Boskanter VZW Brakel, Belgium Volunteer opportunity: teammember on our experiential permaculture farms
Boskanter is a place where people can experience and experiments with ways of living that are less dependent on fossil fuels and more resilient. By letting people experience a regenerative alternative, we broaden the scope of alternatives, reduce fear and create hope and courage to consider the radical changes that need to be made in the world, rather than criticizing the current system and people trapped in it. Volunteers learn to manage the place and to host short term volunteers and visitors. They try to master some skills related to 'living of the land'. They inspire visitors and short term volunteers with this life and even try to teach them (some of) what they learned. They help to organize activities for the neighborhood. Workdays start with a meeting at eight, and are flexibly adapted to work and needs of participants. The project exists of two farms at 8 km distance, in the Flemish part of Belgium, each inhabited by a family with two teenage kids and some volunteers. Accommodation, food and transport arrangements You stay on the farm in a private, not heated room. There is a wood stove-heated communal kitchen/living room, dry toilets, a sun-heated outdoor shower in summer and stove heated warm water to use in a tub or the sauna in winter. The (rain)water supply is limited, so showering is functional. There is electricity, WIFI and a laundry machine. You share the cooking and meals with the families. The food is included, local, organic, seasonal, mostly vegetarian and home-processed. You can take food on free days. 2€50 per project day is given to cover local transport and other excursion costs. Training during the activity We teach you the skills you need to work on the farm such as scything, mulching, splitting and storing wood, taking care of the animals, processing food, making and using natural paint and cob, making sourdough bread in the wood-oven, cook on a rocket stove, … . You are encouraged to also learn crafts such as carving wood, spinning, making baskets, making poaches from recuperation leather etc, so you can inspire and teach visitors and other volunteers. What you learn will depend on ongoing projects and your skills and interests. The language is mainly English. Participant profile We look for volunteers that search a place where they can try out simple(r) living close to nature, with like-minded people, because they are worried about the destruction of the ecosystem and want to explore how to act or how to live. Don’t expect a fully operating self-sufficient system, though. We are small, we’re still part of this world and sharing this life with others limits our efficiency. You help with what we are currently doing. Together we decide what extra projects to focus on during your stay. We accept no drugs or smoking. Alcohol is limited to special occasions.
Please check EU Volunteers website for more details
Please check EU Volunteers website for more details