Bring to life 1910 railway station and be part of a creative project near Prague, Czech Republic

Details

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  Description

  About me
  Hi, my name’s Jam. I’m originally from Australia but have been living in the Czech Republic for many years. Since 2014, I’ve been restoring an old railway station between Prague and Plzeň.
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  About the place
  The station is located in a quiet, forested region between Prague and Plzeň. A direct train will take you to Prague in about an hour and to Plzeň in 45 minutes. There’s a historic castle in Zbiroh just 3 km away, along with plenty of lakes, walking trails, and cycling routes. The nearest working train station is Kařez, about a 10–15 minute walk away.
  
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  We cook and share meals together, and I do my best to provide food for everyone. Volunteers are also welcome to bring their own food and contribute to what we cook and eat together. Out of respect for the shared space and its values, all food provided for volunteers at the station is vegetarian. I ask that volunteers bring no drugs or alcohol onto the premises.
  
  I often shop at Makro and elsewhere for affordable bulk food, taking advantage of lower-cost items when available to help keep the project economical.
  
  
  Getting to/from Prague.
  • Use the PID app for a multi-zone ticket—110 Kč covers 3 hours of travel across Prague’s network, including all the way to Kařez. Even from Prague airport to here.
  
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  Practical notes
  
  Please use hot water and electricity mindfully. Energy costs have risen considerably, and we try to use resources sustainably. We are also currently under water restrictions because the town’s wastewater infrastructure has not yet been modernised. For this reason, there are no washing machines available in the building, so please keep this in mind when planning your stay. I often travel to Prague and, when possible, can take volunteers’ clothes with me to be washed, but this cannot be guaranteed. With the bnb currently not operating due to regulatory hurdles, resources for the station project are also more limited, so we simply ask everyone staying here to be thoughtful about their use of water and energy. You can hand wash your clothes.
  
  • As a general guideline, please shower every second day unless you’ve been doing hard, sweaty work. Cold showers in the summer can be refreshing.
  • Volunteer accommodation is in shared bunk rooms, with separate sleeping areas for women and men. As there are only two bunk rooms, couples cannot currently share the same room. Unless organised prior.
  • Please respect the calm atmosphere of the place. Families with children often stay in the guest rooms, so a considerate, peaceful/respectful approach.
  • ID registration: All foreign volunteers must be registered with the foreign police. I’ll need to take your ID on arrival and log your stay (a legal requirement).
  • Accommodation: I live on-site. The building includes six flats, private land, and its own water supply. I share the property with four friendly cats.
  • Volunteers are not involved in any of my private business activities (such as bnb or Booking.com). All help is focused on the care, maintenance, and revitalization of the heritage-listed railway station
  
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  Currently I host a Yad Vashem exhibition on the platform. Yad Vashem is an Israeli organisation dedicated to preserving the memory of those who suffered under the Nazi regime.
  
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  This is not a collective-living experiment or a political activism space. It is a collaborative environment where personal boundaries, property, privacy, and accountability are respected. If your worldview is strongly rooted in collectivist politics, anti-property rights and outside consensus democratic values, please consider if this space is a good fit for you.
  
  
  Often I might ask volunteers to collaborate with me through the ChatGPT, particularly when developing open-source projects and exploring new ideas connected with the station. Ideally, I like to use ChatGPT as a shared workspace where we can discuss ideas, solve problems and plan things together. I’d really like to develop some form of decentralized AI.
  
  The new sleeping arrangement means that volunteers stay within the old station building and share the space with four resident cats. If you are allergic to cats, or if you would be uncomfortable having cats around during the day and potentially at night, please take this into consideration before applying.
  
  The cats are well cared for, toilet trained, and have access to multiple litter boxes, which are cleaned regularly.
  
  
  At present, the Bnb accommodation is closed, volunteers are not involved in commercial business activities. Volunteering is focused on the restoration, maintenance, and preservation of the historic building. Much of the work is in the gardens, also a project with trees.
  
  This place works best with people who already have some internal stability and common sense. I’m kind of chaotic in nature at times, so a sense of humour and patience is helpful.
  
  Important
  When contacting me, please start your message with “Hi Jam” so I know you’ve read the profile

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Hiking

  

  Nature

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Winter sports

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Mountain
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Cultural Exchange & Free Time
  Experience daily life at a peaceful heritage site while contributing to its preservation.
  This is a unique opportunity to slow down, live simply, and share meaningful moments with other volunteers.
  Enjoy local sights like Zbiroh Castle, forest trails, lakes, and traditional Czech villages.
  The station is a 10–15 minute walk from Kařez train station (direct to Prague and Plzeň) and also served by the Borek bus stop.
  For maps, tips, and links to my blog about the project and region, just ask.

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  Help

  Expectations:
  • Help 3-5 hours/day, 2 days off,
  Preferably Monday and Tuesday.
  
  What to Bring (and What I Provide):
  I provide clean bed sheets, towels, shoes and clothes if needed (from things mostly left behind/found, so if you come without standards things, don’t expect so much.
  
  
  help might include:
  • Chopping and sorting wood
  • Building simple features using recycled materials (for example, glass bottles)
  • Moving materials when things need to shift
  • Improving the general feel and atmosphere of the station
  • Carrying a bag in the forest and picking up rubbish as you walk
  • Helping document the history of the station and surrounding area in a thoughtful, truthful way
  • Assisting visiting artists if something interests you
  • Developing future ceramic or creative workshop spaces
  • Taking care of the cats
  
  Some of the structures we experiment with may not make strict economic sense — but they make ecological or artistic sense.
  
  Recently I’ve got back into making music in a more serious way, so I’m also interested in having volunteers that are into creative expression, and different forms of direct communication with art, without regular/established frameworks. I’m interested to create a music licensing vehicle that allows artist to directly license what they make where they choose, as appose to having to adapt to where venues and art spaces are. I’m interested in direct decentralised forms of expression, that integrate with the technological change happening around us.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I speak English fluently and enough Czech to get along a little, I’m interested to learn Hebrew.
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  Accommodation

  I have 4 cats. They are mostly indoor cats, so please don’t leave them outside unattended. As mentioned earlier, the cats live in the station area and have access to the bunks and common spaces, so please take this into consideration.
  
  I currently have two bunk spaces available: one for men and one for women. Unfortunately, couples will need to sleep separately. Cooking area and toilet is on the platform.

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  What else ...

  Nearby Castles & Sights
  • Zbiroh & Točník: bike-friendly trails from the station (≈ 3 km to Zbiroh).
  • Karlštejn & Křivoklát: direct train from Kařez.
  • Lakes: two beautiful small lakes right by the station—ideal for a quiet walk and enjoying nature. These lakes aren’t suitable for swimming, but there are designated swimming spots within easy walking distance (ask me for details). And a good swimming lake 40 minuet walk away.
  
  Transport & Practical Tips
  • Train & bus times: check (search “Kařez,,Borek”).
  • Bus stop “Borek”: immediately outside the station; service is infrequent—arrive a few minutes early, carry exact change, and note which side of the road your return bus will stop on. Local drivers can seem brusque; a smile goes a long way.
  • Path to Kařez station: a 10–15 min walk along an unmarked trail—ask me for precise directions.
  
  Weekend & Excursions
  • Prague day trip:
  • Depart Kařez ~ 15:35
  • Return Prague → Kařez at 23:22 (arrive ~ 00:22)
  • Warning: if you miss that, the next train isn’t until ~ 04:32 (Apr–Oct only; no Sat-night service).
  • Plzeň visit (≈ 40 min):
  • Last direct train back ~ 20:40 (no hostels in Plzeň—plan ahead)
  • Highlights: Pilsner Urquell Brewery tours; depo2015 makerspace & café; Jewish Synagogue exhibitions; tea houses Perlová čajovna & Čajovna u Pekla.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Choo Choo

  Mindy (2008 years)

  cat

  Catcher (2010 years)

  Yorrgi

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