🇨🇿 ESC Volunteering in Czechia 🌿 Alternative Schools, Eco-Farms & Summer Camps with Tvořivá Dílna IRIDA 🏕️

Forests and meadows. Children's summer camps. Natural gardens with teepees and fire pits. And a team of six international volunteers working, learning, and reflecting together. These ESC team volunteering projects in the Czech Republic are for people who want to step out of their comfort zone and genuinely contribute to something real.

Tvořivá Dílna IRIDA is a Czech youth organisation focused on non-formal education, sustainability, wellbeing, and community learning. Through their European Solidarity Corps activities, they collaborate with inspiring local partner organisations across the Moravia region — including alternative schools and eco-farms working with sustainable living, outdoor learning, and community-based education.

Each project team consists of 6 volunteers working together throughout a 40-day placement. All accommodation, food/living allowance, travel reimbursement, insurance, and pocket money are covered by the European Solidarity Corps programme.

⚠️ Selection happens on a rolling basis — apply as soon as possible. Non-EU participants must hold a valid Schengen visa.

Three Projects — One Mission

🌾 Project 1: Karlov Eco-Farm (01 June – 10 July)

Karlov is a small rural farm being developed into a self-sufficient space with gardens, animals, and facilities for educational and community activities. During summer, the farm hosts residential camps for children. Volunteers become part of the daily life of the community.

What volunteers do:

🔨 Support renovation and simple construction work — wood, spaces, animal areas

🌱 Help with gardening, farm tasks, and animal care

🍳 Contribute to the daily running of the farm including cooking together

🏕️ Assist in preparing and running the summer camp for children

🧗 Take part in a short outdoor trekking experience with the group

📸 Contribute to social media and storytelling — photos, videos, posts

Volunteer profile: Age 18–30 — physically fit, interested in sustainable living and nature, comfortable supporting children and outdoor activities, flexible and resilient in simple living conditions.

🌸 Project 2: Lilac Nature Garden (15 June – 26 July)

Lilac Nature Garden is a certified natural garden created from an original agricultural field — a lively community space with a teepee, barn, yoga gazebo, fire pit, stream area, and forest bar. It regularly hosts community events, workshops, and children's camps.

What volunteers do:

🌿 Garden and farm work — planting, watering, harvesting, processing vegetables, and animal care

🔧 Manual and practical work — building and improving community spaces including barn, kitchen, teepee floor, fences, and water systems

🦋 Nature and sustainability projects — creating herb beds, insect hotels, and biodiversity-supporting elements

🎨 Creative work — making decorations, signs, play elements for children, and event materials

🎉 Events and community life — supporting open days, mini-festivals, children's camps, and daily shared life

📷 Documentation — capturing daily life through photos, videos, and social media

Living conditions: Volunteers sleep in the barn, teepee, or tents — indoor sleeping available in bad weather. Dry toilet in the garden, shared bathroom and cooking. Bring a sleeping bag and mat. Simple outdoor lifestyle requiring adaptability.

Volunteer profile: Comfortable with outdoor living, physical work, and teamwork — enjoys nature, hands-on activities, and stepping out of their comfort zone.

👶 Project 3: Baby Club Plaváček — Farm & Summer Camp (15 June – 26 July)

Baby Club Plaváček is a Czech organisation with over 30 years of experience in children's development through movement and water-based activities. The project takes place at a farm in the Vysočina region combining nature, outdoor life, and hands-on work for both children and volunteers.

The volunteering is divided into two phases:

🏗️ Farm and Preparation Phase

🔨 Supporting renovation and construction

🌱 Gardening, animal care, and general farm maintenance

🪵 Building and repairing structures, working with wood, organising spaces

🏕️ Summer Camp Phase

👦 Supporting children's camps — ages approximately 4 to 18

🎮 Helping with games, outdoor and physical activities

🍳 Assisting with cooking, daily organisation, and programme delivery

🥾 Participating in a multi-day outdoor trekking experience

Additional activities: intercultural sharing with children, co-creating small activities, working alongside instructors both independently and in teams.

Volunteer profile: Age 18–30 — open to physical work and outdoor life, enjoys working with children, adaptable and team-oriented, proactive and willing to learn.