2 weeks minimum to 4 months maximum (from 1 June till 30 September 2011).
THEME:
Ecological construction and farm activities.
LOCATION:
Nemus farm is situated in Loriga, Seia, in the centre of Portugal. Website - http://quintanemus.blogspot.com
AIMS OF THE PROJECT:
Help to rebuild an old farm and to turn it ecologic and sustainable.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES:
To help and learn how to rebuild an old local stone house with ecological techniques and dry compost toilet, using natural and local materials such as clay, stone, wood, sand and others. To help and learn how to build an ecological round house made in cordwood with a green roof. This house will be a space for local children to learn arts.
VOLUNTEER TASKS:
Eco-building of different constructions such as local house, cordwood round house and dry toilet with stone, wood, clay, sand and other materials; feed and clean the animals; pick fruit and herbs; take care of the trees, garden and other farm tasks. Work starts in the morning and finishes at 6.30-5pm with 2 hours break for lunch. Sunday (whole day) and Wednesday afternoons are free.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT:
The Nemus farm is located near a beautiful old roman small village, inserted in a glacier valley, with wonderful rivers, waterfalls and clear waters lagoons - great places to swim in the summer. The vegetation is very rich and one can find different animal species. The mountain has many beautiful footpaths. In the summer it is almost always sunny here. There are lovely people and excellent local food.
VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS:
It is important that volunteers joining this project are aware that they are coming to work and not to be tourists. Volunteers should also be open to adhere to the routines set by the farm's inhabitants and ready to respect the timetables and the tasks distributed to them.
Other important requirements...
Bring sleeping bag, tent and flashlight. Speak at least basic English. Good physical ability. Only bring ecological hygiene products. Enjoy and protect nature. Like manual work. Feel comfortable with hot temperatures in summer. Be able to live without luxuries (it's an old farm).
AGE:
20+
LEISURE:
We have social evenings where people are welcome to play music, cook delicious good food and dance. We bath in the farm river, we enjoy the warm sun, we walk in the mountain and we love to have fun in the nature! Sometimes we have small events mainly to receive friends from the surrounding farms and city people who want to come and see the ecological country life.
We provided weekly workshops in a variety of areas, including:- Bread-making - Portuguese typical dishes - How to hand spin wool - Cheese making with old farmers - Mountain herbs and its usage, etc.
ACCOMMODATION:
The volunteers will sleep in tents or in a small stone house. Bring sleeping bag, tent and flashlight. We have an outdoor dry compost toilet and warm shower (water heated by the sun). In the summer you have different water places to bath. Bring only eco-hygiene products. All meals (Breakfast, lunch and dinner) are prepared by the farmers. All meals are prepared with organic and local products. Mostly vegetarian.
HOSTING FEES:
We require fee of 40 Euros per week to cover food expenses.
The workcamp will take place at the Pisão Social Centre, which is a psychiatric institution for people with mental and psychological problems, hosting 275 men and 65 women. This Centre is located next to the magnificent Natural Park of Sintra–Cascais, and it has 306ha. http://www.scmc.pt/gca/?id=12
Workcamp tasks:
- Cleaning of the Centre and its surrounding natural spaces; - River cleaning;
- Recovering of the outside spaces:
benches, flowerpots, gratings and small wooden bridges; - Wall painting; - Develop and implement a series of playful and sports activities for the users; - Making a short film presentation.
The main objectives for this workcamp are...
To promote intercultural learning through the contact with youngsters with different cultural backgrounds and activities that will be designed to simulate that.
To promote peer to peer learning. There is the intention that the participants bring their own ideas, strategies and knowledge to share with the rest of the group members.
To stimulate tolerance, namely in what concerns the local population, trough the contact with people coming from different countries and different from each other.
To stimulate the youngsters to a more active life and more participation in society, through the promotion of this kind of initiatives connected with volunteer work.
To promote among Portuguese youngsters volunteer work opportunities, at a national and international level.
In terms of specific objectives, this workcamp aims at create a nice external environment, relaxing and nature friendly. Create positive attitudes in the users of this Centre in relation to the surroundings. Encourage the users of the Centre to participate in cooperating activities, that also stimulate their creativity. Promote the interaction among users and people from outside the Centre.
Location:
This workcamp will be located in Cascais, Portugal. Cascais is a beautiful village next to the seaside, 30km away from Lisbon (40 minutes by train).
Terminal:
Lisbon.
Accommodation:
The participants will be accommodated in “Colónia Balnear O Século”, in wards of 6 people each. http://www.oseculo.org/
The participants will have breakfast and dinner at this place, but lunch and afternoon snack will be delivered at the workcamp placement.
- Construction of a organic vegetable garden. - Short-movies production under the scope “Eat Well to Grow Better – healthy lifestyles”. - Paiting and fixing walls and water activities tank. - Develop and implement animation and sport activities with children.
The main objectives for this workcamp are...
To promote intercultural learning through the contact with youngsters with different cultural backgrounds and activities that will be designed to simulate that.
To promote peer to peer learning. There is the intention that the participants bring their own ideas, strategies and knowledge to share with the rest of the group members.
To stimulate tolerance, namely in what concerns the local population, trough the contact with people coming from different countries and different from each other.
To stimulate the youngsters to a more active life and more participation in society, through the promotion of this kind of initiatives connected with volunteer work.
To promote among Portuguese youngsters volunteer work opportunities, at a national and international level.
In terms of specific objectives, this workcamp aims at promoting a healthy lifestyle, trough the practice of sports on a regular basis and a balacend diet. Create positive attitudes towards food. Encourage the necessity of a healthy and diverse diet. Foster the understanding of the relation between food and health.
Location:
This workcamp will be located in Cascais, Portugal. Cascais is a beautiful village next to the seaside, 30km away from Lisbon (40 minutes by train).
Terminal:
Lisbon.
Accommodation:
The participants will be accommodated in “Colónia Balnear O Século”, in wards of 6 people each. The participants will have their meals at this place. http://www.oseculo.org/
- Prepare the plants (trees and herbs) to be placed in the garden; - Prepare the soil to receive the plants; - Work on the garden following the plan designed by the landscape architect; - To do an herbarium. - To do short film about the theme.
The main objectives for this workcamp are...
To promote intercultural learning through the contact with youngsters with different cultural backgrounds and activities that will be designed to simulate that.
To promote peer to peer learning. There is the intention that the participants bring their own ideas, strategies and knowledge to share with the rest of the group members.
To stimulate tolerance, namely in what concerns the local population, trough the contact with people coming from different countries and different from each other.
To stimulate the youngsters to a more active life and more participation in society, through the promotion of this kind of initiatives connected with volunteer work.
To promote among Portuguese youngsters volunteer work opportunities, at a national and international level.
In terms of specific objectives, this workcamp aims at promote amongst youngsters more contact with the natural environment. To increase the participants knowlegde in what concerns the methods, tecniques and tools to be used in the garden. Stimulate the curiosity regarding different vegetable speacies that can be used in nature. Give the participants better knowledge connected with the environmental field.
Location:
This workcamp will be located in Cascais, Portugal. Cascais is a beautiful village next to the seaside, 30km away from Lisbon (40 minutes by train).
Terminal:
Lisbon.
Accommodation:
The participants will be accommodated in “Colónia Balnear O Século”, in wards of 6 people each. The participants will have their meals at this place. http://www.oseculo.org/
to promote a healthy lifestyle among the population, especially Youth.
Activities:
organization of international workcamps, summer camps, youth exchanges, youth initiatives, sports activities (canoeing, mountain biking); Fair Trade awareness (shops, school activities, fairs, etc.); coordination of Casa da Juventude de Amarante, a Youth Centre, in partnership with the local Council. Web-page - www.aventuramaraoclube.com
Info about the Camp
Aims:
to raise awareness among the participants and the population on organic farms, organic food and fair trade; to develop skills related to agriculture work in organic farms and environment preservation; to run activities in order to increase the level of commitment at local level (Amarante) for organic and fair trade products.
Activities:
group dynamics; presentation to the city and region; discussion on the workcamp theme (objectives, tasks division); visit to the most important places of the city; training about fair trade and sustainable development (ex.: workshop about Fair Trade and healthy food); direct contact and work with local organic producers; organize an open air event (fair) in the city center about organic and fair trade products; visits to some of the main cities and spots in the North of Portugal (Guimarães, Porto, Parque Natural do Alvão).
Accommodation/Food:
Participants will be accommodated in shared rooms (4 participants each) of Casa da Juventude de Amarante (even so participants should all bring sleeping bag). Casa da Juventude de Amarante has its own kitchen, wc and showers. In terms of food, our youth centre has a bar\restaurant proposal for the volunteers (breakfast, lunch and dinner) always taking into consideration our aims (healthy food with organic and vegetarian ingredients). Laundry available (self-service). Our youth centre has free wireless.
Work language:
Portuguese or English.
Location:
Amarante is a small town in the North of Portugal, part of Porto district (60km far from Porto, to the interior) with 12000 inhabitants (in the center). It is a quite famous city for tourism, culture and wine production. Indeed is quite near (18km) the Oporto wine region. Is crossed by Tâmega River (one of the rivers ending at Douro River that crosses Porto till the Atlantic ocean) and it is on the valley of one of the most important Portuguese mountains, Marão (1450m). Amarante is well located (nearby passes highway A4 connecting to Oporto and highway A11 connecting to Guimarães) and has a good public transport system (bus station). The city is 40 min way from the nearest airport (Oporto) by car.
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
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