Residence for volunteers Wondercliffs

Code: c02d7b9d-573e-11ec-88eb-fa163ef8d720 Copied

Russian Federation Farming Art Construction Social work Farming Art +3 Permanent

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

Hosting organization is Residence for volunteers at the countryside in the European part of Russia, 650 km to the south from Moscow - a village called Divnogorye. It is easy to get to it from Moscow by a night train (Moscow-Liski).

The volunteers' residence it is a spot in the village, which attracts young creative power into a rural area. Here volunteers can live close to nature and work in the garden or learn to construct objects. Volunteers gain new skills and artists can create objects, skilled masters work with wood, clay and chalk stones. It is a residence for volunteer initiatives, creative spirit and ecological habits. It is a meeting point of local villagers and inhabitants of a city as well. It is not an eco-village or yoga centre. Here you can eat meat, you can have no idea about Buddhism or Christianity, nobody will force you to meditate or stop liking your favorite beer.
Still, environmentally friendly habits are applied. In the summer period volunteers help to grow up vegetables (permaculture methods), to repair objects, to help in construction of artists objects from rubbish or to take care of the garden. Other possible volunteer’s activities:
- helping local enderly people in their household
- helping in the natural reserve (cleaning territory from invasive plants and from rubbish)

- gardening and maintenance of the residence territory

💼 What the programme involves

Work: 5 hours per day durung 5-6 days+2 days off. Min.stay is 14 days. 3 days off for a project of 14 days.

We wait for volunteers from May till the end of September

Concrete tasks will be defined with each group. It can be gardening, consrtuction of artistic objects and helping local elderly people in need for their daily routines.

🏠 Accommodation on site

Accommodation: in tents or in a house (shared room). Tents , mattresses and besheets are provided. Please bring your own sleeping bag.
There is drinking water available without limits( runing water form the tap), the shower water is heated by the sun. A river is nearby.

The residence site is similar to a camping site located in a typical village of the Russian south region.

🍲 Food

There will be a person cooking for volunteers, with the help of an assistant from the group (possibility to learn how to cook and also implement your own favorite meals). Since there is a vegetable garden, volunteers will have natural vegetables, meat and eggs, dairy and cereals. Vegetarian meals are possible.

📍 About the location

Russian village called Divnogorye is included into the list of candidates to UNESCO Heritage in Russia since 2019. It is wonderfully picturesque patch of land in the European part of Russia 650 km to the south from Moscow. Divnogorye is translated as “wonder mountains” because the landscapes of the chalk hills are very unusual for the typical steppes and forests of the region. The Divnogorye natural reserve (www.divnogor.ru) is protecting chalk cliffs, a river Don valley, unique flora and fauna of steppes, natural caves and underground churches. Each summer more than 100 000 visitors come visiting the natural reserve, the ancient orthodox monastery or camping on the river side. Artistic events often take place in the village Divnogorye: modern arts performances, concerts and seminars, where the participants get acquainted with customs and traditions of the Russian South.
Still, it is a quite isolated place. In the village you can find only 1 shop and 1 café. There are no bars, cinemas and shopping centres, but there is a river to swim, hills to walk and friendly people to talk with.

🎒 Leisure activities

Every day volunteers can swim in a river, make long walks, select and watch an open air movie, ride a bicycle (10-25 km). On the days off a kayaking tour will be organized (together with local young people).

⚠️ Requirements

Participants have to love being close to nature, sleeping in tents and ready to work open air. Motivation letter is needed. If you speak only French, it will be not a problem, but speaking English will be an advantage for you.

🤝 Meeting point

Voronezh or Liski

ℹ️ Additional information

Min stay is 2 weeks. Participation fee for 2 weeks is 140 euro per participant (covers meals, one way transfer from the nearest airport Voronezh, leasure programme and activities). The fee doesn’t cover consulate visa fees, touristic programme in Moscow and travel costs from Moscow to the meeting point.

One month fee is 250 euro.

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