L’ECO-CAMP ‘Rural life’ consistirà a explorar el concepte d’ecovoluntariat i permacultura des d’una perspectiva intercultural. Del 4 al 14 de juliol a Envall, Lleida. A partir de 16 anys
THE ECO-CAMP “Rural life” – refugi casa Bigodé
Envall is a Catalan village in the Pyrenees that was abandoned for nearly 30 years as a result of the rural depopulation caused by the exodus towards the cities. 20 years ago a small group of people started to come back to the village. These people started a cooperative to bring back life in this rural village. The Envalls cooperative is now promoting 2 projects aiming to repopulate and generate income for the village. The first project is the Refuge, a mountain hostel for people who want to explore the mountains, and the second is a future School of the Mountain. In 2020 the first house was restored. It was an old haystack that now became the Refuge or mountain hostel. The Refuge can host up to 24 people and it is a space that suits all needs and ages.
In line with the principles and values of the cooperative to go back to nature and to live in respect and harmony with the natural environment and to be as much as possible self sustainable, the hostel only offers vegetarian food. All vegetables and other ingredients are locally produced, making this project quite unique compared to other tourist accommodations.
VOLUNTEER TASKS
Apart from the usual tasks typical of a work camp or any project (cleaning, cooking, checking that there is good group dynamics), participants will have the opportunity to explore different aspects of eco-sustainable volunteering in line with the philosophy of the community that will host them. Together with the local community the following tasks were selected to be carried out by the eco-camp groups:
– Restoring a dry stone wall. Dry stone construction is a very old and traditional building technique in the Pyrinees. Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn this technique and to understand how constructing with local materials and old techniques can be a sustainable alternative to modern high energy consuming and polluting building techniques. This is hard work since stones will have to be carried, cleaned and put together.
– Maintaining the permaculture garden. The garden wants to provide the local community with vegetables and fruits. The cooperative started a permaculture garden as a way to grow vegetables in respect with nature. To find out more about permaculture you can visit the Permaculture principles website. The founding principle of permaculture is earth care, people care and fair share. The work in the garden is important for the community and especially in summer, when it can be really hot, can be demanding. A hat to protect against the sun might be needed. Volunteers will learn about permaculture design and how it benefits people and nature.
– Decorating the workshop room with clay paint. The cooperative wants to promote sustainable building and therefore most materials used are natural materials. The workshop room of the hostel needs to be finished with clay paint. Volunteers will learn about this material and how to use it as an alternative to chemical paint.
– Constructions with wood. Small furniture will be produced with wood.
– Apart from different team building activities to get to know the other participants and the different cultures, there will be 4 workshops offered by the local community.
Each day the participants will be divided in different groups in order to carry out the different tasks. Volunteers will have the possibility to learn different skills, work together in a team and take responsibility for different tasks.
BACKGROUND OF YOUTH GREEN DEAL PROJECT
Youth Green Deal is a partly European funded project aiming at building the capacity of youth organisations promoting eco-volunteering in the Mediterranean area. The international volunteer projects bring together a group of 20 young people (18-30 years old) who will work with the local community to support them in the environmental work they are doing and to learn from each other and the community.
YOU CAN FIND ALL THE INFORMATION IN THE CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
Dates: 4-14 juliol
Preu: 150€ (50€ quota de sòcia i 100€ quota d’inscripció al camp)
Lloc: Envall, Lleida
Inscripcions: envia un mail a voluntariat@scicat.org el més aviat possible
Aquest juliol també hi ha disponibles dos Eco-camps a Palestina i el Marroc.