Become part of our non-profit eco-hostel and discover Tartu, Estonia

Infos

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  Description

  We are a cozy eco-hostel in Tartu, the culture capital of Europe 2024.
  
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  Our Eco-hostel is run by NGO, non-profit organization. All revenue goes to maintain the hostel and support our various sustainability and community-building related projects. We have existed in Tartu for over 15 years. Right now our team fluctuates between 5 and 7 members: local and international volunteers, and the founders - Sigrit and Helgur. We are putting an effort to keep the structure of the hostel non-hierarchical and invite all of the team members, no matter how long they are staying with us, to co-create the place rather than just help running it. That means that the volunteers have a lot of agency but also a lot of responsibility, and we all trust each other to do our parts as well as we can!
  
  We are focused on green living and re/up-cycling and want to show our guests, volunteers and local citizens how small and easy changes in everyday habits can make a difference. We also emphasise the importance of community and direct human interactions, especially in the age of hustle culture. Besides that we value creativity - we are always a work in progress! Our aim is to be a meeting point for the travelers and the locals, encouraging both to expand their horizons while reducing their ecological footprint.
  
  Within the team we try to set a good example by being a community in which everyone, even if just temporarily, has the feeling of belonging: to the team, to the city and to the Earth!
  
  We also want to promote the idea that a hostel can really be a high-quality place to stay, just with shared facilities. Cleanliness is one of our priorities - we see it as a way of practicing care towards our guests and towards each other, and it helps us ensure that we all feel safe and comfortable :)

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général

  Aide informatique/internet
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Tartu is a small historic university town that has a relaxed and youthful vibe. It is the second biggest town in Estonia. It's also surrounded by nature - forest and farmlands. The transportation to and from Tartu is rather good, so it's possible to visit other towns and valuable natural areas. So whatever interests you have, you can find it here in the town or around it, and we will be happy to give you suggestions and tips if needed!
  
  We enjoy introducing our new colleagues to Estonian and the Baltic culture. Maybe we’ll go to the sauna together, maybe to a folk dance evening, and maybe on a hike to the countryside… there is always something going on and we hope you arrive full of curiosity and willingness to to discover it together with us. Our aim is to work as a family or group of friends - support each other on more difficult days and share the joys of all the fun times. It means that we also try to do things together outside of the working hours - this helps to keep a good balance between being co-workers and friends, but also helps to get the most out of the time a volunteer spends in the place.
  
  The concept of non-formal education is very important here and we believe that knowledge and skills exchange must flow both ways. We are happy to learn about each other's backgrounds and if any of the volunteers is willing to organize a culture evening, a language cafe or any similar activity, or try introducing some new tradition, they are encouraged to do so! Our hostel looks like the people who are working here: everyone has their say in its progress. We offer quiet a unique chance of working within an experimental, non-hierarchical structure in a very international team. There's plenty of occasions to learn, share, grow and play!

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  Aide

  All of the everyday activities at our hostel are carried out by volunteers. We work approximately 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, on morning, mid-day and evening shifts alike. The most basic tasks are: cleaning, preparing the rooms and reception help.
  
  If you are staying between 2 and 6 weeks, your everyday tasks would be more about cleaning and maintaining the place.
  
  If you plan to stay for 6 weeks or more, we will introduce you to the reception tasks, too.
  
  However, there is always much more happening!
  
  Everything in the place is in constant change - we are re-arranging things and searching for new creative ideas all the time, so we would love to have host people skilled in painting, sewing, doing simple handicrafts and so on. All great and crazy ideas on how to improve the hostel are welcome - we love to learn and share eco-lifestyle hacks. We also need someone to help us prepare social media content, mostly by documenting the hostel life and to helping to promote our projects. Last but not least, we are hosting lots of events, for travelers and for the local community alike. We have had concerts on the rooftop, movie nights, city tours, creative workshops and so on… new volunteers can continue the cycles we already have, or come up with something new!
  
  To sum it up, the tasks are very varied: some of them are simpler and more repetitive, some require more initiative, ect. We believe that it’s best when people do what they are good at and passionate about, so we try to be flexible and adapt to your needs - let’s talk about it :)
  
  Our hostel offers nutritious breakfasts everyday, consisting of a bread buffet and one warm dish. Volunteers are more than welcome to join! We also have a close cooperation with the Tartu Foodsharing network, so there are usually some basic products available and free for both guests and volunteers to take - saving food from going to waste is very important for all of us!
  
  If you consider applying to come and join our team, please answer these questions for us (if you are surprised by some of them, then those are just for spam-check because we get a lot of spam request but we prefer volunteers who really like to come to join us and not just any place ):
  
  What color are your eyes? :D
  What do you think one day in the hostel as a volunteer looks like?
  What are your best skills?
  What is that one thing you absolutely don't like to do?
  When would you like to join us and for how long would you like to stay with us?
  Where are you traveling now and where are you planning to go next?
  How "green" do you consider yourself to be?
  
  Please take into account that we expect all the volunteers to be not only friendly and sociable, but most of all responsible, trustworthy and self-reliant - we are doing a huge part of the work necessary for the place to function! You’ll need to respect the established working hours, keep an open mind for unexpected situations, and be communicative and proactive. We chose quite an experimental model of maintaining a hostel and it’s up to us to make it work - you are invited to try it out together with us and contribute to creating a unique and beautiful place :)

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Estonian: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il souhaitait faire partager sa propre langue ou en apprendre une nouvelle.
  Contactez-le pour en savoir plus.
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  Hébergement

  Shared dormitory rooms - if possible then the smaller room, that is shared with other volunteers. If that is not possible then a more private corner in the bigger dorm room.

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  Autres infos...

  Volunteers can wander around Tartu, visit lovely woodenhouse areas, relax on the riverside, go to the beach and swim, visit museums or science center, bars and cafes. Or take a train or bus and explore the surrounding nature areas: big lakes like Peipsi, Võrtsjärv or Saadjärv; forest trails, small villages or other towns near by. There are cool hiking places around and we recommend going to bogs to get the real Estonian nature experience.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Mes animaux

Sécurité du site

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