📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Saint Paul lès Dax is a town in the Landes with a population of nearly 14,000 inhabitants which has placed democracy, solidarity, environmental preservation and the enhancement of natural, tangible and intangible heritage at the heart of its project.
With a very rich network of non-profit organizations in the fields of sport and culture, or as part of the dynamics of solidarity, the city strives to offer volunteers from these associations a living environment that allows the best possible development of their volunteering actions. That’s the reason why the town has called on Concordia to promote one of its typical heritages: the game of bowling in the Landes.
The aim of this volunteering workcamp is the meeting and exchange between the volunteers and local people but also the discovery of a traditional Landais sport.
The volunteers will also have the opportunity to work in partnership with professionals in charge of the green spaces and the works from the town of Saint Paul lès Dax.
Activities and intercultural exchanges will be coordinated by the youth service.
More information: www.st-paul-les-dax.fr
💼 What the programme involves
Discover an ancient and traditional game: a bowling from the Landes French region!
This type of traditional bowling was practiced until the 1950s, in the village's bowling cafés or during family gatherings. Becoming outdated, the sport was revived in Saint-Paul lès Dax in 1992 by the "Quilles de trois" association.
The game is played outdoors on an area with gravel or concrete, generally delimited by a wooden and rubber border.
Your task will be to build an area for the practice of the bowling game from the Landes region, traditionally called "quillier" (bowling). The work will consist of preparing the ground (earthworks), then building the wooden structure necessary for the practice of this sport. With the partnership of the local association "Quilles de trois", a technical document describing precisely the different steps necessary to carry out the project was prepared.
🏠 Accommodation on site
You will be accommodated in individual tents, and a common room for meals and group activities will be at your disposal. 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 meals, opting for healthy and local products. There will be many local entertainments and association activities during your stay.
📍 About the location
Adjacent to the town of Dax, the small thermal town of Saint-Paul-lès-Dax, located on the road to Santiago de Compostela, has preserved a beautiful religious building from its past, the Saint-Paul church (listed as a historical monument). Saint-Paul-lès-Dax also has many green spaces for relaxing, as the French-style park of the town hall and the shady banks of the Christus Lake, a peaceful lake, populated by ducks and geese, are proof of.
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.