The 17th of March was the official “opening” of our workcamp season. Since then you can find in our database not only workcamps in the Czech Republic, but also abroad.
We have not included all the workcamps yet, as some of our partner organisations are still waiting until they can be more certain that they would be able to welcome international volunteers. Therefore, the database will be updated throughout April and May. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic situation there will be no workcamps in some countries. This applies to, for example Ireland, Russia, China or Indonesia. In general, in countries of the Global South, which includes Africa, Asia and South America as well as in some European countries this year’s offer will be limited. Therefore don’t forget to check our database on a regular basis, so your dream workcamp does not “fly away”. 😀
Are you not 18 yet, but you want to go volunteering with us? No problem 🙂 Check out our database for TEEN workcamps.
What special measures will there be this year?
• 4-6 weeks before the workcamp you will be sent an infosheet which will include information about how each workcamp will be organised in regards to the special hygienic measures
• At the workcamp, there will be campleaders and a local organizer, who will look after your safety. Local organizations will also know what to do in case someone is infected with Covid-19.
• Before you go to a workcamp, please send us a copy of your insurance contract, which will include both health insurance (we recommend choosing insurance that also covers “Covid events” such as AXA) and liability.
This year it is also necessary for you to send us a signed declaration form, where you confirm:
• the non-existence of a viral disease
• learning the conditions of entring the country your workcamp takes place in
• in case of unexpected costs, you won’t require any money from INEX
In case you aren’t 18 yet, the form will be filled out by your legal representative. Please, send us a scan with your hand-written signature max. 3 days before your departure.
What will Czech workcamps look like?
We are hopeless optimists and believe that the situation will get better, which is why we have opened the Czech workcamps for both Czech and foreign volunteers (half and half). Of course, we are keeping an eye on current measures, which we will always respect. Therefore, if not possible, we will cancel international participation and the workcamps will be for Czech participants only.
Currently, we are preparing for you approximately 30 workcamps throughout the Czech Republic, which are, as always, very diverse.
There are 4 primary categories:
1. Help the Community – Participate in a workcamp in various communities, for example, in Jilemnice, with the cooperation of KRNAP, in Česká Kamenice, or in our long-term projects Odolena Voda and Kozolupy.
2. Help the Landmarks – Learn how to renovate different kinds of landmarks, such as castles, monasteries or the very popular historical breweries.
3. Help the People – These are our socially oriented workcamps, where you can lend a helping hand at children’s camps, at camps for children and youth with disabilities, or in the very popular Camphill communities, where you can learn about organic farming.
4. Help the Nature – These are our environmental/ecological workcamps, where you can help with cleaning forests, meadows, streams, contribute to landscape irrigation, or with renovation or construction of eco-centres and eco-villages.
There is a registration fee when participating at our Czech workcamps as well. You can find out why and how much here.
Don’t want to go alone? Don’t worry. We have a solution for you – you can apply as a couple or participate even as a whole group to be able to enjoy the workcamp together. There is nothing better than physical exercise, lending a helping hand in order to create something good, and at the same time spending time with your friends.
There are also 3 family workcamps this year. When it comes to these, the minimum number of people involved is two (1 adult and 1 child), and the maximum differs according to the capacity of every single workcamp. Two of these workcamps are focused on a renovation of a historical building, so you’ll get a chance to learn and show children what such a renovation looks like. The third workcamp is an ideal one for you in case you need to “switch off” and escape to wilderness, far away from everything.
Do you want to stay in the Czech Republic, but you feel like you want to challenge yourself or experience more?
How about leading a workcamp?
Every workcamp needs its leaders. 🙂 Thus, you have a unique opportunity to help a local community, and at the same time to work on your self-development and get a lot of new experience. Within the training cycle for campleaders, we’ll prepare you for the workcamp and then we’ll meet after the season to reflect on the experience. Here, you can find detailed information as well as stories of previous campleaders.
If you decide to enrol in the campleaders training cycle and are currently a university student, you have an amazing opportunity to take part in an international project INSPIRIT. The main goal of this project is to “bring volunteering to academic grounds”, in other words, to ensure that the methodology of non-formal education and the experience gained through volunteering are accepted by universities as an internship for a student. Click here for more information about the project.
Workcamps abroad?
If you decide to sign up for a workcamp abroad, you’ll have our full support. We are constantly in touch with our partner organizations, so we’ll be regularly informing you about the current situation, whether in terms of a workcamp job description or other travel conditions.
Before you go on a workcamp, there are a few important points to keep in mind:
• Take the confirmation of admission to a workcamp more as a reservation of your being there if the event actually takes place.
• Don’t rush with the purchase of travel tickets and wait until it is certain that the workcamp will be able to take place as planned. If you don’t want to wait, we recommend buying ticket insurance to prevent forfeiture of the ticket or problems with changing them.
• Please regularly check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the conditions of entring the country even after you are admitted to a workcamp and then right before your departure (e. g. test, quarantine, or Covid passport conditions). You can always find a link to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the relevant country in the description of a given workcamp.
• If you are going to transfer while travelling, get familiar with the transfer conditions in a given country. You can usually find this information on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Please, be flexible this year and expect possible changes regarding the date and job description of a workcamp.
• In case of a workcamp being cancelled, we’ll try to offer you a different one taking place at a similar time, or you can also find one by yourself in our database.
• If you don’t choose to go on a different workcamp, we may transfer your registration fee to the next year, or we may return it to you reduced by CZK 200 for administration.
• Please be aware of the possibility of a bigger number of local volunteers at a workcamp, and expect fewer international ones.
• Also, take into account that there can incur some unexpected extra costs for you, such as a PCR test or higher transportation costs.
• If a PCR test is needed in order to go to a workcamp, you’ll have to cover the costs yourself. Nevertheless, the tests are available for free in some countries, even for foreigners (as it is for instance in Denmark).
Do you want to “kill time” and have some fun while you have to wait for your workcamp? Take a look at our offer of online workcamps, where you can choose from various activities in which you can participate within an international group.
Are you thinking about a long-term project?
If some of you consider taking part in a long-term project, it is definitely one of the possibilities. These projects are available in our database, and it is possible that there will be some more over time, as our partner organizations will confirm them.
What has already been mentioned above applies also to long-term projects. However, it can be easier in a way, because you don’t attend such a project in a larger group but usually work with 1-2 volunteers only or alone. Therefore, it may be easier for the host organization to meet all the conditions/measures required by the government.
Most of the long-term projects from our database last until the end of 2021. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to take part in its entire length. Just write from when to when you’d like to participate in a project (e. g. from Sep 1 to November 30) into a box for notes in the application form. Our partner organisation then confirms whether the dates chosen by you are possible.
If you’d like to visit a country where there is currently no long-term project and would like to spend a long time there, you can combine several workcamps together, and extend your stay, for example, up to 6 weeks. But do not forget that you’ll have to sign up for each workcamp separately (the registration fee for the 2nd workcamp is lowered to CZK 1,100).
Is there another possibility? How about the European solidarity corps (ESc).
If you want to go volunteering for a longer period of time you can also enrol in a project supported and financed by the European Solidarity Corps. These projects last from 2 to 12 months and their mission is to help young people get involved in public benefit projects abroad while working on their personal growth and development of their skills and competencies. Click here for more information.
We believe that we did not discourage you with the information mentioned above. We and our partner organizations are working hard to make workcamps safe for everybody. What is certainly important here is also your, volunteers’, readiness. If you have any additional questions, we are here for you so feel free to contact the coordinator of the project of your interest anytime.
Czech workcamps: Zuzka, +420 774 736 594, projekty.cr@inexsda.cz
Campleaders: Jana, +420 608 744 146, campleaders@inexsda.cz
ESS/EVS: Dominika, +420 222 362 715, evs@inexsda.cz
Workcamps abroad, Long-term projects and Virtual workcamps:
Aneta, +420 731 163 670, workcamp@inexsda.cz, ltv@inexsda.cz
For the newest updates follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or suscribe to our newsletter (see bellow in the footer).
And don’t forget…. Volunteering and responsibility go hand in hand.
