PROJECT: The Social Promotion Association ALA started in late 2014 the renovation of a mountain refugee to make it avalaible for youth initiatives and trainings as to host mountain lovers and who want discover the beauties of Sabina mountains. The Refugee is at 1000 mt. above sea level, and is surrounded by woods. The place is very isolated and can be reached uphill in 2 hours.
Work:
WORK: the volunteers will support the local group in different renovation and environmental activities: volunteers will be involved in the following tasks: mounting serial structures on trees; excavation of the pond to collect water; building of the garden fence and holes and delimitation of the orchard; mainteinance of the roof of the refuge; painting, bunk beds construction; buyilding of earthen stove for the third room.
Accomodation & food:
ACCOMMODATION: in dorms with bunk beds or if you like on three houses/tents, the volunteers will have to prepare the meals in the refuge kitchen. Bathrooms and showers are functioning.
Location & leisure:
LOCATION: Casperia – Lazio, Central Italy.
TERMINAL:
Rome
LEISURE:
natural excursions (mountain bike, climbing, canyoning...), workshops on environmental friendly self made solutions. During the weekend Rome cannot be reached easily, thus visits to the beautiful Sabina villages are more reccomended. Costs for free time activities are up to the volunteers.
Requirements:
REQUIREMENTS: To be open minded and ready to live with the group in very isolated place. A project related motivation letter is needed or presentation of tutor/parent. Expect a basic accommodation.
Volunteers will take part in the walking of 330 km from St Thomas to St Peter from 7th to 21st of August 2016; they will hike from St Thomas Square in Ortona to St Peter Square in Rome where they will participate in a big event to celebrate, with all the other different travellers, at the end of the journey and they will assist the traditional catholic celebration of the Angelus, blessed by Pope Francis. The volunteers will be part of the group of Italian hikers who move from Ortona to Roma and will do the path with other participants, helping to manage some little manual work during the route and updating profiles of the event on social networks: twitter and facebook in their mother tongue. Please, note that the departure day is on 21st of August, after 5 p.m.
Accomodation & food:
Being participants of the walk, the volunteers will have the same conditions as other hikers: accommodation during the trekking could be in a hostel, BB, hotel or camping (to be confirmed few weeks before the event). The same is for food: the organization will provide three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) but sometimes it can be packed meal. In some cases due to specific issues of the program the volunteers could receive pocket-money for food. The participants will have the chance to see a lot of small villages and towns on their way from Ortona to Rome.
Location:
Ortona - Rome (itinerant)
TERMINAL:
Ortona (arrival) - Rome (departure)
Requirements:
Project-related motivation letter is required. Minimum age 20 y.o. The volunteers should have some past experience in trekking and be ready to long hike every day with all the weather conditions (more than 330 Km walking). Preferable a basic knowledge of Italian language. A personal photo-camera and blogger skills are also appreciated. Sometimes the volunteers will be invite to release interviews (in English or with another participant as translator) to local media, so a good attitude to this public-moments are appreciated. Please, note that the departure day is on 21st of August, after 5 p.m.
Project summary: Volunteers will be working with park rangers (guardie ecologiche volontarie) to conserve the "Prati Magri" and endorse this breathtaking natural habitat. DescriptionProject: Montevecchia natural park is one of the nearest parks to the Milan metropolitan area. Legambiente aims at raising the fruition of the park and conserving at the same time the "Prati Magri", a natural habitat with a great biodiversity.The area shows a very high dissimilarity of environments that need a lot of cures. Pathways in particular need maintenance, especially for what concerns the signposting. Equally important are the areas along Molgora river, that periodically needs adjustments, like thin meadows inside the park. There is also a water channel that needs to be cleaned and maintained periodically. Legambiente local group: Legambiente Lecco is made of young and dinamic people, mostly under 30. The main activity of this Legambiente group is the management of an hostel; moreover, it has campaigned against food waste and for the correct waste management. Take a look at https://it-it.facebook.com/legambiente.lecco for details.Work: Volunteers will clean the pathways, with particular attention to signposting. They will always be followed by park rangers, who will show them how to properly do the required tasks.Accommodation and food: Volunteers will be hosted in Ca' Soldato, a big house in which they will find rooms with camp beds, three bathrooms, a big kitchen. Internet access will not be provided in Ca' Soldato, but it will be possible to use wifi at the park headquarter, reachable on foot. The ecological rangers will prepare the lunch. Location and leisure: Montevecchia is located relatively near Milan and its park is hilly, which makes it easily reachable. Inside the park there is a beautiful church, culturally very important, that volunteers will have the privilege to visit.Specific Requirements: attitude to live and walk in mountains environmentLanguage: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: nearest airports are Orio al serio, Milano Malpensa; nearest train station are Olgiate/Calco/Brivio
Project summary: The workcamp will support the restoration and conservation of the area of Sulphureous Sources of the Lavino River and the Mill of the ‘600, within the national campaign "Save the Art".DescriptionProject: The workcamp will support the restoration and conservation of the area of Sulphureous Sources of the Lavino River and the Mill of the ‘600 (within the campaign "Save the Art"). The main actions will be dedicated to the restoration of the Mill, to the cleaning of some features of the paths more attended by the tourists, to the maintenance of the equipped areas, to the cleaning of the contiguous area to the ancient flour mill, fed from the Sulphureous Sources of the Lavino river.Legambiente local group: Legambiente parco Lavino was born in 2004; in 2006 the municipality of Scafa entrusts the management of the park to it, who restores a building making it a centre for environmental education.Work: - cleaning of the paths;- maintenance of the equipped areas; - cleaning of the contiguous area of the seventeenth-century flour mill; - contribution in the organisation of events and manifestations.Accommodation and food: Volunteers will stay in a guesthouse near the Equipped Park with two rooms, 3 baths with showers, 1 kitchen.Location and leisure: Scafa is a lovely small village in Abruzzo, near Pescara far about 170 Km from Rome. The volunteers will work in the Sulphureous Sources Park of Lavino.Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: Roma International airports; Chieti train station; Pescara airports; Scafa train station
Very small uninhabited island in front of Palermo known as a natural reserve since over 15 years. Volunteers will help in cleaning it, building stone paths, label and number rabbits burrows. In the afternoon they ll work on rocky shores (not on the island) to clean them and will distribute leaflets on environmental protection to local citizens and turist. Work can be tiring and hard due to hot temperature and Sicilian sun. (hat and sunblock are compulsory).The volunteers will support some environmental activities with local volunteers.
Accommodation and food:
In a small house in the village (not on the island). All volunteers will stay in the same room equipped with bunk beds. Food to be cooked by volunteers.
Special requirements:
Being able to swim is compulsory.
Location and free time:
Isola is close to Palermo and connected with regular bus.
PROJECT: The workcamp is born by the partnership between a group of motivated young people that took part in workcamps in the last years and the municipality of Marano di Valpolicella.The main idea is to contribute to the maintenance of the local environment and at the same time make people discover this wonderful place in which we live. Moreover we want to promote the active citizenship and the cultural exchange between the international people and local community.We will collaborate with Multitraccia, a cultural association founded by young people living in Valpolicella and whose aim is to promote cultural projects and events.In the project there will be also the involvement of the students of the High School "Calabrese-Levi". They will help us in some activities during the free time.
Work:
WORK: At first there will be to renovate and clean the path from the weeds and plants. Then there will be a carpentry laboratory in order to prepare the signage of the path and some benches. So the volunteers will be asked to work outside and do manual works.The volunteers will also help during the "Valpolicella Music Fair" festival. They will support the organization during the preparation and during the festival itself.During the free time there will be the chance to visit the surroundings.
Accomodation & food:
ACCOMODATION: The group will be hosted in Valgatara (Marano di Valpolicella municipality), in the primary school. All the volunteers will sleep in the same room. The participants will use the showers of the sport centre of the village (100m away from the school).The group will have to cook their meals and help in the cleaning works.
Location & leisure:
LOCATION: Marano di Valpolicella is one of the seven municipalities that are part of Valpolicella, an hilly area 20km far from Verona and not far from Lake Garda. The main activity of that region is agriculture (grapes) and winemaking, so the landscape is mainly rural and covered by vineyards.
TERMINAL:
The nearest airport is Verona Airport ("Valerio Catullo"). Anyway the city of Verona can be easily reached by train from the main city and airport of north Italy (Milan, Venice, Bologna).From Verona train station there are many busses to reach the meeting point.
The work camp is organized by YAP (Youth Action for Peace) in cooperation with ACARBIO (Associazione Costiera Amalfitana Riserva Biosfera) and the local municipality of Minori. ACARBIO is an NGO engaged in the candidature of the Amalfi Coast as Biosphere Reserve within the MAB-UNESCO programme. Its activities focus on the conservation and safeguard of the natural and historical-cultural heritage of the Amalfi Coast, by promoting any kind of sustainable development with projects regarding the environment, biodiversity, tourism, local tradition, mobility, green energy. Among the many activities of the organization, international workcamps are becoming more and more important. In the past 2 years YAP organized with ACARBIO 7 workcamps about cleaning of green areas, the beach, workshops for kids on recycling and upcycling, building of natural houses, etc.. These projects were organized under the name of Make it Green and Make it Blue. As ACARBIO has worked these years promoting a more sustainable approach towards mother nature, we believe this project represents an opportunity to raise awareness about environmental protection at local level, and at the same time promoting volunteering, international cooperation and the involvement of local youth. More information about our previous workcamps can be found here http://goo.gl/HPSXGO
WORK:
International volunteers will work together with local volunteers from the civil service and they will give their contribution to the achievement of the objectives. The main activities will be focused on supervising the public beach, providing assistance to the bathers by keeping the beach clean from garbage, cleaning the sea with a paddle boat (pedalo), empty the trash bins, coordinate the usage of the umbrella-beach holders and make sure they are in their places , clean the main dock of the city from the sand, check the id cards of local people accessing to the “resident beach”, warn people not to play with the ball on the public beach or on the dock. The volunteers will also be engaged in the organization of activities for children aimed to raise awareness about the protection of the sea side and the environment as a whole. They will be protagonists in the communication activities and will send an important message in favour of the environment. Volunteers will be engaged in work for 6-7 hours a day, for 6 days a week.
ACCOMMODATION:
Board and lodging are guaranteed for all participants. Volunteers will stay at one of the local schools, where there will be bathrooms, showers and a kitchen. Participants will be asked to take their sleeping bag with them. The group will be responsible for preparing meals and cleaning the place. The organization will provide all the food that is needed. Public transportations are available for every days movements.
LOCATION:
Minori is a prestigious tourist destination in the Amalfi Coast. It is a small town that counts around 2.800 inhabitants and it is famous for being an ancient vacation destination for Romans. In fact a well preserved roman Villa was found in 1932 and now it’s one of the main attraction of the place. This town is also very famous for its gastronomic tradition, being the place where the production of pasta was born and became an art. Of course Minori offers also a beautiful seaside, beaches, nice promenade, stunning landscapes, one of the biggest Basilicas of the area and its bell tower. Other famous places like Amalfi, Ravello and Positano can be visited nearby. Naples and Salerno are about 1 hour away. In this period of the year there are several events related to local traditions, art and music all along the coast.
TERMINAL:
Airport of Naples. There are public busses that will allow participants to reach the place where they will be staying in Tramonti. The nearest train stations are Nocera Inferiore, Salerno and Naples in this order. From the train station you can take a bus to the Amalfi Coast, stopping at Minori. Specific instruction on how to reach us will be provided in the infosheet.
SPECIAL REMARKS:
A project-related motivation letter is required. This workcamp is recommended for people who love the sea and the nature, who are interested in the topic of sustainable development and protection of biodiversity, who are ready to have a positive attitude towards interculturalism. No specific experience is required for the project, only a lot of motivation, responsibility during the activities and desire to explore new places and help the nature and the local community.
Project summary: In the heart of Madonie Regional Park in Sicily, the volunteers will renovate and open mountain trails for the promotion of a responsible and sustainable tourism.DescriptionProject: the workcamp is part of a wider project which aims at raising the natural and touristic value of the Madonie Regional Park, through the creation of educational and environmental facilities and activities. The seasonal tourism linked to the winter sports will lead to the reduction and fragmentation of the natural areas with serious environmental damages. The purpose of the project is to divert this direction towards the safeguard of the territory and the valorization of the cultural and historic heritage as key to stimulate innovative quality and new economic trends, in respect of the mountain biodiversity.Legambiente local group: the local group "Francesco Lojacono" sar born in 2007 in Palermo with the aim of safeguarding and promoting areas with natural and cultural value through awareness campaigns such as "Salvalarte" (save the art) and Solidarity and Environment, for the fruition of natural areas by disadvantaged people.Work: the volunteers will work at the maintenance and creation of mountain paths inside the Regional park (also using GPS mapping), the creation and installation of touristic signs and fences, removal of weed and fire monitoring. They will also do some renovation work in the Refuge and the surrounding area.Study part: biodiversity of the Madonie Park, sustainable tourism and ancient traditions of Sicily, Mediterranean genesis and geology, climate change.Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in Rifugio Il Grifone, a mountain refugee inside the Park, at 1500 meters above sea level. Location and leisure: the Regional Park of Madonie, extended for 794 kmq in the north-centre of Sicily, includes the highest and most ancient mountains in the region. The workcamp will take place in Piano Battaglia that is the second highest Sicilian peak (1600 mt), after Etna Vulcan. It is situated in a wonderful natural frame: a wide karstic area in the heart of the Madonie mountains surrounded by an ancient beech forest. In the free time, the volunteers will explore the Park - also through sport activities - and the villages at its feet, with their traditions and community life. Specific Requirements: good will and attitude to live in mountains environment.Language: English will be the official language in the camp.Terminal: nearest airport and train station are in Palermo. Attention: the last bus from Palermo to Petralia Sottana is at 18.30 (at 17 on Sundays).
Age:
18-99
Location:
Petralia sottana, province of palermo, sicilia region
« 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! »
