Come and help our association based on a sustainable lifestyle with art and music as a main focus, in Uddebo Sweden

Details

• 

  Description

  (PLEASE SEE FAQs BELOW)
  We are happy to welcome you back to our site! We apologise for the recent lack of communication! We have had a good deal to attend to, with the challenges presented by the ongoing Corona virus pandemic as well as the birth of our daughter several months ago.
  
  It is an association founded in 1997 with the purpose of encouraging and supporting musical events and activities that enrich experiences of West African music and dance. Three members of the association oversee the current project of building a music and movement "hut". Fabian, is a musician by trade, who until recently, was running the "School House" project in Uddebo over a period of seven years. He is well-experienced in establishing and managing volunteer-run projects and he is the founder and main lead of the project. Akunda is Fabian's wife and had been working in public health with the World Health Organisation for 15+ years. She is the administrator of the project. Linus has got 20+ years of experience in carpentry and building (coming from an impressive lineage) and has worked on construction projects throughout Sweden. He is the technical lead for the project.
  
  Our association is located in Uddebo, which is an interesting, growing village with about 300 people. Uddebo is surrounded by forests (300m from our home) and there are countless lakes in the region. The village is inhabited by artists and people who are committed to building a sustainable future among others. The association wants to cultivate music, philosophy and drum and dance culture from West Africa. The members of the Organisation further invest in healthy, wholistic activities such as, mindfulness, traditional handcraft, and yoga in order to further the overarching goal of conscious living.
  
  'It has been planning to host volunteers to complete a summer/autumn project to build a 75sqm music studio, for music, meditation and dance. Please be assured that it intends to honour this commitment, with some minor adjustments to its scale. Earlier in the year, during the low season, our primary focus was on the general maintenance of our buildings, organising/restructuring, painting walls etc. At this time of year we host between 2-8 volunteers at a time, to work on our project for the next two to three months. If you have any experience with renovating, carpentry and the like and, are able to work independently as well as in group settings, we would love to welcome you here. We also welcome volunteers who have life skills in cooking, gardening, sports, meditation, art, house-keeping, playing music, sewing- something that will contribute to maintaining a sincere and positive mindset, creating harmonious and clean surroundings and fostering a learning and sharing environment.
  
  You would be based at our home, the "the Red House", a beautiful old traditional wooden house that we have been, and still are, lovingly restoring. You would live in a wagon-turned-apartment on our premises as well as in the red house - depending on the number of volunteers. It is also possible to put your own tent up. There is a garden where we would like to grow vegetables and herbs in the future in order to be self-sufficient. The garden is only in its early stages and at the moment, of course, the building work takes precedence over its upkeep.
  
  We are open to receive volunteers now. If you are interested, Please tell us a bit about who you are, your hobbies and your life/professional experiences. If you send a request please send a personal email as well. For long-term workawayers, we can guarantee a try-period of approximately two weeks to ensure that all goes well. 
  
  Hope to see you!
  With love,
  
  Fabian, Akunda, Solörn, Katja och Linus.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  FAQs
  
  1.) Which dates will you be hosting volunteers?
  
  From August 23rd 2020 to October 31st 2020
  
  2.) What skills are you looking for in volunteers?
  
  Construction, Carpentry, Handicraft, Building in general: If you have experience in contruction, painting, window-repairing etc, we would be appreciative if you could specify whether you have formal training in that particular skill, whether you have general experience and enjoy working with your hands and, anything in between.
  Cooking and general maintenance: If you are passionate about cooking, baking bread (gluten-free) and keeping a clean space, let us know.
  
  3. Should I be in contact if I can offer skills other than the primary construction needs?
  
  Yes. However, these are secondary needs i.e. french lessons, sewing, gardening, meditation...
  It may be a while before we figure out which of these skills are clearly needed once the construction process begins. There, it is likely to be some time before we get back in touch with you.
  
  The most important attributes (attitude) that we are looking for indicate that you are decent and do what you say you will do.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  General Maintenance

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  Language practice

  Art Projects

  Help with Computers/ Internet
• 

  UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve

  ×

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  The project, itself, aims to construct a working space to create music.
  
  Skills needed are also those that can be learned onsite. The Chief Builder, who has worked with the Organisation on several projects, will be your lead instructor and expert on:
  
  • Laying down foundation, plints
  • Build frame for the new contruct
  • Change roof rafters
  • Install new flooring
  
  You will learn modern and traditional Swedish methods of contruction and use all manner of aides, from power tools to a handsaw and chisel.
  
  Of course, other skills for the project (language, sewing, cooking, sports, handicraft, mediation) are valued, but they are not the primary focus right now.
  ---------
  The village offers a beautiful place for nice walks. You can enjoy the lake and the beauty of nature. The big forest is literally a step outside from the main house. Our home is a good spot for people who want to meditate and be connected to the positive energies that come from the forest. We usually enjoy at least one meal a day all together, in order to exchange thoughts and share cultural experiences. We have shared quite a few traditional meals, where Volunteers cook dishes from their home countries.
  
  The local sauna is a few minutes walk from the river.
  
  The nearest big city is Gothenburg, which you may choose to explore on your free days. It is about a 1.5 hour train ride from Limmared.
  ---------
  There will be possibilities to have djembé, yoga, drumbuilding lessons and other activities. But we cannot guarantee that this will happen during your on a regular basis.
  
  It's important to know that if you join our community, you surround yourself with people who care about the same things, share the same ideas and are co-creating similar projects. You quickly learn to treat everyone around you as a member of your close family. And you may open up to people like you never ever expected to before. This leads to a deep connection to other human beings whereas, usually, we are only connected to our direct family, significant others and close friends.
  We are here to learn from one another on all kinds of levels.

• 

  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

• 

  Help

  It is important in our community to be open-minded, have a positive mindset and to be honest. As a volunteer chez nous, you are not on a retreat or workshop You are here to work on the backbone of the Organisation. It is important that You are independent and industrious while being able to cooperate with others and to take care of others as well as yourself.
  
  We are looking for people with a "worldly" out-view and people that like to help and learn. The right attitude could allow for greater learning - for example, how to construct and renovate old houses using age-old techniques!

• 

  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Sami: Fluent
  Swedish: Fluent

• 

  Accommodation

  You would live in either the main, red house in a beautiful and comfortable room, or in a room within a wagon in our compound, which has been built into an apartment. You would, most likely, share with only one, other person. However, this would depend on how many we are at a given time. If you want to live alone or you are a couple, there may be other options. We cannot guarantee single room accommodation, though.
  
  The food is free, of course, and we will eat mainly vegetarian food. Sometimes we eat meat or fish. We can provide vegan food as well as gluten-free items. We would love to have a workawayer with us, who is passionate about cooking and who wants to help out in the kitchen... maybe do some baking :-D It would be great to have a Swedish "fika" (coffee/tea/soda and some sweets) once in a while :-D

• 

  What else ...

  We are about 40km south of Borås. Uddebo is easily accessed by train and buses.
  
  By train:
  You can book a train ticket through the homepage:
  The closest train station is Limmared, connected to both Göteborg, Malmö and Stockholm. From the train station you can take a “train-taxi” which will pick you up from the train station and drive you to our door, the price for this is 42 sek, and the taxis can be booked by calling 0771919090 . Its good if you book the taxi some hours in advance. You need to book one day in advance
  
  By bus:
  The regional public transport will take you all the way to Uddebo from Göteborg, Borås or anywhere else in Västra Götaland. You can take a bus from Göteborg Nils Ericson terminal all the way to Uddebo, it will take about 2 hours. You find all bus schedules on the homepage:
  
  By air:
  The closest airport is Landvetter (Göteborg).
  From the airport you can either travel in to Göteborg central and from there take a bus or train to Uddebo. Or you can travel by bus from the airport to Uddebo (which is more convenient if there are matching buses when you arrive). Schedule for buses can be found at: . When doing so, enter “Landvetter flygplats” as “from” and “Uddebo” as the station you are travelling to.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

• 

  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Feedback (22)