INEX-SDA
VOLUNTEER PROJECTS
CZECH REPUBLIC
2013
INEX-SDA VOLUNTEER PROJECTS IN 2013
ABOUT INEX-SDA
INEX – Association of voluntary activities is a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation founded in 1991 to carry out and support international voluntary work and intercultural education. We arrange voluntary placements abroad for Czech volunteers and organise voluntary projects in our country for incoming foreign volunteers. Annually we send nearly 800 volunteers abroad on long or short-term projects and welcome 400 volunteers to the CzechRepublic.
The mission of INEX-SDA is by organising international voluntary projects, educational programs and campaigns to:
1. assist the development of a tolerant and open society and
2. encourage an active and responsible approach to the world around us both locally and globally
We create space in which especially (but not only) young people can gain new experience, expand their skills and and develop their own views of the complexity of the world around them.
In various regions of the CzechRepublic we organise voluntary projects and programs of social integration, environmental education and rural development. The Prague office is focusing not only on sending the volunteers abroad and coordination of voluntary projects in the CzechRepublic but also on development and intercultural education projects and campaigns (e.g. GLEN, Football for Development, The Stereotype in us, Volunteers’ Club within the project Youth for Global Responsibility). The Brno office carries out mainly social programs for disadvantaged children and our offices in Kostelecke Horky and Bile Karpaty work in environmental education and in supporting the revival and maintenance of local traditions and crafts.
Values of INEX-SDA (principles we promote):
Volunteerism and using of own initiative
Direct experience and critical thinking
An understanding and respect of diversity
Responsibility and sustainable development
BASIC GENERAL INFORMATION FOR WORKCAMP PARTICIPANTS
Age limit: Minimum age is 18 years; if not stated differently, no maximum age limit
Duration of the projects:10 - 21 days for short-term projects, 2-3 months for MTV projects
Number of volunteers per project:4-14 for short-term projects, 1-3 for MTV projects
Project language: English
Working hours: Approximately 6 hours per day with 1-2 free days/week
Study part: According to the local possibilities excursions, discussions, workshops, guided tours or public intercultural evenings are planned as part of each project. Thus INEX-SDA supports non-formal (intercultural) learning in relation to the projects’ topics.
Insurance: INEX-SDA provides a very basic accident and liability insurance for the project participants, covering the costs only for minor accidents and damages. INEX-SDA does not provide any health insurance for the workcamp participants. We expect volunteers to arrange their own health insurance and bring the necessary documents along with them. The volunteers cannot stay at the workcamp without this insurance! We strongly advise volunteers to additionally arrange travel insurance and bringing the necessary documents with them.
Other requirements:
No special knowledge or skills are required but enthusiasm and interest in the project is necessary. For some projects we ask for a motivation letter, a certificate of good conduct and a medical declaration. The motivation letter needs to be handed in with the application form. The certificate of good conduct needs to be sent as a scan 4 weeks before the start of the project and brought by the volunteer to the project. A form for the medical declaration will be sent to you after acceptance of the volunteer. Please note the additional information in the project descriptions.
Camp leaders:
Our workcamps are led by one or two campleaders, who coordinate the everyday life in the group. They co-operate with the local partners and facilitate decision-making in the group. Our camp leaders are required to complete an intensive 3-day training especially designed for the campleaders´ needs.
Reservations:
Please note that your reservations finish on May 1st for all projects stating before July 1st and on June 1st for all project starting after July 1st. Do not hesitate to contact us for any inquiries regarding infosheets, official invitation letters for your volunteers, information about placement and camps, etc.
Alliance Access 4 All Campaign
We welcome volunteers with fewer opportunities at our workcamps. Placement to the right project will be based on volunteers' needs and the mutual cooperation between all the parties involved. We use A4A tools.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE INEX-SDA VOLUNTARY PROJECTS
Our international short-term voluntary projects can be classified into five thematic groups:
1. Sustainable development of rural areas (project code starts with 1)
The projects take place in small rural communities and focus on the sustainable development of the villagesand the surrounding countryside. With their practical and often manual work the volunteers support local municipalities and non-governmental organizations.
2. Conservation of cultural heritage (project code starts with 2)
The projects focus mainly on the preservation and renovation of historically significant objects such as castles, historical cemeteries, churches and other monuments. The volunteers will get familiar with the history of the CzechRepublic. Through their practical work awareness for the importance to preserve historically and culturally important sites is raised.
3. Supporting social projects (project code starts with 3)
The volunteers support various social projects which offer help to people facing social exclusion, children and youth, the elderly, people with special needs and others. According to the needs of the local partner, the volunteers do manual work (e.g. renovation, maintenance, construction work) or work directly with the projects’ clients.
4. Ecological projects (project code starts with 4)
The projects aim at environmental protection and education towards an environment-friendly lifestyle. The volunteers will do practical environmental work in natural preserves, forests, organic farms and other environmentally important areas. Most of the work takes place outdoors such as renovation of tourist trails, planting trees, gardening and scything meadows.
5. Other projects (project code starts with 5)
OUR CONTACT DETAILS
INCOMING contact person:
Radka Novakova – incoming placement – email:
phone: +420222362715
emergency phone: +420774736 594
fax: +420222362719
skype: incoming_inexsda
OUTGOING contact person:
Nikola Zdraveski – outgoing placement – email:
Jana Konasova – responsible, email –
phone: +420 222 362 713
emergency phone: +420 604 269 685
skype: outgoing_inex-sda_cz
INEX-SDA
Varsavska 30, 120 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic
INEX-SDA SHORT TERM VOLUNTEER PROJECTS IN 2013
Code / Name / Date / Type / Vols+Leaders / Age / Special informationSDA 101 / Moravian Countryside Spring / 26/04 – 10/05 / ENVI/RENO / 7+2 / 18+
SDA 102 / Summer with children in Moravia / 21/06 – 05/07 / RENO/KIDS / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 103 / Discover the Life and History of Mezno / 22/06 – 06/07 / KIDS/STUDY/RENO / 6+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 104 / Foster the City / 07/07–21/07 / CONS/CULT / 10+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 105 / Old brewery Chric / 16/07 – 29/07 / RENO/CULT / 10+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 106 / Moravian countryside / 21/07– 05/08 / ENVI/CULT / 11+2 / 18–26
SDA 107 / Sustainable Becov/Nezichov / 29/07 – 10/08 / RENO/ENVI / 11+2 / 18+ / GE, CZ, PO, SK, AT, HU
SDA 108 / Volunteering in Dysina / 23/08 – 09/09 / RENO/ENVI / 8+2 / 18+
SDA 109 / Volunteering in Kysice / 23/08 – 09/09 / RENO/KIDS / 8+2 / 18+
SDA 110 / Old brewery Chric II / 09/09 – 20/09 / RENO/CULT / 10+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 201 / International Voluntary Academy Hartenberg I / 28/06 – 19/07 / RENO/CULT / 13+2 / 18+
SDA 202 / Castle Grabstejn / 14/07 – 28/07 / RENO / 8+2 / 18+
SDA 203 / Jewish Holesov / 19/07 – 02/08 / RENO/CULT / 8+2 / 18+
SDA 204 / Castle Kynzvart / 21/07 – 04/08 / ENVI/RENO / 11+2 / 18+
SDA 205 / International Voluntary Academy Hartenberg II / 27/07 – 16/08 / RENO/CULT / 13+2 / 18+
SDA 301 / Organic Farming at Camphill Community I / 26/05 – 08/06 / AGRI/RENO / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 302 / Organic Farming at Camphill Community II / 16/06 – 29/06 / AGRI/RENO / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 303 / Children Summer Camp / 29/06 – 14/07 / KIDS/RENO / 10+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 304 / Organic Farming at Camphill Community III / 08/07 – 21/07 / AGRI/RENO / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 305 / Fight social exclusion / 15/07 – 28/07 / SOCI / 8+2 / 18-35 / ML needed
SDA 306 / Therapeutic Centre Ledovec (Iceberg) / 20/07 – 03/08 / RENO / 5+1 / 18+
SDA 307 / Organic Farming at Camphill Community IV / 27/07 – 10/08 / AGRI/RENO / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 308 / One Flew Over the Swallow´s Nest / 28/07 – 11/08 / RENO / 7+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 309 / Help the elderly in Prague 15 / 11/08 – 20/08 / SOCI / 4+1 / 18+ / ML, CoGC, medical note
SDA 310 / Organic Farming at Camphill Community V / 11/08 – 25/08 / AGRI/RENO / 10+2 / 18+
SDA 311 / Centre for All / 15/08 – 31/08 / RENO/KIDS / 10+2 / 18+ / ML needed
SDA 401 / Renovate a Rock Town of Mastale / 13/07 – 27/07 / ENVI/RENO / 14+2 / 18+
SDA 402 / New Forest / 14/07 – 03/08 / ENVI / 14+2 / 18–26
SDA 403 / Preserve the unique landscape of Palava / 17/08 – 31/08 / ENVI / 12+2 / 18–26
SDA 404 / Back to nature / 26/08 – 13/09 / ENVI / 12+2 / 18+
SDA 501 / Ashram Yoga Centre Zdarec / 01/09 – 14/09 / RENO/YOGA / 12+2 / 18+
INEX-SDA MTV VOLUNTEER PROJECTS IN 2013
Code / Name / Date / Type / Vols / Age / Special informationSDA MTV 01 / Organic farming – Ashram Yoga Centre / min. 2 – max. 3 months within the period
01/04 – 30/11 / AGRI/YOGA / 1 - 3 / 20+ / ML, Medical form
INEX-SDA SHORT TERM VOLUNTEER PROJECTS IN 2013
- Sustainable development of rural areas
SDA 101 Moravian countryside Spring
26/04 – 10/05 / ENVI/RENO / Vols: 7 + 2 team leaders / Age: 18+
Project: The workcamp will take place in the small Moravian village of Tvarozna Lhota, situated in the White Carpathian Mountains, near to the Slovak border. The region is famous for its folk traditions and its beautiful countryside. In the outskirts of the village, the local NGO “INEX-SDA Bile Karpaty” runs a small centre for rural development and sustainability called Cottage Travicna. The centre also hosts an outdoor museum with traditional cottages, some farm animals, a herb garden and traditional fruit trees, showing how rural life in the mountains used to look like there in the past. Every year several public events take place there.
Work: The work will be manual. Firstly, volunteers will work in the outdoor museum, mainly repairing fences, making hay, cleaning, and weeding the herb garden. Secondly, volunteers will collect herbs from the surrounding meadows, which will then be used for the production of herbal teas. In the middle of the workcamp, a local event celebrating the opening of the new season in the Cottage Travicna will take place. Volunteers will help with the preparations of the event and will also participate in the program.
Study part: Apart from the celebration mentioned above, there will be other folkloric events during the workcamp, such as erection of the maypole (central point of the village made of tall decorated wood). Volunteers are invited to assist. There will be many opportunities to learn about local products, local farming, the history, traditions and potential of the region.
Leisure time: Trips to the countryside and to folklore events, visits to touristic sights in the surrounding towns and villages will take place.
Accommodation/Food: In a building in the very centre of the village. Volunteers will need to bring their own sleeping bags and sleeping mats. Two small bathrooms are available. Please be prepared for basic living conditions as the house is very small. Volunteers will prepare their meals together – a small kitchen is available in the living area. Bring your favourite recipes.
Location: Tvarozna Lhota, SouthernMoravia (bus stop in the village, next train stop Straznice)
SDA 102Summer with children in Moravia21/06 – 05/07 / RENO/KIDS / Vols: 10 + 2 team leaders / Age: 18+
Project: The project takes place in a small town of Uhersky Ostroh in the Southern Moravia. It is organized by the local non-governmental organization Hastera in co-operation with the local municipal centre for children and youth Pastelka organizing free-time activities for young people from the town. Hastera’s aim is to organize and support cultural and educational activities for the general public as well as for children and youth (such as traditional folk culture, music, dances, arts courses, etc.). The project will take place already for 7th time this year.
Work: First week of the workcamp will be focused on the cooperation with school children. Two meetings in local school will be organized where you will present your countries and cultures to the children during their classes of English or Geography. Bring something special from home which represents your region/country (food, games, music, pictures, etc.). In return, pupils will introduce the CzechRepublic to you. There will be also some sports matches and some manual work organized together with the children. The second week you will do maintenance works the cellar of the house where the children and youth centre Pastelka is situated. This house will serve as your accommodation, too.
Study part: Get to know the local folk traditions, have an excursion to a traditional wine cellar.
Leisure time: There is much to see in the region: The open-air museum in Straznice, a place of Pilgrimage in Velehrad, castles, the BataCanal, a big lake for swimming and other sites of interest. You can also go cycling and play games at the sports ground next to the school.
Accommodation/food: In the house of the children and youth centre Pastelka. There will be beds but you need to bring your own sleeping bag. In the building there are showers, toilets and a kitchen. The meals will be prepared by the volunteers at the accommodation. In the house, smoking and drinking alcohol is forbidden.
Location: Uhersky Ostroh (a town with 4500 inhabitants) is situated at the river Morava in a beautiful area of Southern Moravia, known for its wine.
Note: We are looking for outgoing and friendly volunteers with a particularly good attitude towards children.
SDA 103Discover Life and History of Mezno22/06 – 06/07 / KIDS/STUDY/RENO / Vols: 6 + 2 team leaders / Age: 18+ / ML
Project: The project takes place in a little village of Mezno, about 70 km south from Prague. It is organized by the local NGO Mezenak in co-operation with the municipality of Mezno. Mezenak aims at creating opportunities for local people to meet, to get closer to each other and to the place where they live by organizing different non-formal cultural and leisure-time activities (both for children and adults). This year, the workcamp will be held in Mezno already for the fifth time.
Work: The workcamp will be mainly focused on the contact with local community, especially children. During the first week, you will be presenting yourselves and your culture in two local elementary schools and in one high school. You will also prepare international evenings for local public in three close-by villages and a summer celebration for children. The second week, you will do some manual work in the forest for three days which will be physically demanding. The rest of the second week, you will be gathering historical photographs from local people to be presented at the end of the workcamp to the public. Meanwhile, you will have a chance to write a blog on the web page of the NGO Mezenak.
Study part: You will have the chance to get to know a typical Bohemian village and learn a lot about local culture, history and lifestyle. There will be a possibility to visit local farmers and get a lecture of horse-riding. You can also take part in a pottery workshop.
Leisure time: Possible free-time activities include a visit of the historical town of Tabor and other sights according to your own interest, trips in the surroundings on bikes provided by the local partner, swimming in natural quarry or a pond, etc. You can also play football or tennis in the village.
Accommodation/Food: The volunteers will be accommodated in a local football clubhouse. No beds and blankets can be provided, therefore the volunteers are asked to bring a sleeping bag. Mattresses will be provided. Please be prepared for basic living conditions. The volunteers will prepare their breakfast and dinner by themselves. Lunch will be provided in a local restaurant.
Location: As Mezno is a small village (about 360 people). There is a shop, a doctor, a post office and a restaurant. There are also some sports facilities. It lies about 20 km from the historical town of Tabor.
Note: A motivation letter (A4) is required! You should be ready and willing to spend a lot of time with local people from the village, mainly with kids and teenagers who do not speak perfect English. We are especially looking for out-going and communicative volunteers who are not afraid of speaking in public and who do not mind manual work, too.
SDA 104Foster the City07/07 – 21/07 / CONS/CULT / Vols: 10 + 2 team leaders / Age: 18+ / ML
Project: The project is held in Pilsen, European Capital of Culture 2015. Public benefit organisation “Pilsen 2015” ( is responsible for implementing the European Capital of Culture project, which mainly consists of programme activities and cultural sustainability activities in Pilsen and Pilsen region. The organisation both supports existing projects and creates some of its own. One of these is “Foster the City” project which deals with the state of the public space and its affordable enhancement. Local people have an opportunity to demonstrate their ideas – to show what is wrong, what they miss, what they would like to do outside.
Work: Before you come, best entries for the “Foster the City” project will be chosen. At the workcamp we will be helping some of these ideas come true. So you might find yourself building special residential outdoor stairs, crafting city furniture or just making some central plot more welcoming. And that's not all, these places will need an injection of life as well! By preparing several small theme events we'll invite locals and enliven the sites. Bring any interesting artefact related to a public space, a movie, some music or a musical instrument and recipes for traditional meals. Apart from showing a piece of your culture to other volunteers, you will have an opportunity to present it to Pilseners.
Study part: You will have an opportunity to take part in some of these activities: excursion to the former brewery “Světovar“ (one of the key projects for 2015), visit of the Art Camp at the Institute of Art and Design, lecture on public space and ways to enliven it, trip to a spectacular town in Pilsen region, which shows a good example of public space.