Short-term (2 to 4 weeks) "social work" projects in Iceland

This project gives SEEDS volunteers an opportunity to use and develop different skills as it is partly environmental and partly social.
It takes place in an old charming house which serves as a day-centre for mentally challenged people. The guests come there to get supp, counselling and to spend the day in company of others, some of them are in a difficult state in their life and often nowhere else to go. Their mental state has led some of them into isolation and has made many of them incapable of seeing their own skills, qualities and possibilities in life.
The centre aims to look into the personal possibilities (rather than focusing on the disabilities) to work towards rehabilitation and engagement in society again. The centre has no tolerance for alcohol or drug use in-house. On average there are 50-70 people who visit the centre every day.
Around the house is a beautiful garden which needs to be taken care of by mowing the grass, collecting dead plants and scrubs, planting new ones, taking care of the flower garden, etc. The house itself also needs some maintenance: Scraping up old paint from the window frames, sandpaper them and paint them again is among the tasks for us.
Part of the project is also to activate the guests of the house, involve them in gardening, art workshop or in other activities they might be interested in. Volunteers are expected to interact with the guests of the house; in discussions and with encouragement to participate in different tasks and activities. There is a piano in the living room and library and volunteers with musical skills are welcome to play with and for the people in the house.

Volunteers will live in the house of the project, located right in the heart of Reykjavík. Volunteers have access to the living room and other facilities such as a computer room, billiard table, small library and art work shop. Please bring your own sleeping bag. Volunteers will receive all meals in the house and share their responsibilities of cooking and cleaning.

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, often called “the nightlife capital of the north”. But there is more to Reykjavík than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík also gathers the most interesting of Icelandic culture. It is an incubator of new ideas and styles which often indicates new global trends. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.
The world’s northernmost capital bridges the Atlantic, between Europe and North America. Reykjavík is spread across a peninsula with a panoramic view of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean on almost all sides.
The population of the city is over 200,000 including the metropolitan area, so two thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants live here. Reykjavík is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources - geothermal power and glacial rivers.
Iceland was badly hit with the current financial crisis, which did affect the life for foreign visitors in a positive way, making Iceland a much cheaper country to visit, the local currency greatly lost value – many goods and services cost (in EUR) just a half comparing to the year 2007.

English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

Closest International Airport: Keflavík (Reykjavík), KEF.

Participation fee EUR 100. Volunteers applying for this project should have a motivation for doing manual work as well as working with mentally challenged people.
SEEDS will provide volunteers with passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools and thermal-water beach. Tours and excursions will be arranged for SEEDS volunteers at discount fares.

In December the city gets busy with people preparing for Christmas. SEEDS volunteers join the festive atmosphere and support the Reykjavík branch of the Icelandic Red Cross handing out hot chocolate in the city centre as a way of fundraising for its projects.
We will help in the preparation by putting up the chocolate stations, decorating the tables, making the chocolate and taking it to the different stations around the city. At the end of the day, we will assist in taking down the stations and leaving the areas clean.
In this time of the year many families struggle to make ends meet and need to reach out for support of any kind. The Red Cross organises food donations to them and we will assist them during this busy time. The tasks will be to put food packages together, organise and classify the food in stock and other related tasks.
Volunteers with artistic skills, such as singing, juggling, playing music are encouraged to apply for this camp as they will have the chance to perform during the chocolate handout and help to create a nice and friendly atmosphere.

We will stay in a fully equipped house in Reykjavík; sleeping in shared rooms. Please bring your own sleeping bag.
We will receive food and be in charge of the different cooking and cleaning activities.

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, often called “the nightlife capital of the north”. But there is more to Reykjavík than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík also gathers the most interesting of Icelandic culture. It is an incubator of new ideas and styles which often indicates new global trends. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.
The world’s northernmost capital bridges the Atlantic, between Europe and North America. Reykjavík is spread across a peninsula with a panoramic view of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean on almost all sides.
The population of the city is over 200,000 including the metropolitan area, so two thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants live here. It is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources - geothermal power and glacial rivers.
In December the city is lighten up with Christmas lights in “every window”. During this month the changes to see spectacular Northern lights (aurora borealis) are high.
The warm geothermal swimming pools offer a great way of relaxation; dipping into a hot pot, surrounded by snow and stars shining above is an experience not to miss.
Iceland was badly hit with the contemporary financial crisis, which did affect the life for foreign visitors in a positive way, making Iceland a much cheaper country for to visit, the local currency greatly lost value – many goods and services cost (in EUR) just a half comparing to year 2007.

English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

Closest International Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF).

Participation fee EUR 160,- (Euros).
Volunteers have to bring warm clothes, hats, gloves and scarves as part of the project takes place outside. SEEDS will provide volunteers with passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools. This may sound a bit strange, since the weather is so cold, but the hot tubs as the pools in Reykjavík are in use the year round.
Tours and excursions will be arranged for SEEDS volunteers at discount fares.

16 +

SEEDS volunteers in this project will be part of the 8th SEEDS international photo marathon in the Icelandic capital! One of our objectives is to deliver messages and draw the attention to the local population through pictures and photos made during the camp! The main idea and task of the project is involvement and participation of the volunteers in the SEEDS Photo Marathon.

SEEDS coordinators (among them a professional international photographer) will have prepared few different topics on which the participants will base their entries to the competition; those topics will be mainly related to the work of SEEDS: Environment and intercultural understanding. Winter in the northern hemisphere offers a great opportunity to make photos, the beauty of new fallen snow and frozen water and the contrast of light and shadow are inspiration for many photographers.

Participants need to take their own digital cameras and its main work will be done by walking or cycling all around the city and taking photographs on the issues given; the best pictures will be selected for a final exhibition, which will be the last part of the project.
We shall be prepared for walking, flexible time schedule (early morning photo sessions, night photographing). A session in the surroundings of Reykjavík will be organised. We hope that volunteers will make a serious effort to achieve a high level of work with original ideas, interesting and creative results.

In this project we will also join the festive atmosphere in December and support the Reykjavík Branch of the Icelandic Red Cross handing out hot chocolate in the city centre as a way of fundraising for its projects. We will help in the preparation by putting up the chocolate stations, decorating the tables, making the chocolate and taking it to the different stations around the centre. At the end of the day, we will assist in taking down the stations and leaving the area clean.

We will stay in a local house in Reykjavík; sleeping in shared rooms. Bringing your own sleeping bag is needed.
We will receive food and be in charge of the different cooking and cleaning activities. Equipped kitchen and washing machine are available.

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, often called “the nightlife capital of the north”. But there is more to Reykjavik than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík also gathers the most interesting of Icelandic culture. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.
The population of the city is over 200,000 including the metropolitan area, so two thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants live here. Reykjavík is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources - geothermal power and glacial rivers.
In December the city is lighten up with Christmas lights in “every window”. During this month the hours of sunlight are few and the changes to see spectacular Northern lights (aurora borealis) are high. The warm geothermal swimming pools offer a great way of relaxation; dipping into a hot pot, surrounded by snow and stars shining above is an experience not to miss.

English will be the language of the camp; high proficiency is not required.

Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).

Participation fee EUR 160,- (Euros).

Participants are required to bring warm clothes. SEEDS will provide volunteers with passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools and thermal-water beach. Tours and excursions will be arranged for SEEDS volunteers at discount fares.

In December the city gets busy with people preparing for Christmas. SEEDS volunteers join the festive atmosphere and support the Reykjavík branch of the Icelandic Red Cross handing out hot chocolate in the city centre as a way of fundraising for its projects.
We will help in the preparation by putting up the chocolate stations, decorating the tables, making the chocolate and taking it to the different stations around the city. At the end of the day, we will assist in taking down the stations and leaving the areas clean.
In this time of the year many families struggle to make ends meet and need to reach out for support of any kind. The Red Cross organises food donations to them and we will assist them during this busy time. The tasks will be to put food packages together, organise and classify the food in stock and other related tasks.
Volunteers with artistic skills, such as singing, juggling, playing music are encouraged to apply for this camp as they will have the chance to perform during the chocolate handout and help to create a nice and friendly atmosphere.

We will stay in a fully equipped house in Reykjavík; sleeping in shared rooms. Please bring your own sleeping bag.
We will receive food and be in charge of the different cooking and cleaning activities.

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, often called “the nightlife capital of the north”. But there is more to Reykjavík than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík also gathers the most interesting of Icelandic culture. It is an incubator of new ideas and styles which often indicates new global trends. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.
The world’s northernmost capital bridges the Atlantic, between Europe and North America. Reykjavík is spread across a peninsula with a panoramic view of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean on almost all sides.
The population of the city is over 200,000 including the metropolitan area, so two thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants live here. It is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources - geothermal power and glacial rivers.
In December the city is lighten up with Christmas lights in “every window”. During this month the changes to see spectacular Northern lights (aurora borealis) are high.
The warm geothermal swimming pools offer a great way of relaxation; dipping into a hot pot, surrounded by snow and stars shining above is an experience not to miss.
Iceland was badly hit with the contemporary financial crisis, which did affect the life for foreign visitors in a positive way, making Iceland a much cheaper country for to visit, the local currency greatly lost value – many goods and services cost (in EUR) just a half comparing to year 2007.

English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

Closest International Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF).

Participation fee EUR 160,- (Euros).

Volunteers have to bring warm clothes, hats, gloves and scarves as part of the project takes place outside. SEEDS will provide volunteers with passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools. This may sound a bit strange, since the weather is so cold, but the hot tubs as the pools in Reykjavík are in use the year round.
Tours and excursions will be arranged for SEEDS volunteers at discount fares. Volunteers wishing to stay longer, for Christmas are welcome to do so!

16 +

SEEDS volunteers in this project will be part of the 9th SEEDS international photo marathon in the Icelandic capital! One of our objectives is to deliver messages and draw the attention to the local population through pictures and photos made during the camp! The main idea and task of the project is involvement and participation of the volunteers in the SEEDS Photo Marathon.

SEEDS coordinators (among them a professional international photographer) will have prepared few different topics on which the participants will base their entries to the competition; those topics will be mainly related to the work of SEEDS: Environment and intercultural understanding. Winter in the northern hemisphere offers a great opportunity to make photos, the beauty of new fallen snow and frozen water and the contrast of light and shadow are inspiration for many photographers.

Participants need to take their own digital cameras and its main work will be done by walking or cycling all around the city and taking photographs on the issues given; the best pictures will be selected for a final exhibition, which will be the last part of the project.
We shall be prepared for walking, flexible time schedule (early morning photo sessions, night photographing). A session in the surroundings of Reykjavík will be organised. We hope that volunteers will make a serious effort to achieve a high level of work with original ideas, interesting and creative results.

In this project we will also join the festive atmosphere in December and support the Reykjavík Branch of the Icelandic Red Cross handing out hot chocolate in the city centre as a way of fundraising for its projects. We will help in the preparation by putting up the chocolate stations, decorating the tables, making the chocolate and taking it to the different stations around the centre. At the end of the day, we will assist in taking down the stations and leaving the area clean.

We will stay in a local house in Reykjavík; sleeping in shared rooms. Bringing your own sleeping bag is needed.
We will receive food and be in charge of the different cooking and cleaning activities. Equipped kitchen and washing machine are available.

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, often called “the nightlife capital of the north”. But there is more to Reykjavik than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík also gathers the most interesting of Icelandic culture. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.
The population of the city is over 200,000 including the metropolitan area, so two thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants live here. Reykjavík is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources - geothermal power and glacial rivers.
In December the city is lighten up with Christmas lights in “every window”. During this month the hours of sunlight are few and the changes to see spectacular Northern lights (aurora borealis) are high. The warm geothermal swimming pools offer a great way of relaxation; dipping into a hot pot, surrounded by snow and stars shining above is an experience not to miss.

English will be the language of the camp; high proficiency is not required.

Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).

Participation fee EUR 160,- (Euros).

Participants are required to bring warm clothes. SEEDS will provide volunteers with passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools and thermal-water beach. Tours and excursions will be arranged for SEEDS volunteers at discount fares.