ESC: Simple life and permaculture in an eco-village.
Code: 49379 Copied
Slovakia
European Voluntary Service
Environment
European Voluntary Service
Environment
Fixed dates
About the project
ESC: Simple life and permaculture in an eco-village.
📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Our NGO, Pospolitost pre harmonicky zivot (PHZ – Community of Harmonious Living), disseminates ideas of sustainable life between young people for more than 20 years. We live and work in a small remote village Zajezova that we have changed into an eco-village. The community is a decentralised non hierarchical and free social network of cooperating neighbours. There are several projects which unite local people – food bank, community school, forest kids club, educational centre, common web page and email discussion groups etc. Many of them were initiated by our organisation, but there are also some other NGOs and informal groups nowadays. We are also members of the Global Ecovillage Network Europe.
The objective of our organisation is to spread and implement sustainable life. We focus on the promotion of a harmonious lifestyle that is based on three pillars - harmony with nature, support of positive trends in society, and personal development. Our target group is youth and adults that are looking for a more sustainable and ecological lifestyle.
Programmes of PHZ:
1. Educational events on traditional crafts, permaculture, sustainability... (every year approx. 12 weekend workshops, 6 volunteer weeks, 1 festival with more than 700 visitors)
2. "Zajezka" - we support the re-settlement of Zajezova and its surrounding farm settlements. We co create conditions that are attractive for other newcomers (for now we are, counted together with children, about 150 people).
3. Eco-community Sekier - the traditional farm and its surrounding property is gradually developed and transformed into a demonstrational eco farm and a centre for visitors, who would like to gain experience with the lifestyle that we are presenting.
4. Conservation of cultural heritage - the spreading of crafts, renovation of architectural folk monuments, promotion of traditional culture especially among young people.
💼 What the programme involves
Eco-community Sekier, a small permaculture farm in Zaježová, is a project run by Pospolitost pre Harmonicky Zivot NGO. It provides a space for young people to experience farm work, sustainable and community living. The farm hosts 4-10 residents, guests and ESC volunteers at a time, offering hands-on learning experiences in permaculture, natural building, crafts, and self-sufficiency. With a permaculture garden and a herd of goats and sheep, the farm produces a variety of dairy products and remains self-sufficient in vegetables year-round. You will learn about food forests, gardening, animal care, milking goats, about crafts and natural construction, as well as how to bake bread and make cheese. You will also learn a lot about community life. You will be involved our ongoing projects, work both on the Sekier farm as well as in other places of the local eco-village community where we cooperate with locals.
🏠 Accommodation on site
The main house is at Sekier is a 150 years old stone building which was renovated about 20 years ago with clay plaster, wooden floors and wood-fired stoves. The kitchen and bathroom have running water from our nearby well. The bathroom has a wood fired shower, the toilets are composting long drops outside. In spite of trying to get back to the basics, Sekier is equipped with some modern devices that we just consider very helpful - a library with internet, a laundry machine... The closest bus stops are about 30 mins walking distance from Sekier. Volunteers share rooms with each other.
🎒 Leisure activities
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in farming, permaculture and community life. The living conditions are simple, but you will live close to nature and will be able to connect to the year-cycle of the seasons in central Europe. You will become part of a organic group of people and families that are living in this valley permanently and you will be able to find strong and full relationships. We are looking for people that are pragmatic and that want to do things with their hands, learn how to use hand tools and develop their craftmanship for their life.
⚠️ Requirements
The Participant profile: We are looking for volunteers who want to stay with us for either six or ten months. Experience with farming, communities or countryside life is not required, but enthusiasm to learn about these topics is very welcome. Sekier is remote and nature is everywhere around us. That allows us to create deep connections between ourselves and with nature, but access to civilization outside of the eco-village is fairly limited. Volunteers should be aware of that.
Deadline:
Deadline:
ℹ️ Additional information
The project is implemented under the European Solidarity Corps Programme, financed by the European Commission.
The participating organisations have to be mindful of these needs as they are responsible for providing a respectful and trusting hosting environment. At the same time, the organisations participating in the initiative devote a great deal of time, energy and resources to set up a high-quality activity; they should therefore expect that European Solidarity Corps participants show a similar level of respect for the local communities and the people that are directly concerned by the activities (https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en).
What do we provide ?
Before applying for this volunteering project, you need to enroll yourself at European Solidarity Corps Platform (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en) and specify your European Solidarity Corps Participant Number (PRN).
This organisation holds a European Solidarity Corps Quality Label.
Contact the ESC coordinator at +32 2 888 67 13 to get more informations.
The participating organisations have to be mindful of these needs as they are responsible for providing a respectful and trusting hosting environment. At the same time, the organisations participating in the initiative devote a great deal of time, energy and resources to set up a high-quality activity; they should therefore expect that European Solidarity Corps participants show a similar level of respect for the local communities and the people that are directly concerned by the activities (https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en).
What do we provide ?
- Training before and after the project
- Health insurance during your project
- round-trip travel reimbursement
- accommodation and food
- pocket money
- language course
- Return Week-end
- Youth Pass and SVI international Volunteer passport
Before applying for this volunteering project, you need to enroll yourself at European Solidarity Corps Platform (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en) and specify your European Solidarity Corps Participant Number (PRN).
This organisation holds a European Solidarity Corps Quality Label.
Contact the ESC coordinator at +32 2 888 67 13 to get more informations.
Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.
Sign in to apply📅 Available sessions
SK49379
01/02/2026 → 30/11/2026
Volunteers registered
0 / 2
♂ 0/1
♀ 0/1
ℹ️ Key information
Age required
18–30 years old
Solidarity donation
0.00 EUR
French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).
📍 Location
962 63 Pliešovce, Slovakia
Slovakia
🌍 Location info
Local currency
Euro Member Countries (EUR / €)
Timezone
Central European Standard Time
Local time: 22:03 (12/11/2026)
🛡️ Before you leave
✅ Features
🏠 Accommodation
Collective
🗣️ Languages spoken
English
Slovak