Czech organizations United Vision and Divočina Malešov are looking for 3 volunteers to stay 6 months at ecological center while assisting project English lessons and environmental education activities (summer camps, workshops, local schools visits etc.). The project starts in April (15.4.2024) and ends in October (15.10.2024). We are looking for someone with vegetarian soul, who wants to communicate in English with local children and young people and organize activities for them. You will actually live in the organization and there will be a daily contact with everyone in the community, so be ready to learn a bit of Czech language. More information at lucie@united-vision.org
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ABOUT THE ECOCENTER DIVOCINA
In 2017, we established a community garden and an ecocenter in Malešov (6 km from Kutná Hora), which we called Divočina (Wilderness in CZ).
The space we have created has an ecological, community and social dimension.
The community garden is a place where people of all ages and social classes meet for gardening, lectures, workshops, community baking, cultural and recycling events or an evening campfire.
Furthermore, we prepare interactive and practical workshops for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools.
We do gardening and biodiversity enhancing, recycling, sustainable household, vegetarian and vegan cooking, healing plants workshops and many others.
We are very happy to colaborate with a nearby orphanage home. Very often they come to help us and then we enjoy making pizza together or a campfire
A few more topics that interest us: waste water management (especially purification of gray water from households and its reuse in the garden), ZERO waste lifestyle, planting trees and fruit bushes, herbs and perennials, production of natural detergents, repellent and bio-fertilizers, composting. We love recycling and making art of it.
EVENTS
In summer we organize ecological suburban camps with project English, where we use fun and informal teaching methods, focused primarily on conversation, to help the children talk and learn about other cultures without prejudice.
We host several ecological courses such as permacultural edible forest.
In June there are a few school trips.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Volunteers will be involved in all activities in the ecocenter Divočina. We will try to follow their individual needs and preferences, although we cannot guarantee that volunteers will only do what they enjoy.
The core of the whole project will be assisting with ecological education and Project English Clubs and but there are also many „boring“ activities which needs to be done as cutting and raking grass, gardenig, wood making, cleaning, cooking, washing dishes etc.
Main project for spring and summer – Outdoor Café
Volunteers and teenagers from Project English Club are going to cooperate on finishing outdoor Café in Ecocenter Divočina, using mainly recycled material.
The menu will mainly consist of seasonal vegetable and fruit from the organic community garden. Since the first of June the Café will be run twice a week together with bread and pizza making.
English teaching and organization and management of workshops and camps for children
Volunteers at the Divočina ecocentre will assist the English language teacher in teaching young people using the conversational method. Together with the young people from the course, the volunteers will implement small projects such as setting up compost. The aim is to overcome the language barrier and to agree on the steps leading to implementation. Volunteers should improve their communication skills and work with children and young people.
Volunteers will assist the instructor in eco programs for schools and programs within summer camps organized in the Divočina ecocenter. Their main task will be to help prepare material for camp and teaching activities and to assist children in working in groups during activities such as the building of the birdhouses, the production of natural repellents, etc. Volunteers will gain experience in organizing activities for children and get space to implement their own ideas.
Teaching English at schools
Volunteers will spend appx. 3 hours a week as assistants at local schools, where they are going to assist teachers with English lessons and promote their country and culture. In september and October volunteers present their volunteering experience.
Marketing and PR activities for Divočina
Creation of material for social media and marketing activities, especially photos and videos, creation of photo documentation of the events organized in the eco-adventure center Divočina, creation of videos and their editing, creation of foreign-language content for our marketing purposes, communication with foreign visitors . The coordinator will support and mentor the volunteer.
Manual work
The volunteers will help the coordinator prepare workshops in the community garden and the Divočina eco-center.
As we mentioned the volunteering stay involves manual work such as helping in the garden, cutting grass, preparation of food in the kitchen during the events etc. Beside that volunteers learn the principles of organic, permacultural gardening.
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENT
Accomodation
Volunteers will be accommodated in the main house in Divočina eco-center. There are three little rooms equipped with basic furniture (sheets, blankets, pillows, tables, wardrobe, and chairs). All volunteers are going to have their own room.
There is an indoor compost toilet and shower, community kitchen in the house. WiFi is available.
Food
Food will be provided 3 times per day and there will be a common package of food bought every week.
The food comes from our local community garden, local farmers, and bio farmers. Once in a week the volunteer will teach in a local school where he/she gets lunch.
There will be separate money given to the volunteer to buy the food he/she would not find in the package bought for the community kitchen. Volunteers will help in the kitchen. By helping, they will learn to cook vegan and vegetarian dishes, get acquainted with local ingredients and learn to cook for a larger number of people.
They will also have the opportunity to enrich us with their own recipes and share the traditions and customs of their countries of origin. As a result, locals should broaden their horizons and learn about new dishes, customs and traditions.
Local water is drinkable.
There is a local supermarket opened every day in Malešov. There are 2 restaurants and local brewery.
Transportation
A bike will be provided to the volunteer to move around. The train station is about 5 minutes from Divočina, every hour there is a train going to Kutná Hora (about 15 minutes) and from there to Prague (1:20).
Health
There is a general doctor in the village. The next big hospital is in Kutna Hora and there are also specialized doctors.
Volunteer will be provided with health insurance for the time he/she resides in the Czech Republic.
Pocket money
Volunteer will receive pocket money in the amount of 6 Eur per day (equivalent in czech crowns) every first week of the month.
Language
Volunteer will participate at lessons of Czech language at Divočina and will be given support and links to different platforms to learn Czech online.
WHAT WE EXPECT FROM THE VOLUNTEER
• Age 18-30 (first time at long-term ESC/EVS project)
• Willingness to work outdoor (more then half of the time the activities are performed outside under all weather conditions)
• Living simply
• Be open to live simply and eat vegetarian, locally, seasonally and organically
• Willingness to live community life (there is a lot of people of all ages visiting center every day)
• Be open to the vegan/vegetarian environment
• Willingness to communicate in English and to learn more about the topics of environmental education and sustainable life options
• Ability to spend 6 month in the Czech Republic
• Willingness to learn basic Czech language (mainly to be able to communicate with local community)
• Volunteers are welcomed to come with their own ideas and activities
The volunteers will improve their communication, presentation, language and organizational skills and gain experience as instructor of ecological education.
They should learn how to organize workshops, work with different groups of people etc. This valuable experience and can help the volunteers work as freelance instructor in the future.
WORK AND FREE TIME BALANCE
Volunteer is expected to work around 35 hours a week, including one hour for lunch break.
Monday is teamday. On this day we clean, learn Czech, prepare activities form following week and sometimes we might go on a trip.
Volunteer can officially have 2 days per month vacation + all the public holidays in th Czech Republic are free.
There will be minimum 2 multiday trips to other partner ecocenters so that the volunteers can learn about a different approach to the topic.
During the stay the volunteers will be offered a few cultural trips in their free time however the traveling expences are paid by the volunteers.
ABOUT MALEŠOV, KUTNÁ HORA AND LOCAL COMMUNITY
Malešov is a small town with about 1000 residents with a very long history. There is and old castle, Jewish cementry or museum.
Beside that if offers all the necessary services for today life too. A grocery shop opened every day, restaurant and craft brewery where local people usually meet and where all main events are organized (cinema, local markets, music festivals etc.)
Malešov is a destination for tourists too. There is a huge lake where it is possible to swim in the summer. Right at the front of Divočina there is a football field.
In the town people usually move by bike, which will be provided to volunteers too.
Volunteer is expected to learn basic Czech as in the town English is not so widely known.
Kutná Hora is a nearby bigger town, about 20 minutes by train.
It is a very famous tourist spot in the Czech Republic with a lot of historical buildings, mines and famous ossuary.
There are different cultural events, museums, galleries,all kinds of restaurants and a small community of foreign people.
WHERE IS MALEŠOV and DIVOCINA?
You can apply for the project through the ESC page
