2 festivals - 1 volunteering (2023) Archive

6-week ESC volunteering project in Hungary

10th July – 18th August 2023.

Would you like to gain practical experience on how to live more eco-friendly? Would you like to take part and contribute to musical and cultural festivals? Are you interested in traditional sustainable architecture? Are you between 18-30 years old? Can you imagine yourself in an international group of like-minded people for six weeks in the countryside of Hungary? If your answers are YES for the questions above, we have good news for you!

We are looking for participants for our 6-week ESC volunteering project from the following countries:
- Estonia
- Spain
- Austria
- Czech Republic
- Croatia
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Poland
- Hungary

About us:
Our place Dombfalva is a community-based, environmentally sustainable initiative for cultural and recreational activities. Our goal is to create a multi-purpose venue that is suitable for hosting various events, meetings and camps. We organize programs for young people, children and families (workshops, volunteer-days, summer festivals) and we think of Dombfalva as an inclusive space where the ideas of external partners could be realized. 

About the project:
Our project is a great opportunity to experience living and creating together as a community in a cooperative and eco-friendly way. This summer Dombfalva is hosting two cultural mini-festivals in which you can take part in: 

  • Csekefeszt, which is primarily an alternative music event aimed at young audience with various performers from the hungarian alternative music scene

  • Organix, a family friendly gathering promoting environmental conscious lifestyle, cultural and art activities and workshops

Our events take place at the beginning of august on multiple days and we are expecting around 100-200 visitors on each one.

We are inviting you to help to create these festivals and enjoy the results together with our guests while getting to know our community and each other. The participants will take part in the preparatory works on the venue, helping with the facilities and programmes during the festivals and the clean-up afterwards. No previous professional knowledge is needed for the tasks, but the activities of the programme are going to give the opportunity to all participants to develop their personal skills.

Activities:
Building, preparation:
-site development: mosaic mandala brick floor construction – we are planning to create a one-of-a-kind and artful brick mosaic mandala floor to establish a unique area which can be the main feature of our atmospheric community space. Join us and take part in building a practical and sustainable structure for the site while learning the useful techniques and practices
-stage building and site preparation – help us to prepare the site for the performers and workshops of our festivals
-decoration – use your creativity and artistic sense and make Dombfalva a memorable experience for our guests. 

During the festivals:
-kitchen: helping our kitchen staff in preparing the meals for our guests and performers
-cleaning: keeping the venue nice and tidy, managing composting toilets, showers
-maintenance: small repair works, helping in technical support

Other activities:
- maintenance of our park trees that are planted utilizing permaculture design: gardening, irrigation, mowing

The group of volunteers are going to participate in tasks with clear goals, mainly related to the eco-architectural development of the area. They are going to get acquainted with the water management of the venue, the use of reclaimed bricks in construction and the environmental and economical results of using local materials. The participants can also learn the practices and tasks required to organize small festivals.

Location:
Dombfalva is located in a quiet valley of the Gödöllő hills, approximately 40km from Budapest. The size of the area is 4 hectares in which we have a small forest, fields and our buildings.
To reach the place it is a 20 minutes walk in the village and a forest from the nearest bus stop.
We are going to help organize the travel of the volunteers from Budapest to the venue at the beginning of the project and the way back to Budapest at the end. 

Dates:
The project activity starts on 10 July 2023, volunteers should arrive on the weekend before the start date. The project ends on 18 August 2023.

Participants/ volunteers profile:
We are looking for participants aged 18-30 with a strong interest in environmentalism, who are open to learn new methods, to get to know a different, sustainable lifestyle. We are mostly going to do physical work, so we would like to have volunteers who are not afraid of getting their hands a little dirty.
We are planning to include volunteers with fewer opportunities, because we believe that the methods and knowledge gained during the project could be an asset to them. 

Accommodation:
The volunteers are going to be accommodated in one building all together on single beds. Participants should bring their own sleeping bags and pillows. We are going to use outdoor solar showers and composting toilets, and a washing machine is available. 

Food:
During the project the volunteers are going to cook together. Every day there is going to be a cooking team responsible for the meals. Participants are going to be welcome to plan the menu and to bring their own ideas. We are planning to use ingredients from local farmers. 

What is covered by the project?:
The project is going to be realized in the framework of European Solidarity Corps. 

The following costs are going to be covered:
- Travel cost from the country of residence to the project location is going to be reimbursed up to the amount in the table below.
- Pocket money: 42 €/week
- Food: hosting organization provides the ingredients and the volunteer team prepares the meals together with the help of staff.
- Insurance: the programme covers private health insurance, but volunteers have to possess the “blue” European Health Card. 

Travel cost limits:

Country 

Max. travel cost to be reimbursed

In case of “green” travel

Estonia

275€

320€

Spain

360€

410€

Austria

275€

320€

Czech Republic

275€

320€

Croatia

275€

320€

Romania

275€

320€

Slovakia

180€

210€

Poland

275€

320€

Hungary

180€

210€

This is a group-volunteering project, so you can participate even if you have already done individual EVS/ESC project before!

How to apply:
If you would like to participate in this project, we invite you to fill in the application form.

Deadline for application: 30 June 2023.

Selection process:
We give feedback for all the applicants until the middle of June. If you are selected for the second round, you are going to be invited for an online interview with the hosting organization. We would like to have the final volunteer team by the end of June. 

Inclusion:
We value all volunteers as unique individuals, and we welcome the variety of experiences they bring to our project. We are committed to equal volunteer opportunity without regard to age, ancestry, disability, national or ethnic origin, race, religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political belief. 

Contact:
If you have any question regarding the project, don't hesitate to reach out to us here:
esc.dombfalva@gmail.com
www.dombfalva.hu
fb.com/Dombfalva