📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
You will be welcomed by the Community of communes of Pays de Tronçais and the local council of Meaulne-Vitray. The church garden is a green space ideally located in the centre of town and open to the public. The local council has built a children playground, an educational and ecological garden and containers for medicinal and aromatic plants. There are two water points in the garden: a pretty washhouse restored by a workcamp a few years ago and a fountain.
There are diverse expectations for this project: have a place to host events, have a nice shelter in a landscaped area, use local wood resources for this work, involve local people to help alongside international volunteers.
💼 What the programme involves
The "gloriette" is the curious name given to a wooden shelter with a traditional structure. Here, the aim will be to complete the development of a public garden for the locals and tourists.
Your involvement will help to create an ideal place to host local festivals and areas for visitors to rest. We propose two objectives: build the bleachers of a mini-green theatre to accommodate spectators and build the “gloriette“ on the site of a former communal garage which has been dismantled. You will carry out some additional work in the garden: transformation of a stone wall into a bench, installation of a wooden railing.
Thanks to your work, the locals and tourists will have a friendly shelter protecting from the sun and rain. Along with a technical leader, you will learn basic carpentry skills and how to tinker and to build with your own hands!
🏠 Accommodation on site
You will be accompanied by two camp leaders throughout your stay. You will sleep in individual tent set up in the grass at the local stadium. You will have your meals in the stadium, which offers a large living space, a collective kitchen and a pleasant shelter in summer. The group will be sharing the different tasks of collective life together. The budget will be allocated to the group and you will participate in the preparation of meals using healthy products from the market and local producers. The entire stadium will be available for you and closed to the public.
📍 About the location
The village is located in the department of Allier, in the region of Auvergne, 20min away from Montluçon and 1h away from Bourges. Meaulne-Vitray is crossed by the beautiful rivers of the Cher River and the Aumance River. It is built in a circle of seven hills. It is located next to the Forest of Tronçais, one of the most beautiful oak forests in Europe with grandiose trees several hundred years old, ponds and fountains full of secrets. We will offer you a variety of activities: swimming in lakes and rivers, discovery of the Canal de Berry, the Aumance Valley, medieval villages such as Hérisson and Ainay-le-Château. Nature and hicking lovers will enjoy this is workcamp.
More information on https://www.paysdetroncais.fr/ and https://www.allier-auvergne-tourisme.com
ℹ️ Additional information
Please bring good shoes, working clothes, your swimsuit and a sleeping bag. You can also bring recipes from your home country/region, musical instruments and games. You will get around Meaulne-Vitray on foot and by car or minibus on time.
Foreigners belonging to the European Union must bring with them a personal EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), and everybody must, in any case, bring their insurance certificate. If health issues happen on the project, volunteers will have to pay for it, and will then be reimbursed once back in their home country.
