📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Located in the heart of the Hautes-Alpes, the association “Les Villages des Jeunes”, www.villagesjeunes.org, manages, runs and renovates a hosting centre at Vaunières since 1964! It is an old mountain hamlet that has become both a “trampoline” for youth and adults facing hardships, and a welcoming place for French and international volunteers. Vaunières is a vacation destination for families, tourists and people with disabilities who come to enjoy the calmness of the mountain and the place’s dynamic atmosphere. Our workcamps, with volunteers from all countries, allow us to reinforce the cultural diversity of our work, and to open up the site to the world, making it a place where people from all ages and socio-cultural backgrounds agree to meet each other by working together and sharing the life of the community. We hope that, whether you are a French or an international volunteer, you too will join us in an atmosphere of exchange and “do-it-together” that characterize our project.
💼 What the programme involves
The hosting centre is composed of several buildings including the “Hotellerie” House which was restructured in 2014 by adding housing and a lodge. This workcamp will focus on insulating the walls of the building, especially the northern façade (all other façades were completed in the summers of 2014-2016). You will add natural insulation after preparing the walls and constructing a solid wood frame that will allow us to add the plaster. This project will also teach you new techniques and skills including traditional coating and the use of environmentally friendly materials.
🏠 Accommodation on site
In individual tents with access to a sanitary block accomodated with 3 showers and toilets. As for meals, you will eat with the other volunteers and local residents. Different groups will alternate to cook the meals, do the dishes, and clean up after the meals.
📍 About the location
Vaunières (7km from St. Julien en Beauchêne, and 50km from Gap).
Located within a remarkable natural environment, Vaunières is an ideal place to go hiking in the mountains and discover the rural life with its farmers’ markets and its producers. In the evenings you will be able to organize games, screenings, international meals and more. Tourist visits will also be a possibility.