You will participate in an overall construction project of our campsites : Chamois and Pheasant. These two locations could welcome groups during all the summer season. We offer you to valorise these places located in an amazing landscapes. Your main missions will be the chalets renovation (carpentry, sanding, stain, …) and also, we will appeal to your creative instinct to renew buildings (decoration, …) You will also take part in the landscaping of this little houses. Together, we will save and add value to the natural heritage by learning how to recognize different medicinal plants and how to take care of them and weeding (bush).
Accomodation & food:
In domitories, you will share a room with 4 to 8 persons in the Faï farm. You will live with other volunteers from different workcamps. You will take part in collective life (menus, cooking with local products, cleaning, …) http://www.villagesdesjeunes.org/index.php?page=fai
Location & leisure:
Location : The Faï Farm (3 km from the village Le Saix, 30 km from Gap).
Leisure activities:
Located in a remarkable natural environment, the Fai farm is an ideal place to discover the pleasures of mountain hiking, swimming in the river and rural life with its peasant markets and producers. In the evenings, you will be able to organize board games, screenings, international meals. Tourist trips to discover the surrounding towns and villages of the region will also be organized!
Participate to the protection and enhancement of this breathtaking heritage! Within the castle, you will realize various works of restoration of walls (ramparts, towers) using traditional techniques, of maintaining the vegetation (clearing bushes, etc.) and many varied tasks. You will also participate to the touristic life of the site, helping the guided visits and organising activities and events!
Accomodation & food:
Accommodation is under tents (2 persons per tent) at the town stadium. Volunteers will manage the tasks of daily life in teams (shopping, cooking, and cleaning). Kitchen, toilets and showers are in a recent building on the camping site.
Location & leisure:
Montaigu le Blin is located in the Bourbonnais area, 30km North from Vichy and 90km North from Clermont-Ferrand, in Auvergne region. It is a countryside rich with historical heritage, which you will be able to discover by visiting a few of the numerous castles and medieval cities, or by hiking, or going by bike or canoe, according to what the leading team can propose you. Your camp leaders will prepare games and activities but you will be invited to propose and create your own activities. Be creative!
Requirements:
Pay attention that there is no wifi access on the Workcamp site, the telephone network is also quite low. However, the volunteers will be able to find a public wifi in the village. Who needs an internet during a Workcamp anyway ? The site is unfortunately not accessible to people in wheelchairs.
EXTRA FEES:
reduced to 250€ for international volunteers. Pay attention! Our national participants in France pay the regular 360€ of extra fees.
During the workcamp, international, French, and local volunteers will take part in different works. On the pedagogical farm, you will learn how to renovate some old farm machinery. You will also build some eco-friendly installations in the hosting centre of the association: systems to collect rainwater and dry toilets, for example. You will practice wooding and construction.
Accomodation & food:
You will sleep in collective tents on the campsite of the association. Please bring along a sleeping bag with you. The campsite has bathrooms and showers, as well as a kitchen place. Food will be provided and cooked by the volunteers in turns.
Location & leisure:
Location: La Ferté Alais is approximately 50 km south of Paris, in the region of Essonne.
Leisure activities:
You will have the chance to enjoy the association's campsite and discover the cultural and natural heritage of the region, alongside its natural park. You will also be given the opportunity to mingle with local young people. Other leisure activities will be organised collectively depending on the wishes of the group and the available budget.
In the framework of this project, several jobs will be proposed. With a technical supervisor, you will participate in the construction of a retaining wall, that will serve to protect the new horns put in place this year. In addition, you will participate in the development of a building called "Forge". Finally, you will be involved in the landscaping of the orchards by maintaining the fruit trees and preserving their enchanting beauty. For this project, you will discover a number of traditional techniques (masonry, pruning trees, and carpentry)
Accomodation & food:
You will be residing in tents, 2 or 3 places next to the farm of Fai, which is about 200 meters from the center of the farm. A sanitary block with water and toilets, as well as a beautiful outdoor area for eating together, will be available for your disposal. You will cook and plan menus together by using local products. Together, you will all participate in the organization of the camp: cooking, washing dishes, amenities, cleaning, campfires, etc.) http://www.villagesdesjeunes.org/index.php?page=fai
Location & leisure:
Location: La Ferme du Fai (3 km of the village Le Saix, 30 km of Gap).
Leisure activities:
Located in a beautiful natural environment, Fai is an ideal place to discover the pleasures of hiking, swimming in the river, and enjoying the rural way of life with farmers market and producers. Enjoy film screenings, playing board games, and international meals. Throughout your time here, sightseeing trips of towns and villages can be organized and discovered within the region!
Building and artistic construction will be the main tasks. We also plan to start working around a new building called "the Maurel farm" by clearing it up before beginning renovation work. All the work will be supervised by members of the Citrus association.
Accomodation & food:
In tents at the Citrus site in Mayounelle, with access to a sanitary block and a kitchen under a tent.
Location & leisure:
Location : Laguépie, located 100 km northeast of Toulouse, between Albi and Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
Leisure activities : A passionate local host will teach you how to cook seasonal dishes using the vegetables grown in the garden. Food workshops will also be organized so that you can learn the basics of a healthy diet. During your free time, you will have the opportunity to go swimming and hiking, and to meet with the other volunteers from the workcamp and from Laguépie. You will also be able to organize evening pizza dinners and game nights, and to visit the medieval villages of Najac, Cordes sur Ciel, and Saint-Antonin Noble Val.
Lead by a technical expert in traditional masonry, you will begin work on the restoration of the facades of the farmhouse. You will also have to renovate or put up the surrounding low walls and mark out the spaces of this traditional farmhouse. There you will learn several traditional techniques such as constructing drystone walls.
Accomodation & food:
You will be camping in tents with all amenities. Food will be provided and meals will be prepared by you in turns.
Location & leisure:
Location: In the middle of the sea, 35 km of Rochefort-sur Mer, Charente Maritime.
Leisure activities:
On the island of Oléron, plenty of aquatic activities will be awaiting you such as fishing and sailing with the local clubs, enjoying the beach, seaside bike rides, beach volleyball and many other pleasures to discover. You can also visit the lovely cities of La Rochelle and Rochefort. Activities and outings will be organized with the population, particularly with the youth from Grand-Village's youth center. Your free time will encourage mingling with the residents who cannot wait to meet you!
This workcamp is the result of collaboration between the village of Saint-Georges-des-Gardes, the social centre of Chemillois and Concordia. The inhabitants work on a collective project to develop the “Gardes” village located at the highest point of the department of Maine-et-Loire. For the past five years around 15 young people have been actively involved every year in the enhancing process: fixing a bus stop, painting, restoring of a well… For 4 years now, we wanted to open this project by welcoming 6 international young people and 10 locals.
Work:
You will work on developing and enhancing Les Gardes site by constructing a benches, pallet table and large outdoor games (checkers game, frog game). There will also be meetings with local sports associations to create photo frames. The general focus in this workcamp is on woodworking, painting and photography.
Accommodation and food:
You will be accommodated in tents, boys and girls separately. Sanitary facilities will be in the changing rooms. The collective life and the kitchen are in the covered yard of a little house called “Maison des energies”. Cleaning and cooking tasks will be done together. Bring a sleeping bag and a mat. You will experiment a sustainable lifestyle within the camp (local organic food, composting, energy saving).
Location and activities:
Saint-Georges-des-Gardes is a small village (800 inhabitants) in the Maine-et-Loire region, located near the cities of Cholet and Angers. It is the highest point in the region.
Activities:
discovering the region, media creations “video, pictures, radio…” with the support of the Chemillois Regional Digital space, swimming, hiking, going to concerts and everything else that you might come up with as a group… More information about the project on www.centresocial-chemille.asso.fr
Special requirements and remarks:
A lot of locals are involved in this project so a basic knowledge of French is appreciated in order to facilitate communication. Bring suitable shoes, warm and waterproof clothes, a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat. Don’t forget your swimming suit. Foreigners belonging to the European Union must bring with them a personal EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), and everybody must, in any case, bring their insurance certificate. If health issues happen on the project, volunteers will have to pay for it, and then be reimbursed once back in their home country.
You will participate in an international volunteer project organized by the Concordia association in Pamiers, Ariege. In July 2019, the diocese of Pamiers wants to restore a retaining wall that collapsed following the last heavy rains.
Work:
You will be required to sort out the fallen stones and to clean the area. You will then participate in restoring the wall responsibly using noble and natural materials. Supervised by a technical camp leader, you will learn traditional masonry techniques.
Accommodation and food:
You will sleep in a tent, with access to toilets, shower facilities and kitchen. In turn you will participate in the preparation of meals and the management of the place of life (organization of schedules, households, shopping, etc.). We will promote as much as possible the purchase of local and seasonal products.
Location and leisure:
Pamiers is the most populated town of Ariege, located at the edge of the Pyrenees Ariegeoises Regional Nature Park, an hour drive south of Toulouse. It is very well connected by public transport, which will facilitate your trips to discover the department. Hiking to discover the piedmont, lakeside walks, visiting historical monuments; everything is at hand.
To know:
Remember to take clothes and shoes for work (including in case of rain). Bring a warm sleeping bag and a sleeping-mat, the nights are sometimes cool and wet. If you wish, you can bring your own tent. Do not forget your swimsuit when swimming. Feel free to bring home specialties, photos, games, musical instruments, etc.
Foreigners belonging to the European Union must bring with them a personal EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), and everybody must, in any case, bring their insurance certificate. If health issues happen on the project, volunteers will have to pay for it, and will then be reimbursed once back in their home country.
« 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! »
