Saving The Skyrian Horses

Name: Saving The Skyrian Horses
Start: 2016-01-01
End: 2027-12-31
Location: Greece

Code: 36556445-e7a3-11e5-b451-005056b7444b Copied

Greece Youth activities Environment Manual work Social work Youth activities Environment +2 Permanent

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

Stathis and Amanda are both in their early 50tys. Stathis is from Skyros and Amanda from the UK . They usually have two to three volunteers at the farm at all times, the volunteers become very much a part of the life of the project. They set up the project in 2006 with 4 Skyrian horses and now have 38 Skyrian horses and 2 non Skyrian horses that they look after. There are only 250 of this breed in the world and therefore extremely rare and the project is playing a key role in their survival and welfare. They have ponies ranging in age from 3 months olds to 29 years old. The ponies are really good characters, easy to work around, quick to learn - calm and intelligent to train, and are with us for a wide variety of reasons

The family host approximately 20 volunteers a year (some for 4 weeks others for 3 to 12 months or more) and have been doing so since 2009 and they have volunteers that return yearly.

💼 What the programme involves

If you are genuinely interested in helping to look after these amazing ponies, which is always interesting, but can sometimes be challenging then please volunteer with this project. If you are looking to really, help a project with animals and understand that commitment of care that this needs, then this project is the right place for you. The hours are approximately 5 to 6 hours a day depending on how many volunteers are there at the time. They make sure you get 1 to 1.5 day off a week. Most of the work at the farm is caring for the ponies as best as they can in the context of a small island with limited supplies of anything equestrian. The work is focusing on the ponies, every day, their fields pooh picked/ mucked out, watered and fed (Morning, midday and evening) If you don't like the idea of mucking out horse fields for 1.5 hour in the morning , 30 minutes mid-day and an hour in the evening then you won't want to volunteer with this project. The other hours of the day are then focused on either working with the ponies ( if weather permits) or around the farm generally sweeping yards, mending, fencing, painting , gardening, weeding, watering trees, maintenance

Here’s a typical day in the life of a volunteer during the summer months (times vary during winter): 7.30 First muck-out of the fields, fill water buckets, assist with feeding 8.45 Breakfast 9.45 General stable jobs such as sweeping out/organising the stables, grooming, cleaning water buckets, assisting with showing groups around, etc. OR free time depending on whats happening each day. 12.30 Second muck-out, water, feed 13.30 Lunch 14.00 Break 18.00 Final muck-out, water, feed 19.00 (If volunteers are interested and there is sufficient time) Lunging, riding, halter training, handling, carriage training, etc. 20.30 Dinner As you can see, the work is very straightforward, if physical. You will get fit and build muscles (and get a great tan) during your stay. We repeat the muck-out/feed/water job three times a day to minimise the workload, rather than having one enormous session at the start of every day.

🏠 Accommodation on site

Please note the farm and accommodation is basic and not modern at all. The volunteers room is a shared room with proper beds, sheets etc. It has its own shower (hot water), toilet, and old wood burning stove.

🍲 Food

The food is simple but good with fresh produce. They cook one hot meal a day and there are always breakfast and sandwich stuff available bread, cheese slices, muesli, porridge, milk, etc.

Our diet is predominantly vegetarian due to the fact that most of
our volunteers are vegetarian.

📍 About the location

The farm is 16km away from the main hill top village, which is extremely attractive, in the tourist season there is a tavern in walking distance, and we have regular local visitors. The farm is set in a beautiful, but quite isolated rural area and very traditional as is the island. The nearest beach is 10 minutes' walk from the farm and other lovely beaches half-hour bike ride away and they have bicycles you can use.

🎒 Leisure activities

There is always free time in the afternoons which can be spent as you wish, walking, reading, going to the nearby beach at Palamari or just taking a nap! Volunteers are entitled to one and a half days off a week during which we will try wherever possible to allow you to visit Skyros Town and experience the local culture.

⚠️ Requirements

Volunteers need to be over 20 years old. We look for people who have a mature outlook, are genuinely committed to the ethos of volunteering, are self-motivated, capable of problem solving, who enjoy solitude, who enjoy working, who are happy to live without many modern conveniences, who are independent and can really get stuck into rural Greek life. People who have grown up in the countryside or around horses will particularly enjoy the farm.

🤝 Meeting point

Travel to the island (by Bus + Ferry or by Plane): Bus + Ferry: you take the bus from Athens, KTEL, Liossion Ave, Nr Kato Patissia metro. It leaves once a day
for Kimi port. Make sure you get on the bus that says Skyros on the front as this takes you directly to the port .
Whole journey takes approx 5 hours.
Plane: from Athens airport (they have a web site) direct to Skyros. This half hour flight goes two to three times a week depending on the time of the year.
Also the days of the flights change depending on the time of year. It is a subsidized flight and very cheap it is often cheaper than the ferry and bus.
We will pick you up from the port or airport.

ℹ️ Additional information

There is a 30 euros weekly participation fee for the food, electricity and other expenses. It's necessary to bring poket money (30/Week)
There is no email/wifi or landline phone access other than smartphone/ mobile/cell/3g4g at the farm but there is WIFI access in the main village and in the nearby tavern.
Please take note - In the summer it can be very, very hot and dusty; in the winter, wet, rainy, windy, muddy and even snow (Although this is Greece, it can be cold in winter so please note it does get really very cold, wet and windy) but combined with many days of beautiful blue sky and sunshine.
6 weeks minimum

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