Since 1993, Concordia organizes international workcamps with the city of Clermont-Ferrand. This summer, two workcamps will take place on the festival "Sable Show", second biggest urban beach in France (behind Paris' "Paris-Plage"). Every day, this fair offers water games, a giant slide, a climbing park, recreational and sports activities, cultural gatherings, tours and concerts; all free of charge. Concordia's participation will focus on sustainable development and environmental friendly actions during this event. The volunteers from the workcamps will also bring an "international flavour" to the festival and will be in contact with the local population and the youth of Clermont-Ferrand city.
WORK:
You will work at the construction of dry toilets and solar showers. They will be wood-build manually and will be dismountable for transportation, in order to be reused in the next years. You will also create material safety signs and information panels on the use of these constructs. Finally, you will raise the public awareness to these environmental actions.
ACCOMMODATION:
In two-person tents (boys and girls separated) with a collective tent for the group life, at a local campsite (with swimming-pool and animations).
LANGUAGE:
English.
LOCATION:
Regional capital of Auvergne, the city of Clermont-Ferrand (300 000 inhabitants) is located in the Puy-de-Dôme district, between the Auvergne Volcanoes and the Livradois-Forez Natural Parks, around 400 km south of Paris.
TERMINAL:
Clermont-Ferrand train station. Airport: Paris or Lyon.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Bring working gloves and good walking shoes. Urban workcamp, but lodging will be far away from the city centre, in another town nearby. Nights are cold, so bring warm clothes, a sleeping bag and a sleeping-mat.
SPECIAL REMARKS:
For more information have a look at: http://www.clermont-fd.com/ http://www.clermont-ferrand.fr/-Sable-Show-384-.html
Project:In the heart of the Hautes Alpes, the association Les Villages des Jeunes has been managing, livening up and renovating the reception centre of Vaunires since 1964. It is an old mountain hamlet, now a springboard' place for youth and adults experiencing family, health or professional difficulties, and who need to take some time to recharge, acquire new skills and reflect on their plans. Vaunires is also a place where families, tourists and people with disabilities come on holiday to enjoy the calm of the mountains and the dynamics of the place. The workcamps that we organise at Vaunires with volunteers from all over the world allow us to strengthen the cultural diversity of our activities and to make this site open to the world, a place where people of all ages and all social and cultural backgrounds agree to meet by working together and sharing collective life. We hope that you also, a volunteer from France or abroad, will come in this spirit of encounter and working together which brings our project to life. Task: La Marmite (the Pot) is one of the buildings in Vaunires and its ground floor has during the years served for different purposes such as stocking and processing of local beer, jam and natural cosmetics. The objective of this workcamp is to make the space more functional by reorganising the interiors (working areas, shelves), creating a water point where materiel or garden vegetables can be washed and last but not least, the aim is to restore the building and to clean the walls. This work will give you both the occasion to do carpentry work and building renovation with a new storage space, processing room and a small grocers shop as the result! Free time:Situated in a remarkable natural environment, Vaunires is an ideal place to discover the joy of hiking and life in a rural area, with its markets, people and its producers. In the evenings, you will be able to organise games, international meals or show movies. During the project, touristic outings to discover the towns and villages of the region may also be organised. You will also have the great opportunity to enjoy the 5th edition of the Melting Potes festival one of the big highlights in the village! Lodging:in tents, all facilities available on site Location: Vaunires (7 km from the village of St Julien en Beauchne, 40 km from the city of Gap) Closest train station: Lus la Croix Haute Participation fees: 150 for international volunteers and 300 for French volunteers.
Willing to galvanize its youth department, the city of Dammarie-lès-Lys has inaugurated a youth club in September 2012 for teenagers. The kids from 10 to 13 already have their social club called Gerard Philippe but this one is far from the city center and dilapidated. It is not as hospitable as the new one. That's why the youth department of the city wants to embellish the front wall of this building. Integrating the youth into this project would be a great way for them to make this space their own.
WORK:
Working with a technical leader, you will make a fresco in an external area of the building. You will also organise a lot of convivial times to exchange knowledge and experience with the local population: the idea is to allow as much interaction as possible with the local population of this popular area.
ACCOMMODATION:
Collective accommodation.
LANGUAGE:
English and French.
LOCATION:
Dammarie-les-lys is 50kms away from Paris and accessible by RER.
You would like to participate to the reconstruction of a medieval castle of a small French village? The castle of Montaigu-le-Blin needs you to find back the grandness of its past ! Since summer 2002, workcamps have taken place every year and begun to protect the castle which has been listed as a Historical Monument. Thanks to your involvement, we can stop the damages caused by bad weather and vegetation and renovate the castle. The castle may be open to the public and guided tours and varied animations would be proposed to the tourists.
Work:
Unlike Forrest Gump, who said that "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get", the works on the castle are well planned ! You will restore the castle and walls (clearing, replacing of stones, repointing). And you will not forget to clean up the bund in the low yard.
Accomodation & food:
You will sleep in tents. Two showers are a five-minute walk from the camp. The group will organise teams so that everybody can participate in the cleaning, tidying up, and preparation of the meals do not forget your recipes!
Location & leisure:
On your arrival, leaders will propose several activities; your ideas are welcomed and everything can be discussed. So be imaginative, the workcamp is a place for having fun! We dont expect you to do activities on your own, you will live an experience in a group !
Requirements:
A part of the work will be at heights, on scaffolding. So, we ask you a parental authorization and a medical certificate.-If you have safety shoes, take them with you. Otherwise, make sure you bring sturdy and close footwear to protect your feet while working!
We have been working for several years on the valorisation of raw earth built heritage of Tarn et Garonne . This project will be hosted by the association MadonArts on the locality called Noganets. Web address http madonarts.blogspot.fr
Work:
This year, we will re-build a wall in rammed earth, in French pise. This technique is a system of construction with raw earth like cob. Usually, we use it in wooden formwork. The earth should be a mixture of clay and grit. We compact it with water in the wooden boxes of the shape that we want, and we let it dry. Please bring low price safety shoes with you.
Accomodation & food:
In tents The meals will be cooked in teams, each day different. Bring your recipes! Food is purchased locally. It is chosen according to its quality which respects the health of participants and the environment. This choice supports local economic development, by activity of small producers, market-gardeners, cheesemongers, stockbreeders. It will be the opportunity of educational visits valorising the artisanal production, at human size! We will ask for the active participation of all for both the dish washing and cleaning.
Location & leisure:
You will work around 6 hours a day to restore the building. The rest of the time, the campleaders will offer several activities, entertainment and outings. It is expected of each of you an active involvement to develop and live comfortably the tasks of daily life (kitchen and camp maintenance ...) as well as activities of cultural discovery. Be creative! You will experience a life group! This project is focusing on education to eco-citizenship through practices such as waste sorting, making a compost and the use of dry toilets. Eco-citizenship is a stakeholder in this little corner of paradise, the area of MadOnArts.
Requirements:
Intercultural night Bring your country gastronomic specialties and accessories (photos, music ... etc). You will organize an intercultural evening and present your country its delicious specialties.
Project: In the heart of the Hautes Alpes, the association Les Villages des Jeunes (www.villagesdesjeunes.org) has been managing, livening up and renovating the reception centre of le Fa since 1990. It is a former agriculture domain situated at an altitude of 1000 meters. The old buildings of the farm have been developed into small apartments and group accommodations. At le Fa, from April to December, the association organises inclusion projects for local people who are faced with social and professional difficulties and host teenagers and young adults experiencing family, health or professional difficulties in order to give them a possibility to get professional experience. In the summer, the Fa is also a place where professional artists and musicians come to work in and with this extraordinary place. Together, they create and perform at the yearly festivals that take place at the Fa. The international workcamps organised at the Fa contribute to make this place something extra, where people in different ages, from different countries and cultures, employees and volunteers, artists and tourists, live and work together for some days or several months. We hope that you also, a volunteer from France or abroad, will come in this spirit of encounter and working together which brings our project to life. Work: Most of the buildings at the Fa have been developed and made to host groups during short periods. As a consequence, only one building is left for the permanent staff and the seasonal workers who live on site. With the development of our activities, the team has grown and it is highly prioritised to offer them a good place to stay. This project will take place during two years and the first step is to clear and tidy a building situated 50 meters from the hosting centre. The building is called the Eco museum, because of the old agriculture machines that are there. During the second period, the roof will be insulated in order to create a new apartment in the building. This work will give you the opportunity to learn more about different insulation techniques, from the most traditional to the most ecological ones! Leisure: As the Fa is surrounded by an extraordinary nature, it is an ideal place when it comes to discover mountain hiking and the rural villages with their peasant markets and local products. In the evenings you can organise games, film nights, international meals You can also organise more touristic trips to the towns and villages of the region. Lodging: In rooms with 5-6 persons Location: The Farm of the Fa (3km from the village of Saix, 30 km from the city of Gap) Closest train station: Veynes Dvoluy (18km) Participation fees: 150 for international volunteers and 300 for French volunteers.
« I appreciate that constructive criticism may be more useful to you than praise but I honestly have no gripes that I could possibly mention. I can only thank you for the experience that I really enjoyed and will undoubtedly follow-up in the coming year. »
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