Shango Festival · Isokan · June 14–21, 2026

Jambalaya Ambassadors those who carry the work from the altar outward

The Ile has always had ambassadors — folx who carried the ceremony, welcomed the arriving guests, held the fire while the elders led, and kept the sacred infrastructure of gathering intact. The Jambalaya Ambassador program makes that service formal.

A work-trade pathway into service at the Shango Festival. Twenty ambassadors will be called — reviewed by Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Osain and Master Herbalist.

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I. What this is

Not volunteer. Not staff. An ambassador of the Ile.

Jambalaya Ambassadors are folx called into closer service with the Ile for the duration of the Shango Festival. You are not hired labor. You are not casual volunteers. You are ambassadors — a designated body of servants who make it possible for Yeye, the Egbe, and the invited priests to do the deep ceremonial work the festival is built around.

Sacred gatherings run on the labor of those who prepare the space, welcome the arriving, tend the kitchens, hold the first-aid stations, steward the altars, and remain present to the small moments that outside eyes do not see. That labor is ceremony too. It is just a different location on the wheel.

This program is a pathway. For folx who have been practicing with the Ile, attending programs, or who feel a genuine spiritual call toward deeper involvement — this is how you step closer to the work.

II. The exchange

Work-trade is a covenant, not a transaction.

What you receive

  • Full festival access — all seven teaching days with Chief Iyanifa Luisah Teish and the Egbe Council
  • On-land camping for the festival week — the Center provides outdoor tents, bathrooms, outdoor showers, and hygiene facilities on five acres of sacred redwood land. Bring your sleeping bag, towel, and personal items.
  • Shared meals during the festival — kitchen service is part of the ambassador rhythm, and you eat with the community you serve
  • Pre-festival training in the Ile's ceremonial protocols, community agreements, and Shango-specific preparation
  • Formal acknowledgment in the festival program and post-festival communications (with your consent)
  • Priority invitation to future Jambalaya programs and festivals
  • A pathway forward — post-festival debrief and, for deeply aligned servants, conversation with Yeye and Shy about Ile membership, Egbe participation, or deeper initiatory exploration

What you bring

  • A work-trade contribution of $200, payable by May 6, 2026 with your application. Refundable if you are not called in this cycle. This offsets camping, food, and festival infrastructure — and confirms your commitment.
  • Your presence on land from June 13, 2026 (pre-festival setup) through June 22, 2026 (strike and breakdown). These bookend days carry the heaviest hours of the week.
  • Rotating service shifts during the festival — roles cycle through the day and across the ambassador team, so every ambassador moves through multiple responsibilities while still participating in teachings, ceremony, meals, and rest. Specific schedules are built during pre-festival training based on your gifts and each day's rhythm.
  • Full presence at ache di to all priests — this is non-negotiable. Ache di is the center of the ambassador's work.
  • Social media support in the weeks leading up to the festival — sharing pre-approved posts through your own networks
  • Attendance at a post-festival virtual debrief within two weeks of closing
  • A spirit of service that does not seek personal elevation or platform — this work is in service to the community, not to you
III. The work itself

What ambassadors actually do.

Specific assignments are matched to your gifts in consultation with Iya Sobande. Every ambassador will move through several of the following across the festival week:

IV. The Sacred Vetting

Applications are received by Iya Sobande. Ifa speaks.

This is the part of the process that makes the Jambalaya Ambassador program different from a standard volunteer coordinator pipeline.

Every application is personally reviewed by Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Osain and Master Herbalist. The review includes a 20–30 minute Zoom conversation and a divinatory consultation — Ifa speaks to whether the relationship between you and this festival is right at this time.

A decline is not a rejection. It is information about timing, about alignment, about what Orisha has to say about the coming work. Some folx will be invited into other roles, other seasons, or other ways of relating with the Ile that suit them better. Every serious applicant receives a thoughtful response.

The vetting protects the festival and the people who serve it. The land, the ceremony, and the elders deserve ambassadors whose alignment has been discerned — not filled with whoever sent the form first.

Applications reviewed by Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Osain and Master Herbalist, in consultation with Shylah Hamilton-Touré (Executive Director) and Onyi Ibeabuchi (Operations Coordinator).
V. Who this is for

Before you apply, check yourself against these.

VI. Timeline

Key dates to hold.

Applications Open
Now — applications received on a rolling basis
May 6, 2026
Applications close — final submissions received by end of day. Work-trade payment of $200 due with application, refundable if you are not called in this cycle.
May 6–16, 2026
Review & divination window — Zoom conversations with Iya Sobande and divinatory consultations for each applicant
May 17, 2026
Decisions communicated — every applicant receives a response, regardless of outcome
Pre-Festival Virtual Training
Date TBD — mandatory Zoom session with Iya Sobande, Onyi, and Shy on roles, protocols, camping logistics, and land orientation
June 13, 2026
Arrival on land — pre-festival setup begins
June 14–21, 2026
Isokan: The Blessed Binary — the festival
June 22, 2026
Strike day — breakdown, cleaning, closing; departure once the land is held
Within Two Weeks
Virtual debrief — mandatory post-festival reflection and integration circle

Ready to serve? Begin here.

There are two parts to applying. Both are required. The application and the $200 work-trade payment can be submitted in either order, but must both be in by May 6, 2026. The payment is fully refundable if you are not called in this cycle.

1 · Submit application → 2 · Submit $200 work-trade →

Label your payment "Shango 2026 Ambassador — [Your Name]" so Iya Sobande can cross-reference it with your application.

Barriers to the form? Apply by email

Questions before you apply? Write to shy@jambalayacenter.org.

Lineage acknowledgment The Jambalaya Center Ambassador Model is stewarded by Iya Sobande Greer, Oludari of Egbe Osain and Master Herbalist of the Ile — built on her years of sacred service and rooted in the lineage of this Center. We honor the ancestors who guided the work, and the generations of ambassadors who came before. Aboru Aboye.