European Solidarity Corps

“Organic Farm Warriors” European Solidarity Corps project is for the youth which knows that there is a common future only within a local, sustainable and socially fair environment for all based on knowledge and experience!  

The European Solidarity Corps framework enables people to spend more time on the farm project than the three months limit due to the EU and Slovene legislation. With this the experience of the farm project is more structured and really empower volunteers in his/her ability for personal growth in the field of farming/interesting social concepts/life skills.

We are looking for three volunteers for the time frame of 6,5 months (1st of June till 16th of December 2020). You can be female or male from 18 to 30 years old. The ESE project is financially supporting living costs (accommodation, food, monthly allowance for covering personal needs within the budget).

More about Organic Farm Warriors

Are you interested to learn about local sustainability, self-sufficiency and organic farming in practice and theory? Do you like to spend your days doing meaningful work supporting interesting and innovative ideas and local projects in the field of organic farming? Then be a part of our team of the "Društvo EkoPot" (Association Organic Way)! The association is a non-government, non-profit organization with the aim to assist and help to evolve in all kinds on farm projects which include everything from day-to-day on a farm in the frame of locally sustainable projects like CSA (Community supported agriculture), a co-op project, crowdfunding in agriculture and direct marketing. You also gain insight into the running of a very active farm with more than 80% self-sufficiency, it is certified organic and biodynamic with vegetable (more than 60 different vegetable varieties), fruit (apples, berries, nut fruits) and field crop production (spelt, einkorn, emmer, kamut, millet, buckwheat, maize, etc.), processing of more than 100 products (baking bread, processed fruits into jams, spreads or canned vegetables for the winter, processing and packaging of flour, cereals, porridge, etc.) and marketing on a 12 ha family run farm.

Apart from the farm experience in 2020 the focus of the project will be dedicated to the school garden which will be set up in line with the traditional knowledge and permaculture. We will form and maintain the garden through the year and include people of all ages from our municipality and beyond through visit and workshops.

The volunteers can be all kinds of backgrounds (cultural and social-economic) with a clear focus in gaining knowledge of a sustainable daily life, which promotes the local environment and development. Our aim is to introduce our target groups to sustainable life skills and inter-cultural exchange through the help of the ESE.

Through the year we organize more than 11 on farm events with more than 350 participants:

- work-shops and seminars (on organic farming, special crops, effective modes of action in organic farming like the use of mulch);

- handcraft workshops (working with wood, the use of natural building materials, the set up of a "low-cost" greenhouse, how to maintain green hedges where animals and insect can have their living space, pruning of fruit trees, the set up and maintenance of a herb garden, a produce seeds myself, etc.);

- an open gate day and apple day of the farm;

- we host students and other volunteers through the year.

The main goal is to create an environment where it is possible to experience and be a part of a farm as a organism and get the answers not only to how but mainly why some things are as they are and what can be done to help it evolve into an organism.

The aim of the project is:

- within the farm project to empower volunteers with the knowledge and skills which promote life skills on the personal level (in vegetable, fruit, field crop production, processing and marketing of more than 100 products) as a project we are to 80% self-sufficient;

- to enable young people to see and experience how initiatives like CSA (community supported agriculture), crowd funding (the first in Slovenia in the field of agriculture) and direct marketing work from the idea to the execution;

- to provide other skills as sustainable building, water conservation, working with wood, co-living (in a community with a family and other volunteers);

in a safe and structured environment.

One of the pillars of the activities will the personal growth of the volunteers with the own project which can be diverse and completely in line with the needs and wishes of the volunteer.

The NGO promotes the importance and practical skills important in the efficient organic farming, bio-dynamic agriculture, production, processing and marketing through lectures, seminars, workshops, excursions for more than 250 people every year.

In 2018 the farm project was awarded with the European Newbie Award for Slovenia. Newbies are young farmers who strenghten the agricultural development through innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience in the European farming sector. With activities and actions they are small lights which form a common lighthouse for the agricultural development for future generations. 

Practical information of the location and schedule:

The NGO is located in the Jarenina vilage (the Podravje region) which is easily connected by public transportation  (bus stop is 200 m from the NGO) to all the main cities of Slovenia. Jarenina is a village of 1.200 inhabitants and is close to (15 km) to the second biggest city of Slovenia called Maribor (with 90.000 inhabitants) with a hospital, theaters, music festivals in the summer (Lent festival), cinemas and enables to be connected by bus or train to all parts of Slovenia and neighboring countries.. Maribor has a strong base of different NGO's from arts to seed conservation.

The farm has a main house with a community kitchen and a temporary living room. The main house has a house extension with two rooms and a bathroom for up to four volunteers, to enable some privacy and the separation from the farm. It can be best described as a hostel like accommodation. In 2018 and 2019 we build an outside living space where time after work can be spent with the members of the whole farm. Appliances which are needed (kitchen, washing machine, dryer, vacuum cleaner, etc.) are located in the main house and can be used by everyone.

The activities are structured through the week and depend a lot on the seasonal and climate conditions. A week is structured in five days of in practice farm experience. The afternoons and weekends are always free for personal activities. Due to the fact that the accommodation is on the farm there is no need for daily traveling and consequently this enables less stress and more free time in the daily routine (which accounts on average for seven hours of volunteering a day). From Monday to Friday the day starts at 8 a.m.. At 12 a.m. we have a small lunch until 1 p.m. At 4 p.m. there is a big lunch with all the people of the farm.

The day-to-day on-farm activities are all focused on self-sufficiency (more than 80 percent) and the accessibility of this local products to customers who seek for organic and locally produced produce:

- vegetable, fruit and field crop production;

- the on-farm processing of more than 100 products (flour, cereals, bread, marmelades, processed
vegetables);

- direct marketing strategies of the farm CSA (community supported agriculture), a coop and crowdfunding;

- within the activities a "zero waste" project is being implemented since 2017.

Application and deadline:
- all aplicants have to send in their CV and motivation project till the 18.5.2020;
- in the second step the interviews will be held till the 23rd of May 2020;
- we will let you know on the 24th of May of our final decision;
- As said the project starts on the 1st of June, the arrival is 31st of May.

Please share the news and if you have any questions please write us at drustvo.ekopot@gmail.com
or call us 00 386 31 368 162 (Maja) or 00 386 41 960 972 (Matjaž).

We look forward to build a sustainable model in the field of environment and social development with YOU!