What is the Happy Farm?

The Happy Farm project is the concrete expression of Thich Nhat Hanh’s vision of meditation engaged with action in the particular area of sustainable and ethical food production. The project currently comprises three plots of organic food cultivation within the Plum Village meditation practice centre.

We intend to demonstrate that productivity, environmental sustainability and personal happiness are not conflicting aims, but rather are three essential pillars leading to and strengthening each other.

The three main aims of the farm are:
To grow healthy organic vegetables for the Plum Village community;
To train people in applying the principles of mindfulness into a working environment;
To offer education in organic growing, sustainability and mindfulness practice.

The Plum Village Community

Plum Village, near Bordeaux in southwest France, is the largest international practice centre in the Plum Village tradition, and the first monastic community founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) in the West. Plum Village is where Thay has realised his dream of building a Beloved Community: creating a healthy, nourishing environment where people can learn the art of living in harmony with one another and with the Earth.

Visit the Plum Village Website

Thich Nhat Hanh

Thích Nhất Hạnh, called Thầy by his students, is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. He lives in Plum Village in France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term “Engaged Buddhism” during the wars in Vietnam in order to advance peace and provide aid to those suffering under the bombs on both sides.

One of the foremost teachers of mindfulness in the West, he encourages building community and ethical responsibility. He has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. He is active in the peace movement, promoting nonviolent solutions to conflict and he also refrains from animal product consumption as a means of nonviolence towards non-human animals.

The Happy Farm project is the manifestation Thay’s long-held dreams of bringing mindfulness practice into all aspects of daily life and of offering healing by connecting with Mother Earth.

Read more about Thay's biography