🇮🇹 ESC Volunteering in Italy 🌿 Art, Culture & Community Building at a Rural Hub in Tuscany — Montepulciano 🇮🇹
Have you ever dreamed of living in rural Tuscany while doing work that genuinely matters? CAFI — Creative Art Farm in Italy — is looking for 3 European Solidarity Corps volunteers to join their inclusive rural cultural hub near Montepulciano, one of Tuscany's most iconic hilltop towns. As a volunteer you will support cultural workshops, exhibitions, multicultural festivals, digital and AI art projects, environmental awareness initiatives, and non-formal education activities — all while living in a renovated Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by vineyards and nature. This is a rare opportunity to combine creativity, community, and countryside living in one of the most beautiful corners of Europe. Open to EU residents only, with special consideration for young people facing challenging life situations.
🍷 Did You Know? Montepulciano is world-famous for its Vino Nobile — one of Italy's most celebrated red wines — and sits at over 600 metres above sea level in the Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. You will be volunteering in one of the most visually stunning regions on earth.
What Will You Do as a Volunteer?
🎭Support cultural activities including workshops, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and multicultural festivals involving young people from diverse backgrounds
🏫Help organise non-formal education activities that promote active citizenship, inclusion, and intercultural dialogue within the local rural community
📸Assist with communication and storytelling through social media, the website, and photo and video content production
🤖Contribute to creative and digital projects involving AI, augmented reality, and digital art — experimenting with cutting-edge creative formats
🌱Support environmental awareness initiatives around biodiversity, recycling, and healthy lifestyles, as well as outdoor activities in the Tuscan countryside
📦Assist with logistics, preparation of spaces and materials, and welcoming participants to events and activities at Casa Salcheto
🤖 Fun Fact: CAFI is one of the few ESC hosting organisations in rural Italy that actively incorporates AI and augmented reality into its creative programming — so yes, you could be making digital art with AI in the middle of Tuscany. That's a sentence not many people get to say.
Accommodation, Food & Travel
🏡You will stay at Casa Salcheto — a beautifully renovated Tuscan farmhouse with Wi-Fi, a large kitchen, wood underfloor heating, laundry, dishwasher, and 3 bathrooms. Rooms are shared by gender
🥗Food is covered by CAFI via a monthly fee of €150 — volunteers cook together, with weekly grocery shopping done alongside staff. A vegetarian Mediterranean diet is warmly welcomed
💶You will receive €6 per day in pocket money, transferred via bank transfer at the mid-point of the project
✈️Travel is reimbursed return up to €211 / €309 / €395 depending on distance, with a bonus available if more than 50% of your journey is made by sustainable transport
🛡️Insurance is provided through Henner, fully covered by the ESC project — a pre-departure online meeting is required before your arrival
🚶Please note: Casa Salcheto is located in a rural area — the nearest town with facilities is approximately 20 minutes away on foot. A genuine love of nature and rural living is essential
Training & Learning
🎓You will gain hands-on experience in community cultural work, using art and creativity as tools for social engagement and inclusion
🌿Build practical rural and sustainable living skills while strengthening your initiative, responsibility, teamwork, and problem-solving capacities in a real-world NGO setting
🎨Experiment with a range of creative formats including visual storytelling, digital art, comics, motion graphics, and participatory activities — with space to develop your own creative voice
🏢Understand day-to-day NGO operations from logistics and programming through to community engagement — a full behind-the-scenes view of how cultural organisations work
🧭CAFI provides a dedicated mentor throughout your volunteering journey, with regular reflection sessions and a Youthpass certificate upon completion to document your learning
🌍 Did You Know? The ESC programme's Youthpass certificate is recognised across Europe as a formal record of non-formal learning — meaning the skills and competences you develop at CAFI can be officially documented and included in your CV and future applications.
Participant Profile
🎂You are aged 18 to 30 and legally resident in an EU member country — including Italy
🌾You are genuinely ready to live in a rural intercultural environment, share spaces and everyday moments with other volunteers and guests, and embrace community living
🗣️A basic level of English is required for communication — prior experience in the relevant activity areas is welcome but not necessary
⏰Good time management, flexibility, proactivity, patience, open-mindedness, and strong teamwork are the qualities CAFI values most in candidates
💛Special consideration is given to young people who are currently facing challenging situations in their lives — see the link below for more details on eligibility under this criterion
Activity Dates & Key Information
Eligible Countries
🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇪🇸 Spain
Application Link
🔗 Apply here: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/opportunity/50411_en
💛 Fewer opportunities info: View document
⚠️ Important Notice
1️⃣ Source of Information
This announcement has been prepared based on the information provided by the project coordinator.
2️⃣ Responsibility for Content
The project coordinator is solely responsible for the accuracy, details, and updates of the opportunity content.
3️⃣ Right to Modify or Withdraw
Coordinating organisations reserve the right to make changes after publication — including dates, activity details, or application deadlines — or to withdraw the announcement entirely.
4️⃣ Disclaimer of Liability
YouthWorks Hub is not responsible for any such changes, updates, or cancellations made by the project coordinators.
💡 Final Note:
All listings are shared for informational purposes only. Please always verify details directly through the official project coordinator or programme website before applying.
