavan
Kalavan is located in the Gegharkunik Province, less than an hour from Dilijan or Ijevan (and 2.5 hours total from Yerevan). The last 20 minutes (7 km) of road are uphill and unpaved, but can be driven slowly even with a two-wheel-drive car.
From Yerevan, you can take a bus from the Northern Bus Station to Dilijan (about 1.5 hours). Many shared taxis are also available for a few thousand dram or less. Once in Dilijan, we can send a neighbor to pick you up for 6,000 dram. This is preferable to trying to hire a taxi driver in Dilijan, as they likely won't know exactly where Kalavan is and might be upset when they encounter the unpaved road at the end. Alternatively, many of our guests and volunteers have easily hitchhiked here from Dilijan, even up the final stretch of unpaved road. If we happen to be in town on the day you arrive, we will be happy to pick you up.
The Kalavan Retreat Center is unique in Armenia. It's not a guest house or a hotel to go and spend a good weekend, but it is a place where people can visit to create, change, or realize their ideas and plans for their own lives, or maybe they simply want to change bad things about the society they are currently living in. So get ready to go there if you have great, innovative also creative ideas to share with Gregory and other volunteers!
Shushanik Makaryan
5-Star Google Review
I really enjoyed my time here and made some wonderful friends. Gregory is happy to allow you to be independent and choose where you want to work your hours. I swapped about helping in construction, building a greenhouse, cleaning, and cooking, amongst other small jobs. The other volunteers were awesome and we shared cooking and playing games etc most nights. A few gorgeous campfire nights with beers, kebabs and homemade bread. It's been spectacular. It is a place where you must take initiative and ask for jobs to do, and manage your own time.
Abigail Collins
5-Star Workaway Review
I spent about three weeks helping in Gregory's guesthouse and I had a great experience. This is, in my humble opinion, very rewarding and something I highly recommend. He is a very eager teacher with plenty of knowledge, that he loves to share. Besides, he's a very generous, kind and humorous person, who creates a great atmosphere for creative work and individual expression amongst the volunteers. Thanks for making this an extraordinary time, Gregory!
PS: Great place to stay with a dog. My little one, Vedi, loved being around all the other humans and animals. He was welcomed and treated very kindly, just like I was.
Maria Glasser
5-Star Workaway Review
If you ever wanted to visit America but haven't been able to do it yet, then you must visit this little America that Gregory built in the middle of "Nowhere." "Nothingness" can be the Retreat Place for those who seek Rest from the Chaotic lifestyle of Modern Society. You will start experiencing the healing effect of the local Nature the very next day. Remote from the city's noise and hum, this place is ideal for meditation, to sit by the nearby river and watch one's negative thoughts being washed away by the everlasting flow of water. What else does a person need to recover?
Artur Gamsal
5-Star Google Review
I've been to The Kalavan Retreat Center a few times, and being surrounded by cats, a dog, beautiful people, and stunning nature is enough to feel content and disconnected from the city. It's the perfect place to clear your mind, explore the surrounding forests, and, overall, have an amazing time!
Mary Khachatryan
5-Star Facebook Review
The quality of the amenities surprised me, considering it's a village that does not have a direct connection to any local supply chain. The local duck and rabbit were great feasts to have. I also enjoyed the fresh cow milk when it was available.