ESC Collect Herbs and Make Tea in Bile Karpaty

Czech Republic Environment Social work Environment Social work Fixed dates

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

This project is organized in cooperation with Nova Lhota, a small Moravian village located in the White Carpathian Mountains on the Slovak border. The village runs an eco-centre and is very active in environmental activities and education. In the village, herbal tea blends from local types of herbs are produced. The project aims to involve volunteers in collecting herbs and fruits, getting to know the local culture and nature, and maintaining the public spaces, greenery and valuable flowery meadows. In this project, you will actively contribute to achieving UN SDG11 Sustainable Cities and Communities and UN SDG15 Life on Land.

💼 What the programme involves

You will be involved in making organic herbal tea. It is an important way of promoting local traditions and products in Nova Lhota. You will learn to recognize various herbs, collect them and make herbal mixtures. To see the whole production process, they will help in the social enterprise in Nova Lhota where the herbal teas are packaged (grind and filter dried herbs, fill the boxes with tea bags and wrap them in foil on the machines in the tea production workshop, etc). In a natural garden, you will help with weeding, mulching and/or other small jobs. In the village of Nova Lhota, you will help with the maintenance of public spaces. Bring suitable clothes and shoes that can get dirty and a raincoat. No previous experience with this kind of work is required.

🏠 Accommodation on site

Accommodation will be provided in a tourist hostel in Nova Lhota. You will sleep in rooms on bunk beds with duvets and pillows. There are 5 rooms (2 x four-bedroom, 2 x six-bedroom, 1 x eight-bedroom). There are bathrooms, a dining room with a fully equipped kitchen, WIFI, a washing machine and relaxing spaces in front and behind the building. For two days you will stay at a farm in Travicna and sleep in a natural wooden cottage or the open air. Thus, bring a mat and a sleeping bag. You will cook for yourself in cooking teams from provided ingredients.

📍 About the location

The project takes place in the small village of Nova Lhota surrounded by the nature of the White Carpathians. The collection of herbs and minor garden work takes place in the natural garden at the Karpaty Ecocentre. The herbs are then processed in a nearby building, in a small factory of regional teas. In the village, there is a grocery and general store, a hostel, 2 playgrounds, a school, a cultural centre, and a church. ATMs or pharmacies are located in bigger towns Velka nad Velickou (10km) and Uherske Hradiste (30km). The region is famous for its folk traditions and beautiful countryside. You can go on a trip to Straznice or Skalice, visit wine cellars, the Bata canal, the windmill in Kuzelov, go on a hike and reach the highest peak of the White Carpathian Mountains – Velka Javorina. You can get involved in guided creative leisure activities in the eco-centre, which will support group cohesion and beautify the garden area (e.g. mosaics, decorations from nature, houses for insects or pictures painted with clay pigments, etc.).

⚠️ Requirements

Bring your sleeping bag, a mat, clothes and shoes for work, a raincoat, a good mood and a willingness to meet others. There is a strict no-alcohol policy in the place of accommodation. This project is suitable for volunteers who like nature and learning about the environment and local traditions. You will spend a lot of time outdoors so you can get into contact with different kinds of plants, herbs, pollen, and insects. There is a risk of allergies to hay and grass. This project is supported by the EU program European Solidarity Corps. Some of the conditions differ from the usual projects; there will be detailed info provided after your acceptance. For more info about ESC visit https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en.

ℹ️ Additional information

You will learn how to differentiate various kinds of herbs and about local traditions, products, the history and the natural potential of the region. You will have a chance to get involved in the local eco-centre activities. Part of the project is a trip to the forest natural garden Salas Travicna in Tvarozna Lhota, where the participants will visit the museum of “oskoruse“(the local wild fruit) and local folk culture.

Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.