📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Verdelais is a commune of worship, culture and viticulture. This village, with its very rich history, has as its primary concern the preservation and rediscovery of its heritage. The Calvary is one of the main sites of the commune and is in the lengthening of the Basilica and the cemetery which hosts the tomb of Toulouse Lautrec. It is an emblematic place of the city, the municipality wishes to restore it in order to find back its authenticity. The project is part of a desire to support and involve the local population with the team of volunteers from the international workcamp. That’s the reason why several workcamps will run at the same time (Saint Macaire and Pian sur Garonne).
More information: www.verdelais.fr
💼 What the programme involves
You will take part in the restoration of the path leading to the Calvary (historical monument), which forms a heritage unit, a landscape, designed in the register of Historic Monuments. It is part of a route usually used by visitors, tourists and pilgrims, lined with small chapels that also provide access to a viewpoint on the lower part of the village. You will have to repaint the gates of the Calvary, and renovate some chapels that have deteriorated over time.
🏠 Accommodation on site
You will be accommodated in tents and permanent accommodation. You will have at your disposal a collective room, in the caretaker's house, which overlooks a sublime viewpoint. You will share the various collective tasks and prepare meals together. A budget will be allocated to the group leaders, you will participate in the grocery shopping and the preparation of the meals, opting for healthy and local products.
📍 About the location
Verdelais is a commune in the South-West of France, located in the Gironde department, in the New Aquitaine region. It is located on the north bank of the Garonne, 40 km from Bordeaux, and 5 km from Langon. The commune of Verdelais has been renamed since the 12th century for its pilgrimages on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela as well as for its cultural heritage. The commune contains its basilica on the pretty square lined with plane trees, the tomb of the famous painter Toulouse-Lautrec (who died in 1901 in the nearby Malromé Castle), the Calvary and the Cussol Mill, which is still in proper functioning.
ℹ️ Additional information
Bring a sleeping bag for cold weather, work clothes, sports shoes, warm and rain clothes, a torch lamp, a swimsuit and sunscreen.
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.