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Volunteering on a lighthouse island with a non-profit organisation in the Norwegian sea, Norway

  • Favourited 4445 times
  • Last activity: 24 Apr 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    This is a lighthouse located on a small island in the Norwegian sea in the arctic part of Norway. The lighthouse premises are the only buildings on the island. This is a non-profit organization in the process of turning the lighthouse into a special guest place. We are off grid and self sufficient with water, energy & boat transport.

    Elena is the lighthouse owner and she has been living here for more than seventeen years now. Her partner Frode, a carpenter, came to the lighthouse to share island life with her some years ago. They welcome strong and experienced volunteers who are ready to spend a 2 - 3 months at this unique place in the Arctic north.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Volunteers staying here will first of all learn how it is to be living off grid; as we are producing our own energy and collecting rainwater. We have some water flush toilets and some dry toilets. We need to go to the mainland to do our shopping and get rid of our garbage, even if we compost & recycle as much as possible. We have our own boat, handled by Elena or Frode, who go out at sea in most weather, but prefer to avoid the real storm.

    We are the only persons living on the island, so we have quite a lot of space, but as we are sharing a limited house space, you'll learn to be considerate. To keep the spaces clean.

    Elena & Frode are the only the only Norwegians and fellow volunteers normally come from all around the world.

    Some keywords; the sea, the changing weather, the constant change of light through long summer nights and short winter days, various fish types, always fresh sea weed, wood collection, wood burning all winter through, Northern lights, midnight sun - and all the shades of light in between. Coastal history & culture going hundreds of years back. And even today; weather, season and tides needs to be coordinated with many activities at the lighthouse island.

    Life here takes more time to live than in an ordinary society; particularly because many things have to be done the old fashion manual way. The boat transport of goods and food adds to this. Also, be prepared that it demands a certain amount of energy to get used to life and routines here. We recommend that you don't bring important projects with deadlines on the top of the volunteer work.

  • Help

    Help

    We are looking for responsible persons. Handy and strong persons to help out with landscaping, painting and more are generally welcome. Currently, we need help in food making.

    Life here is physically quite demanding, so we do need persons who are fit and enjoy an active life. Volunteers coming here need to be interested in a self sustainable life at the edge of the ordinary comfort zone. It is also necessary that you respect the physical facilities made available to you and do your daily and weekly share of cleaning - for respect of yourself, the house and the others.

    Please write to us and describe any experience you may have relating to one or more of the tasks mentioned above. Also inform about the period you are available. Please DO NOT APPLY IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OF THE MENTIONED SKILLS that we are looking for.

    Depending on how long you are staying we do apply a TRIAL PERIOD of 2 weeks, for every volunteer coming to the island. This will allow both parties to end the cooperation if things do not work out as desired.

    Please check the availability on our calendar, we keep it up to date.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Norwegian: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Our volunteers share a small house by the sea which used to be a boathouse. Now it is pretty much as an old "Rorbu" or fisherman's cottage. It has a nice living room, a small bathroom and a kitchenette on the ground floor; the first floor is sectioned into 4 separate sleeping spaces.

    We normally share lunch together in the lighthouse keepers' house; breakfast and dinner is often made in the boathouse. Our food is home-made and sound. We do use local and fresh fish quite often, sometimes also meat. We make our own bread & jam and are experimenting with seaweed.

    Due to our off grid location in the Arctic and our daily routines WE CANNOT ACCEPT VOLUNTEERS WITH SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENTS (i.e. vegans, different allergies & intolerance, etc).

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    When applying please consider the travel expenses before contacting us! The cheapest way to come here is normally with plane from Oslo (Gardermoen) to Harstad/Narvik (Evenes). Check out the website for Norwegian or SAS. On an ordinary week day the airport shuttle bus to Sortland town is coordinating with flights if you're not arriving too late. Then bus from Sortland to Steine in Bø where you're picked up by boat. The absolute best is to start early from Oslo, otherwise you'll arrive too late to reach the poor bus connections!
    ALSO: REMEMBER TO SIGN UP FOR A TRAVEL & HEALTH INSURANCE. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    4 -5 hours 5 days a week

Host ref number: 7476261214e1

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