We present the Workcamps that will take place in Catalonia this summer. Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in a transformative volunteering project!
TINENÇA DE BENIFASSÀ: Let’s Build an Iberian House (1st – 10th of April) [Full]
Description: Why was ART (Association for the Recovery of Tenure) born? We are in a time of great change within our environment. We want the people of the region to be the protagonists of these changes we will work so that its growth is carried out from a point of view sustainable, to get more resources and for growth to have an impact on people which is still inhabiting the territory and which therefore keeps it alive. We organise this workcamp because we believe that community life and contact with the local population are key aspects of the international volunteering to reduce distances, share experiences and understand different lifestyles, habits and ways of seeing the world.
Type of Work: The work will be mostly manual and it will consist of the clay construction of a replica house from the Iberian period, using experimental archeology techniques. We have the collaboration of techniques in biodynamic construction and two others in experimental archeology.
L’AMETLLA DEL VALLÈS: Reconstuct democratic spaces with Fundació Roser de Maig (1st – 9th of April)
Description: Fundació Roser de Maig is an ENL for social, educational and leisure action. The foundational aims are towards leisure education and sociocultural animation, which are carried out through a social task and to help those people who need it most. The promotion of spaces for the development of socio-educational activities, as well as a musical space, are key to our raison d’être, trying to reach as many participants as possible. We offer support projects with other entities in the city. We have other projects in Catalonia, as well as internationally.
Type of Work: The proposed tasks are the reconstruction and adaptation of outdoor spaces. These are very extensive and some are disused due to the poor condition in which they are found. In addition, the organization works with children and young people, so they will participate jointly in the revitalization of these.
Description: The Chestnut Tree school (thechestnuttree.org) follows an international curriculum merged by them and based on outdoor environmental education and forest school concepts. They balance soft skills (theater, yoga, cooking, forest ecology, emotional intelligence, gardening, arts, music) with conventional subjects, and believe in a loving and positive environment for learning. Most of the lessons take place outdoors, and our ratio is one teacher per 7 students.
Type of Work: Empty a warehouse and make the space useful for the school (to have a space to teach or stay during the rainy days) inside this warehouse there is some furniture that can be upcycled and used in the space outside for the kids so creating these ideas could also be one big part of the project. The second main activity is to clear the space and prepare all the necessary to start the school year, prepare the tents (classrooms), cleaning and smoothe the surroundings and in general helping to set everything for the children.
VALLS: Increïble sostenible a Can Pipirimosca (23rd of July – 6th of August)
Description: Can Pipirimosca is an ecological farm where agriculture, far from being the main objective, is the means that allows the organization of cultural and associative activities. From the operation as a farm, a production is obtained that allows self-sufficiency and the possibility of making a sustainable lifestyle and consistent with the environment where exchange, multiculturalism, coexistence, personal growth and education in values are the ultimate goals.
Type of Work: You will have an experience depply ecological, sustainable food, no coffee etc. The main project will be to help in the maintenance of a shed next to the house which will be the space where courses, workshops will be held. You should be advised that the work to be done will be mostly physical.
Description:The collective that organizes it is the Friends of the Castle of Requesens, a collective born with the sole desire to preserve and restore the historic, heritage and territorial legacy of the Castle in the area. The pillars on which the project is based are 3: territory, heritage and history. Requesens Castle is located in the middle of the Albera Natural Site of National Interest. This place has an incalculable value in terms of the biodiversity, fauna and flora of the territory. At the same time, the origins of the Castle go back to medieval times and with different heritage coming from different stages of reconstruction and restoration: the last with the most impact during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), when it was a refuge for both side as evidenced by the history that has been engraved on the walls of the Castle. We want to carry out this volunteer camp to support the rehabilitation tasks of Requesens Castle and accompany the historical memory of the area.
Tasques: support for guided tours of visitors to the Castle; recording of audio guides with the different languages based on the English text; Support for the livestock of 100 goats (movement of yarn, construction of fences); Burial of water pipes that supply the Castle; Garden maintenance.
CATALONIA: The iMAGInada – Festival for freedom of expression (7th – 18th of August)
Description: The iMAGInada is a self-sustaining festival promoted by a cultural association formed by young people with a concern: to offer an alternative to the current economic, social and cultural model through the creation of spaces for exchange, empowerment, participation, dynamic and self-sustainability in the framework of the annual festivities of the city. For four days, the iMAGInada is a community initiative that offers cultural and artistic programming. More information, images and videos: www.laimaginada.cat
Type of Work: Volunteers will help in tasks related to preparations and logistics for the festival: assembling and dismantling of the spaces and infrastructure, setting of space, activities for the children, preparing the social activities (such as forums, world dinners, etc), supporting the kitchen and the bar of the festival and other tasks helping the organization.
Description: BalmesBlancs is an association that started its activity by organizing thematic experiences in nature with the aim of knowing the environment in different topics, such as: canyoning with geology, snowshoeing with learning snow , trips to the sea with knowledge of marine fauna, etc. From 2013 the entity began to manage the Vall de Siarb Refuge, a rural accommodation located in the village of Llagunes (Pallars Sobirà).
Type of Work: The technical work that will be carried out in the field of work consists, in general, in different related tasks with improving the paths of the Valley. The following are the main ones: Clearing roads; Rebuild the dry stone wall sections; Remove stones from the road; Improvement of paved sections; Improved signage with paint.
If you have any doubt you can write to camps@scicat.org.