Short-Term Volunteer Projects

Short-Term Volunteer Projects, or 'workcamps' as they are historically known, are a unique form of doing voluntary work. They bring volunteers together from many different countries, cultures and backgrounds to live and work on projects of benefit to local communities. The projects are designed to support and encourage local initiatives that are often continued after the workcamp has ended. With a group of volunteers working together to "get the job done" you will be helping organisations achieve a particular task that desperately needs doing, as well as supporting their longer-term goals and working for a more just and peaceful world.

Short-term Projects are:

- Usually 2 to 4 weeks in length
- Working with a team of 5 to 25 international volunteers
- Facilitated by a pre-determined Workcamp Leader, who will liaise with the local community on behalf of the volunteers. They will also manage the workcamp budget (for food, etc) and organise cultural activities, team-building exercises, etc
- Various types of work, depending on the project.
- Food and accommodation is provided.

Projects fall into the following categories:
1. Anti-racism/anti-fascism, refugees and ethnic minorities
2. Third world solidarity
3. Peace and disarmament
4. People with disabilities
5. Children, teenagers and elderly people
6. Environment
7. Sexuality and gender
8. Socially disadvantaged (homeless people, poverty, etc)
9. Arts, culture and local history
10. Ideological and spiritual communities
11. Other

Short-Term Volunteer Projects will always include a study element relevant to the work being undertaken, or to the community in which the workcamp is located. Work will usually be 4 to 6 hours each day, with time off each week for local sightseeing/cultural activities with the group.

Short-Term Volunteer Projects have three main purposes. One is the practical assistance given by the volunteers; the second is to introduce volunteers to problems which face communities in their struggles for peace, social justice and environmental sustainability, and third is the cultural exchange which takes place between workcamp volunteers, and between volunteers and the community in which they are working. In these ways, the misunderstandings and prejudices which separate people and nations are gradually broken down and paths to peace are established.

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