This workcamp is organized in cooperation with ACARBIO (Associazione Costiera Amalfitana Riserva Biosfera), an NGO engaged in the candidature of the Amalfi Coast as Biosphere Reserve within the MAB-UNESCO programme. Its activities focus on the conservation and safeguard of the natural and cultural heritage of the Amalfi Coast, by promoting any kind of sustainable development with projects regarding the environment, biodiversity, tourism, local tradition, mobility, green energy. Most of the activities are held in the village of Tramonti which is part of the beautiful Amalfi Coast. Tramonti s name comes from the fact it is surrounded by mountains (Intra Montes = among mountains), which makes it a village with plenty of green nature and with agriculture traditions. This is the context in which ACARBIO is promoting actions for a more sustainable approach towards mother nature, one example being the project to build an eco-center for youth activities and workshops about eco-buildings and healthy life styles. This project, that falls within the Make it Green initiatives, already started on September 2015 when over 30 international participants of an Erasmus training, worked to renew an abandoned barn using eco-friendly techniques such as straw-bales, clay, rocks, lime, bamboos and works are still in process. A bio-gas system was also installed. The video of the previous project is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEOVudjFCwQ.
WORK:
The activities of this work camp will focus on the continuation of the insulating of and old barn from the inside, taking care of the plastering of the straw bales attached to the walls (covering them with layers of clay, lime, volcanic ash). The volunteers will be involved in the preparation of the mixture with various techniques (with a mixer or using their feet), cutting and sewing of straw bales, clearing of the outside area next to the bio-digester. The volunteers will also work on some maintenance work around the building. There will also be some theoretical presentation to discover more about eco-friendly building techniques and the eco-building world as a whole. International volunteers will work under the supervision of an expert in the field of eco-building. Volunteers will be engaged in work for 6-7 hours a day, for 6 days a week. The hosting organization will also contribute for the free time activities, organizing parties with pizza and traditional music or participating in other local traditional events happening during the Easter holidays or with an excursion.
ACCOMMODATION:
Board and lodging are guaranteed for all participants. Volunteers will stay at ACARBIO’s headquarter, where they will find camp beds or air mattresses, bathrooms, a shower and a kitchen. The place has also free wifi. Participants will be asked to take their sleeping bag with them. The group will be responsible for preparing meals and cleaning the place. The organization will provide all the food that is needed. Public transportations are available for every days movements.
LOCATION:
Tramonti counts about 4.000 inhabitants and it s divided in 13 small villages, each of them with at least one church. Tramonti is surrounded by mountains and forests, but the coast is only 5 km away. Tramonti played an important role in the history of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi between the IX and XII century. Thanks to its position, Tramonti protected the coast from any enemy attack coming from the mountains behind. Famous places like Amalfi, Ravello and Positano can be visited nearby. Naples and Salerno are about 1 hour away. During the Easter holidays there are several events related to local traditions, both in Tramonti and along the coast.
TERMINAL:
The nearest airport is the airport of Naples. There are public busses that will allow participants to reach the place where they will be staying in Tramonti. The nearest train stations are Nocera Inferiore, Salerno and Naples in this order. From the train station you can take a bus to the Amalfi Coast. Specific instruction on how to reach us will be provided in the infosheet.Airport of Naples. There are public busses that will allow participants to reach the place where they will be staying in Tramonti. The nearest train stations are Nocera Inferiore, Salerno and Naples in this order. From the train station you can take a bus to the Amalfi Coast. Specific instruction on how to reach us will be provided in the infosheet.
SPECIAL REMARKS:
A project-related motivation letter is required. This workcamp is recommended for people who love the nature, who are interested in the topic of sustainable development and want to learn more about eco-buildings, committing themselves directly in the creation of something with their hands, keeping a positive attitude towards interculturalism. No specific experience is required for the project, only a lot of motivation and desire to explore new places and get more in touch with healthy life styles.
WorkCamp in Milan about Community Sport & Self Building The host association “Rubin Carter” was founded in 2008 and from 2013 runs a community gym, with the aim to guarantee economical accessibility to sport for all in the expensive city of Milan. The gym “Hurricane” supports several projects in which a sportsmanship spirit represent the natural prevention to discrimination and racism. The gym is completely self managed by the athletes and the coaches, that invented and built up it independently in a daily development. The activities increased and now we need to “Level up!”: recover and transform into a gym the second floor of the building involving the beneficiaries and the neighbours in the works.
In the same days there will be in Milan also the annual “Design and Architecture Expo”: we will demonstrate another way to build up together something different in an alternative mood.
Work:
The international volunteers group will help the local volunteers to dispose of trashes, clean up, rebuilt walls, pave floors, do plumbing and electrical works, painting, decorating, setting up the gym... a lot of hard works! In the free time you can also enjoy the sport classes of boxe, yoga, martial arts, tai chi, break dance, capoeira, theatre, belly dance… We will organize workshops about the practice of self building and public moment of community working.
Accommodation:
Volunteers will be hosted at the “Space of Mutual Aid”, a community squat that host a lot of social projects and the co-housing of tens of families from all over the world. Here there is one large apartment (130 square meters) entirely dedicated to the volunteers, without distinction between males and females. There will be hot water in the bath. You can use the Wi-Fi in the building, but not in the room. The food will be prepared by volunteers together and you can also eat vegetarian.
Location:
Milan.
Terminal:
The nearest terminal is Milan Linate Airport (LIN) the second international airport of Milan, but you can also fly on Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY). The airports are well connected with the city by coach and railway. The nearest underground stop is “Lotto” on the red or purple lines.
Project summary: The workcamp will contribute to the maintenance of a collective good within the National Park of Monti Sibillini, through the discovery of local wood craft and the ancient myth of Sibilla Appenninica.DescriptionProject: The aims of the workcamp are the maintenance of the Centre of Environmental Education and the sensitization of the communities about the value of high quality handicraft, which represented a great richness for the territory that is being lost Legambiente local group: Legambiente Sibillini was born in 2003; its main mission is the promotion and safeguard of the Monti Sibillini National Park as referring model of sustainable development. The local group is part of the Centre of Environmental Education "Fillide" and works with schools and youngsters, trying to raise ecologist awareness for the protection of their territory. Work: The main working activity will be the renovation of the window fixtures; the volunteers will be guided by local carpenters.Study part: there will be a presentation of the National Park with visits.Accommodation and food: the volunteers will be hosted in the Centre for Environmental Education where they will be working. WiFi is available.Location and leisure: Amandola is a medieval village, with valuable handicraft traditions, of 3700 inhabitants situated within 3 hills where there are structures of great artistic and historical value: the podestà tower with the historic theatre, S.Francesco church, the Capuchin monastery.During free time the volunteers will visit the village and will make mountain excursions in the Park.Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: nearest airports are Roma Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci and Ancona Falconara Raffaello Sanzio. Nearest train station is Porto San Giorgio. The latest bus from Porto San Giorgio is at 18.10.
Volunteers will be involved in the cleaning and mantainance of public areas, streets and public green. They will help in the renovation of fences. They will work along other local volunteers who will be happy to share the secrets of their town.
Accomodation & food:
Accomodation will be in the local school. Inflatable camping mats will be provided. Attached to the school there is the kitchen that volunteers will use to cook for themselves. Bathrooms with hot water showers available.
Location & leisure:
The local footbal field and tennis field can be used by the volunteers. The place is inside the natural park of Madonie that is perfect for mountains and nature lovers who love hiking and exploring. There are few other small towns in the surroundings that can be visited. Local volunteers will be at disposal to show around Geraci Siculo.
Requirements:
Active people interest in outdoor activities and environment. Bring light confortable working clothes and comfortable shoes for hiking in the surrounding. Remember to bring also some warm clothes because the weather might be chilly during the night. Bring sleeping bag.
PROJECT: The Social Promotion Association ALA started in late 2014 the renovation of a mountain refugee to make it avalaible for youth initiatives and trainings as to host mountain lovers and who want discover the beauties of Sabina mountains. The Refugee is at 1000 mt. above sea level, and is surrounded by woods. The place is very isolated and can be reached uphill in 2 hours.
Work:
WORK: the volunteers will support the local group in different renovation and environmental activities: volunteers will be involved in the following tasks: mounting serial structures on trees; excavation of the pond to collect water; building of the garden fence and holes and delimitation of the orchard; mainteinance of the roof of the refuge; painting, bunk beds construction; buyilding of earthen stove for the third room.
Accomodation & food:
ACCOMMODATION: in dorms with bunk beds or if you like on three houses/tents, the volunteers will have to prepare the meals in the refuge kitchen. Bathrooms and showers are functioning.
LEISURE:
natural excursions (mountain bike, climbing, canyoning...), workshops on environmental friendly self made solutions. During the weekend Rome cannot be reached easily, thus visits to the beautiful Sabina villages are more reccomended. Costs for free time activities are up to the volunteers.
Location & leisure:
EXTRA FEE:200€
LOCATION:
Casperia – Lazio, Central Italy.
TERMINAL:
Rome
Requirements:
REQUIREMENTS: To be open minded and ready to live with the group in very isolated place. A project related motivation letter is needed or presentation of tutor/parent. Expect a basic accommodation.
Project summary: a scattered workcamp where volunteers will renovate and revitalize the territory and community of a suburban area of Rome.DescriptionProject: The project has been conceived by five no-profit associations who ordinarily work for the valorization of the VII Municipality of Rome and the revitalisation of its local community. The aim of the workcamp is to valorise some green areas scattered in the district, areas that normally are managed by different active citizenship realities and that face the current critical problems of a big city. The volunteers will focus their efforts in 4 green areas through ordinary maintenance and self-construction workshops for do-it-yourself furniture.Local organisers: The Comitato Parco Giovannipoli was established in 2013 following the failure to care of the Park of the Catacombs of Commodilla, with the objective to keep it alive and usable for citizenship.Since its inception, the Comitato Parco Giovannipoli has been playing an important work of maintenance, bringing an almost complete restoration of the Park; the work has been also recognized by the City of Rome with the award of custody of the Park from July 15, 2014.Legambiente Garbatella promotes since 1992 initiatives related to urban, mobility and waste issues. The most important result of its actions has been the creation of Garbatella Park which, through a 20-year engagement, has been involving citizens, associations, local administrators and obtained the official custody of the area by the Assessorship to Environment.Nessun Dorma has been organizing since 2010 cultural and aggregating activities in a dormitory suburb area, and it is particularly committed in recovering abandoned green areas to make them culture and sociality cores.La Strada is a social centre focusing on antiracism. Since '90 it has been collaborating with the local institutions in order to foster bottom-up decisional processes; this experience led to the creation of the public agency Rights and New Citizenship, with an help-desk for the citizens' rights and networks' development. From 2000 on, it starts working on migration, street education and information with many projects.Villetta Social Lab is a social space where youth, families and elder people find a place to express and to practice social innovation.Work: in the first phase of the camp the volunteers will create urban furniture through self-construction workshops, in particular for collected waste areas, informative panels, benches and tables, gazebos, compost structures; in the second phase the volunteers will install the furniture and dedicate to the cleaning of the green areas, mainly waste and grass removal.Daily activities during the whole camp will be the ordinary maintenance of 2 green areas (baskets emptying, ordinary cleaning and gates' opening and closure.Study part: workshops about self-construction, do-it-yourself and upcycling will be run, with the supprt of architects.Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in a school. The diet will be mainly Mediterranean (vegetables and cereals, little meat)Location and leisure: the VIII Municipality of Rome is wide 3,7% of the whole city territory and has 130.000 citizens, with 66 families. It includes both central and suburban areas, with working-class conflicting zones.During the free time the volunteers will have the chance to visit Rome, with its unique and amazing historic assets.Specific Requirements: Rome in July is usually very hot, be prepared for it! Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: Rome stations (Termini and Tiburtina are the main stations) and airports (Fiumicino or Ciampino).
Legambiente has recovered Palascìa lighthouse through a legal dispute, because it had been assigned for a private villa. Thanks to the positive result of the dispute, the lighthouse was given back for community purposes. The first project in the regained lighthouse was a museum run by the university. After some more years of abandonment, the lighthouse has been restored with public funds and assigned to Legambiente, with the aim of creating a Centre for Environmental Education. From now on, the Centre must be set up: the project foresees restoration facilities with health food laboratories, the arrangement of didactic rooms with scientific equipment, the maintenance of paths and signals.
Legambiente local group:
the local group “Morrieri” was born at the end of 90’ to safeguard a precious and delicate territory at the eastern Italian part: Capo d’Otranto. Legambiente local group saved the area of Cervi cave preventing the building of a tourism big structure; it promoted the craetion of the Park Otranto Leuca and conserved the Turchi bay.
Work:
Volunteers will arrange part of the building as didactic room, they will create small gadgets, do the maintenance of the wooden fence and make signals for the official trekking paths.
Study part:
responsible tourism and experimental archaeology.
Accommodation:
Volunteers will live in the lighthouse.
Location and leisure:
Capo d’Otranto is immersed in a valuable natural environment with different marine and land protected areas, a dune ecosystem and Mediterranean vegetation. The lighthouse was built in 1869 to identify the eastern part of Italy; it is among the five lighthouses under protection of the European Union and also hosts the meteorological station Otranto-Punta Palascia
Specific Requirements:
Predisposition to walk and hiking; manual ability.
Language:
English will be the official language in the camp.
Terminal:
Nearest airport is Brindisi. Nearest train station is Lecce or Otranto.
Volunteers will restore two rooms of Villa Bona, a wonderful historical villa of the 18th century surrounded by a big park, situated in Carignano. The restoration work will involve: the decoration of the walls, doors and windows; removal of boxes; cleaning of the marble staircase and the wrought iron railings; restoration of the dark wooden paintings. All these activities will be under the guidance of a professional conservator. The restoration of Villa Bona is being finalized to use the villa for public events by the committee and local organizations.
Accomodation & food:
In a building with beds, communal bathrooms with showers and hot water and a kitchen. Bedrooms are provided with 2 to 5 beds per room. The volunteers are responsible for the cleaning and cooking. The organisation covers the cost of the meals and also the materials for the work. Volunteers must be equipped with a sleeping bag (or sheets), pillowcase and towels.
Location & leisure:
The town of Carignano (8700 inhabitants) is situated on the left bank of the river Po approximately 20 Km from Torino and within the Regional Parco Fluviale (park of the river). Its centre is of typical piemontese style, characterized by an ancient core with medieval archways and a baroque cathedral. The towns surroundings offer sites of architectural and naturalistic interest, it is also possible to reach Torino easily, as there are frequent coaches to the city. During the free time there are many exciting things to do such as visit the open market of Carignano. On the weekends it will be possible for the group to organise a visit to Turin (there is a bus to and from Turin), visiting the Egyptian museum, the cinema museum, MAO museum of oriental art, the Holy Shroud etc.
Requirements:
A project-related motivation letter is required. No specific experience is required for the project.
« When volunteering in Malawi and Tanzania while at school and during my year out I developed a love of East Africa and soon felt itchy to go back. On discovering VAP I found a number of workcamps in Kenya and at far more affordable prices than any 'volunteer abroad' organisations. I chose a 6 week workcamp based at a secondary school in western Kenya... »
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