📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Asociacion Fuente de la Reja made out of citizens that in the last 20 years have been working on a project to restore an ancient irrigation and farming system developed by the Moors on a hillside where a spring in the center of the town.
💼 What the programme involves
Despite the fact that the spring and reservoir and canals and gardens were the origin and had been the lifeline of the town for ages, several years ago the spring and reservoir went dry. The gardens were abandoned. Almost all the fruit trees, save a few straggly pomegranates and figs, died. The town is close to the much larger city of Jaen and in recent decades many weekenders built vacation country homes and unauthorized wells that depleted the groundwater supply. A group of concerned residents under La Fuente de la Reja Association came together to reverse this situation. And they succeeded after a long, hard fight they managed to have the wells closed. The spring recently began to flow again, the reservoir is full of water, several of the collapsed terrace walls have been rebuilt, and a handful of old-timers and educated youths are planting gardens and selling their surplus produce in the village square. The association has recently bought some plots of land and want to use them to grow local vegetables, in a project that concerns all the agrcology of the area, together with the University of Pablo Olavide in Seville. The task of the volunteers will be rebuilding the walls from the ancient times and help the locals in the rehabilitation of the vegetable gardens.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Volunteers will sleep at a simple youth hostel located in the center of the town. It has two bedrooms with bunkbeds, kitchen, living room and washing machine. Access to the swimming pool will be possible.This project will include a one day only vegan food day agreed by volunteers for the promotion of environmental sustainable lifestyle.
📍 About the location
Pegalajar is a beautiful village located close to Jaen. The main economic activity is local tourism but they also deal with other services. Moreover, the great value and cultural heritage of the city, is allowing tourism development that will complement the local economy and disseminate the image and history of this noble village. In the last years, because of the economic crisis agriculture has been regarded as a possibility for young people with no job offers. Pagalajar and Jodar are located surrounded by the Natural Park of Sierra Magina with is a natural area with high quality landscape, pure and nearly virgin.
ℹ️ Additional information
The volunteers must be very motivated, the work will be hard. Local partner will offer Spanish classes for volunteers from basic to medium level. So we would be very happy that the volunteers have some basic knowledge of Spanish or interest.