📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The small town of Saint Maximin, is in the heart of the stone quarries of the South of the department of Oise, has a particular cultural heritage (troglodyte houses, old open-air quarries, mushroom growing places called “champignonnières”, etc.). This heritage and information about it are presented in the beautiful museum "La Maison de la Pierre" (Stone’s House).
Today, there are still five stone quarries exploited in Saint-Maximin. The stone extracted there is mainly used for the restoration of historical monuments (Paris City Hall or the Arc de Triomphe). The quarries of Saint-Maximin also provide the clay used for the tennis courts of Roland-Garros!
💼 What the programme involves
After the success of the twelve previous workcamps, we continue the work at the Larris hill. Like the very first workcamp organized with the town 2007, the objective of this workcamp will be to recreate a botanical path on an old quarry embankment (vast exploited plot) overgrown with vegetation. You will contribute to clear, clean and build steps to facilitate access to the botanical path.
🏠 Accommodation on site
You will be accommodated at the "maison pour tous Nelson-Mandela", a bourgeois house from the end of the 19th century, which hosts municipal music workshops, exhibitions or cultural and leisure non-profit organizations.
You will have access to the kitchen of the house. You will sleep in individual tents and there will be a large tent for collective life. The infrastructures of the municipal stadium (300 m away) will give you access to the showers, boys and girls separated. You will share the different collective tasks and prepare meals together, with local products as much as possible.
📍 About the location
Saint Maximin (3 000 inhabitants) is located in the department of Oise, 70km away from Paris. The region has a very rich historical heritage that you may discover during your stay: beautiful gothic cathedrals, the castle of Chantilly, the imperial palace of Compiègne, the castle of Pierrefonds, the Armistice quarry, etc.
Moreover, other activities are planned, such as going to the nautical base of St Leu d'Esserent, to the swimming pool… You will have the opportunity to discover how to do stone carving with a professional. You will also participate in animations organized by the youth service of the commune during the summer such as the festivities of July 14th and the meetings with the local population.
ℹ️ Additional information
Please bring working clothes and enclosed shoes. They may be aquatic activities, so don’t forget to bring a swimsuit. For accommodation in tents, bring your sleeping bag and a camping mat. Tents are provided. You can also bring traditional food from your country/region, photos, games, musical instruments: whatever you like and want to share during the workcamp, either with the local population or with the group of volunteers!
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 them, and will then be reimbursed once back in their home country.