The work will be manual: In the first week, the group conserves the remains of a church, works on a natural track and does other environmental work. In the second week you will do gardening and maintenance works in a botanic garden, help to build a panoramic track and work on other places in the city. The tasks can change according to current needs and the weather conditions. Take good working boots and rain-gear.Study part: Meet representatives of the NGOs and the villages, learn more about ecological farming (as you will live on an organic farm during the first week), guided tours to local historical and cultural sights.
Accomodation & food:
During the first week you will sleep in a pension on an organic farm. The local partner will prepare the food. In the second week the living conditions will be basic i you will sleep in a pension in Becov. Please bring your own sleeping bag The food will be partly prepared by you and partly provided by the local partners.
Location & leisure:
Location: Becov and Nezichov in Western Bohemia.Leisure time: You can visit famous spa towns in the region (i.e. Karlovy Vary), make sports and go hiking in the surrounding countryside. Bring also some of your favourite local recipes and typical games.
Requirements:
Special Czech-German-Spanish project (5 vols from each country). Camp language is English
Construction and renovation work (small repairing jobs in our barns, decorating corridors in the main house), cleaning (sorting out stuff we have collected in our barns), and garden work (fences for the sheep, harvesting, haymaking etc.). Take working clothes and working boots.Study part: The centre s therapeutic workshops will be open for you (weaving, pottery, candle workshop).
Accomodation & food:
In the main building in beds or on mattresses; bring a sleeping bag. A shower is available. You will receive home made food three times a day in the centre (vegetarian dishes available). The volunteers have the option to prepare their meals on their own.
Location & leisure:
Location: The village Ledce, about 8 kilometres northwest from Plzen (Pilsen). In the village you find Ledovec in the old parish house in the very centre of the village close to the church. The participants can be picked up at the train or bus station in Plzen.Leisure time: During your stay Ledovec organizes the Traditional Fair Celebration where different handcrafts are presented and various kinds of traditional fair entertainment will be seen. The centre will also organize trips with their own minibus, often to Plzen - a town famous for its traditional beer. The centre offers their volunteers two days off for a trip to Prague and is ready to offer the cheapest (maybe free) accommodation possible there.
Requirements:
In the main building in beds or on mattresses; bring a sleeping bag. A shower is available. You will receive home made food three times a day in the centre (vegetarian dishes available). The volunteers have the option to prepare their meals on their own.
: Help to prepare topics for a big seminar, which will take place in 2012 (includes evaluation of materials, preparation of theoretical information, discussions). The volunteers will also assist with the reconstruction of the castle and maintain the surroundings. Your tasks will include various forms of manual work such as carrying stones, brick work, preparing plaster, plastering and removing and sorting rubble. This part of the work will be physically demanding. Bring warm clothes, working boots and rain-gear.
Accomodation & food:
The accommodation will be very basic; please don t expect any comfort You will sleep in a cottage near the castle in two one common rooms. Take a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat with you. The toilet and showers will be provided in a container. The participants will cook from common resources in a small kitchen. Bring your local recipes.
Location & leisure:
Location: The castle ruin is situated near the village Hrebeny in western Bohemia, not far from thetown Sokolov.Leisure time: You can go hiking in the mountainous countryside, go canoeing, make sport and music or go on a day-trip to some of the famous spa-towns in the region. Take some games, music instruments, flags, films and other items, which are typical for your cultures with you.
Work: The main part of the work consists of manual tasks: The group will do renovation and demolition works in the brewery, cultivate the garden, clean a river and help to prepare the local music and theatre festival K345;i269; fest , which will take place on the 13.8. The work will be physically very demanding. Additionally the volunteers will create a performance or a cultural program, which they will present together during the festival (the concept is just up to the fantasy and ability of the volunteers). We are looking for motivated volunteers, who are not afraid of physically demanding work and who have an interest in theatre, music, dance and creative art. Bring working clothes that can get dirty or damaged. You will need very good working shoes You will work on the weekends, but get at least one day off. Study part: Get some knowledge about the history of the place, the brewery and the way beer was produced. We inform you as well about our plans to the future and depending on your interest it is possible to visit a nearby museum, where you learn more about local traditions. We can also arrange a visit of a bee-keeper and of other traditional local producers.
Accomodation & food:
: In the living area of the brewery in two separate rooms. Bring a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat. In case of interest you can sleep in tents in the garden (bring your own tent). The local partner prepares the food with occasional help of the volunteers. Take some crucial ingredients or local products to prepare your traditional food for an intercultural evening. The living conditions will be very basic (outside showers, dry toilets, not much comfort or privacy in the sleeping rooms)
Location & leisure:
Location: The village of Chric (about 200 inhabitants, with a church and a castle in its centre), located in the Western part of Bohemia. Leisure time: Trips to the surroundings: ruins of the castles Krasov, Krakovec, the nature preserve Krivoklatsko, the castle Krivoklat and the muzeum Marianska Tynice. There will be some bikes at your disposal. The village has a football ground; 5-10 km from the village there is a swimming pool and a river.
Requirements:
A motivation letter sent with the application form is strictly required (max. 1 page A4, please state your motivation to participate in the workcamp, your experience with manual work, what you can contribute to the festival and if you have some ideas for the performance).
Volunteers will work on the local Jewish cemetery (about 90 of the working time), where they will liquidate invasive plants and ranking plants. Furthermore, they will help with the technical preparations of the festival Jewish Culture Week , which is taking place in Holesov during the workcamp (10 of the working time). Bring suitable working clothes with you. The work might be physically demanding, weekends are usually working days (because of the festival) but you will get days off during the week.Study part: You can learn more about Jewish culture and visit concerts and films during the festival. Tours to local monuments. Volunteers interested in Jewish culture are especially welcome
Accomodation & food:
In the former gamekeeper s lodge belonging to the local castle. Please bring a sleeping bag. The participants prepare their own meals.
Location & leisure:
Location: HolesovLeisure time: Trips to the surroundings, free entrance to cultural activities organized by the local cultural centre, free access to the local swimming-pool, meet members of the local tourist youth association (they have their clubroom in the place you stay at).
Volunteers will help with the preservation of the castle ruins (work with wood, sort and move stones and other materials, brick, clean, plaster, build walls, assist with archaeological work...). Additionally they will help with to prepare cultural events, work in the kitchen and do general maintenance tasks. You work even if it s raining, so bring good boots and rain gear.Study part: workshops, lectures by experts and excursions to the surrounding area according to the interest of participants.
Accomodation & food:
In tents or in a very simple wooden hut. Take a warm sleeping bag and a sleeping mat The volunteers will help to prepare the meals. At the project place, there are only dry toilets. Water for washing is taken from a well about 2 km from the castle ruin. A shower is provided only 2 or 3 times a week at the swimming pool in the town of Korycany, which is 4 km away. The living conditions are very basic - please don t expect any comfort and be aware that you will not be able to wash yourself every day The project is a good choice for people who are fond of the medieval way of living and are not afraid of hard manual work.
Location & leisure:
Location: Castle Cimburk, 4 km from Korycany, Southern MoraviaLeisure time: Trips to the surrounding countryside, visiting nearby historical towns and monuments (Kromeriz i UNESCO town, monastery Velehrad, castle Buchlov), get to know traditional Moravian music and much more.
The volunteers will perform two different kinds of manual work. Firstly they will be helping on the organic farm (f.e. weeding, harvesting, processing vegetables, storing pumpkins). Secondly they will some minor construction and maintenance works (in houses and outside). Bring good working gear and boots.Study part: Lectures about the Camphill movement, anthroposophy and organic farming. Visit to the nearby Terezin Memorial at the sight of the former concentration camp for Jews i the Terezin Ghetto. Workshops on different handicraft techniques will be organized for you.
Accomodation & food:
The volunteers will sleep in a big hall on mattresses. Bring a sleeping bag. One shower with hot water will be available. The volunteers will prepare their meals on theirown. Bring your local recipes
Location & leisure:
Location: Ceske Kopisty i a small village near the historical town of Litomerice.Leisure time: You can make trips to the surrounding towns, go hiking in the nearby hills, swim in the river just behind the centre, have boat trips, do sport activities, visit cultural events in the near by cities-
Requirements:
As you will stay in a community for people with mental heath issues, please note that smoking and the consumption of alcohol and drugs are forbidden within the community area. Please respect night-time peace and the privacy of the clients accommodation.
The work will be manual. You will take care of the community green areas - so you should be fond of gardening works (cutting bushes and grass, painting works, raking etc.).Study part: In the last week of the project the local school starts its new term. Prepare some activities for the local school-kids on one the first school day.
Accomodation & food:
In the local school on mattresses i please bring a sleeping bag. Some of the meals will be served in the school canteen, some will be prepared by the group.
Location & leisure:
Dysina (if you arrive by train i get out at the station Chrast u Plzn283;)Leisure time: Excursion to Plzen (visit of the world-famous brewery, the zoo and the underground of the city). Trips to the surrounding countryside and nearby towns, horse riding and a campfire.
« 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! »
