We present the Workcamps that will take place in Catalonia this summer. Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in a transformative volunteering project!
Description: The local organization Balmes Blancs, a non-profit association was created in 2010 to offer unique activities in nature located in The Vall de Siarb mountains, they host this special camp with us another year. With their shelter located in Llagunes, one of the smallest villages in the valley. They host this camp about territorial conservation, nature, history and path knowledge.
Type of work: We will be working on restoring and improving old roads, specially the roads and paths that the org. Balmes Blancs worked so hard to create: cleaning paths, rebuilding dry stone walls, placing stones and improving trail marks with paint. We will spend the working hours (4 hours/day) in nature, surrounded by forests, fields, etc. The work is mostly manual and physical. The group of participants will collaborate in the cleaning and reconstruction of the old rural roads of the valley, collaborating with the Museum of Paths Project that was created by the entity. Participants will be able to enjoy a unique natural environment in the valley of the High Pyrenees.
CAN XAMMAR: Learn about sustainability and decarbonisation with Fundació Roser de Maig (13th – 19th of April)Description: Fundació Roser de Maig is a social, educational and leisure ENL. It was founded to help those who need it through sociocultural work. Promoting spaces for socio-educational and musical activities as they are key to their reason for being. They support projects with other entities in the city and have other projects around Catalonia and on an international level.
Type of work: The type of work to expect during the workcamp is mainly focused on sustainability and decarbonisation. This camp will have a big study part nourished from discussions and talks between the participants and their points of view on topics like global justice and peace education. At the same time it will be combined with some physical activities related to the restoring and maintenance of the house (repairing, painting etc).
CAN PARERA DE CANYES: Rehabilitating Can Parera (7th – 18th July) 
Description: Can Parera contributes to social transformation through a living a model of community coexistence and to promoting productive projects linked to the primary sector and give spaces for projects linked to sustainability and social commitment. Can Parera is inhabited by the cooperative since 2021. Currently, there are 13 adults and 7 children living in the community. The community life proposes a change of living not based on the nuclear family, there are community spaces for all. The house, food and care are shared transversally.
Type of work: The main task will be self-building tasks. Depending on how much the group of volunteers will advance, we will do any of these tasks: 1) plastering walls with lime mortar 2) rebuilding dry stone walls 3) garden work 4) naturalization of the pond 5) painting, processing of surplus vegetables and woodwork.
ÀGER: From scratch to skyline: Cultivating Rural Transit (1st – 15th of August)
Description: Neorurals Assoc. mission is helping all the people residing in cities but interested in rural lifestyles find solutions that can facilitate this transition. All our actions are based on a central idea: cultural development of the rural environment. For many years now, as the countryside has been losing population, many cultural activities that used to take place there have been disappearing due to migration to urban areas. Thus, there is a cultural degradation & a lot of our ancestral’s knowledge is disappearing due to no longer being useful in the urban lifestyle. Reversing this situation & promoting a permanent return to rural areas requires work on the revival of certain cultural components. Only in this way we can create a vicious circle where culture brings people & people bring more culture.
Type of work: The tasks of the camp will be mainly construction and forest clearing, we will work to open a path to access the warehouse that is being constructed. Other tasks such as wall painting, woodwork and arranging the wood will also be done during the camp. DIY skills will be needed for the construction of the dry toilet where recycled materials will be used including wood panels and hay that we will have to collect from the neighboring farms. The working tasks will always be easy and safe, always accompanied by a professional that will guide the volunteers.
VALL DE SIARB: Recovery of old roads and dry stone building in an unusual valley in Pyrenees 2 (29th September – 9th October)
Description: The local organization Balmes Blancs, a non-profit association was created in 2010 to offer unique activities in nature located in The Vall de Siarb mountains, they host this special camp with us another year. With their shelter located in Llagunes, one of the smallest villages in the valley. They host this camp about territorial conservation, nature, history and path knowdlege.
Type of work: We will be working on restoring and improving old roads, specially the roads and paths that the org. Balmes Blancs worked so hard to create: cleaning paths, rebuilding dry stone walls, placing stones and improving trail marks with paint. We will spend the working hours (4 hours/day) in nature, surrounded by forests, fields, etc. The work is mostly manual and physical. The group of participants will collaborate in the cleaning and reconstruction of the old rural roads of the valley, collaborating with the Museum of Paths Project that was created by the entity. Participants will be able to enjoy a unique natural environment in the valley of the High Pyrenees.
TINENÇA DE BENIFASSÀ: Let’s build an iberian house – Experimental Archaeology (12th – 21st April)
Description: We’re witnessing rapid changes in our environment & the protagonists of it ought to be locals aiming to keep it alive & attractive to live in through sustainable land cultivation. In our association we engage in four areas: Culture: we grew out of our care for culture, to recover the history and heritage of our region; Urban environment: we defend responsible and sustainable growth in the Natural Park; Territory: we collaborate with hiking centers and we try to protect nature by cultivating natural forests and agriculture; Infrastructures: we create good quality infrastructures to prevent the depopulation of the region. By reconstructing one of the houses in the Iberian site of Morranda (now Benifassà) using experimental archaeology you can better understand the Iberian world.
Type of work: The work will be mostly manual and it will consist in the clay construction of a replica house from the Iberian period, using experimental archaeology techniques. We will have the support provided by a collaboration with technicians in biodynamic construction and two others in experimental archaeology.
Minimum age: 16 years old.
If you have any doubts, you can write to incoming@scicat.org.