club of v lunteersnewsletter n.10 - september 2011

Editors Julina Canga and Silvia García - Design by Silvia García

club.of.volunteers@gmail.com, http://club-of-volunteers.blogspot.com

club of v lunteersnewsletter n.10 - september 2011

Zavod Voluntariat - SCI Slovenia

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editorial

Hello everyone! Welcome to the next edition of Club of Volunteers Newsletter. In our 10th edition you can learn how to enrich your summer holidays by joining one of the thousands of SCI workcamps! Why would you do that? Well, do you want to make new friends, discover new places and cultures and participate in development of local communities? Then join a SCI workcamp! You will work together with volunteers from all over the world who come to the same place in order to volunteer and create something positive together. The cultural diversity of participants enables you to truly live globally and observe differences as an opportunity to learn more about the world around you and about yourself. In the newsletter before you, you can read about these and other benefits of joining a workcamp, what are the impressions of the volunteers after the camps are finished and some personal stories from Slovenian workcamps. Besides the busy workcamp summer, Club of Volunteers was very active in other fields! This summer we focused on sustainability of the world around us and within us. We researched ecology activities within our permaculture workshops, created a garden in the prison and refreshed our minds and bodies with ecological yoga lessons and capoiera. Find our more about these and other activities in our latest Newsletter. If you come up with any new ideas or suggestions for the future activities… You know where to find us! Enjoy reading and stay positive!

, September 2011club of v lunteers

CONTACT: Zavod Voluntariat - SCI Slovenia,

Cigaletova 9, 1000 Ljubljana, www.zavod-voluntariat.si

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Staff and collaborators

Urška

Hartman

Maruša Vukelič

Julina Canga

Katja Celin

Inês Gama

Silvia García

Urban

Presker

Nina Zorman,

Wonder road-Pot čestitk

Silvia García, Helena Yurina,

Jana Jurankova, Tomaj

Anniina HeikkiläSimona Potočar,

Confluence surf camp

Ajda Podobnik,

Karajžewc

Tina Susnik,

Istra 2011

Paulina Trampczynska,

Kino Otok

Sanni Nieminen

Nina Luin

Katja Ilovar,

Kamfest

Workcamps 2011

Cover and workcamps photos were

made by Tomaž Zajelšnik

http://www.filofoto.si

Tomaž Zajelšnik

index

Summer workcamps

Wonder road - Pot čestitkKarajžewcKino Otok, IzolaIstra 2011Refresh camp Tomaj Confluence 2011 - Surf campThe voluntary workcamp Kamfest

Club of Volunteers

Permaculture workshopsGarden in the prisonYoga workshopCapoeira workshop Language group: Spanish and more...Special concert Bob DylanJoin us at Cov!

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Editorial & welcome

Staff and contributors

Index

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Summer workcamps

This year was really fruitful for Zavod Voluntariat’s workcamp menu; we offered a record 17 workcamps organised in Slovenia! More than 100 volunteers from all over the world picked this small country to be their summer volunteer destination. New friendships, experiences and knowledge developed during the workcamps were just the beginning. After the end of volunteer work, many volunteers continued to explore the hidden parts of Slovenia, local culture, hidden valleys, dragons and lakes. Some of the personal stories, memories and thoughts from Slovenian SCI workcamps are revealed in the newsletter you are “holding in your hands” right now, others will be hidden from the public sights forever, but kept well in the hearts of our lovely volunteers. Keep on reading to feel the spirit of how it is to be a volunteer on a workcamp in Slovenia!

Wonder road - Pot čestitk In the southern part of Slovenia, more precisely in the town called Kostanjevica na Krki, a work camp took place where the volunteers putting in order the wonder road named Pot Čestitk.

The camp lasted one week (23.4.2011- 30.4.2011). We were doing manual labour, namely setting the benches, the landing, the bee house model, signposts, and putting in order the promenade path. The camp was relatively small, we had seven volunteers and one camp leader – me. I had co-camp leader Aneta from Croatia and six volunteers: Jeremy from Great Britain, Ivana, Milan and Danijela from Serbia, Roberto from Switzerland and Rebecca from USA. This was for me first camp as a camp leader and I have to confess that first few days were difficult! I tried very hard to make my volunteers and my organizer Vesna happy and satisfied. But then I realize, that this is not working. I just have to be myself, and I have to go with the flow. Relax and do the job with passion and with a lot of jokes! And when I start to do work with different thoughts, energy, and with power everything changed! We had so much fun at work and after work also! We ate delicious Slovenian food, tried autochthonic wine called Cviček, visited underground cave named Kostanjevica cave, spa Šmarješke toplice, and Sevnica’s castel and city as well. We had opportunity to see unique gentian plantations and hike to Lisca and eat in the room where Tito ate so many times ago at Tončkov dom. We got know very well with Slovenian tradition (wine, meat, bread, accordion) and hospitality. On the end I prepared speech for my ‘dječica’ as I called them and read it with tears in my eyes. I also made info-folders for them and on the back of folder I wrote: The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit, by Nelson Henderson.

We conquer our mission and on the end of my speech we hugged and promise to see us once more somewhere…who knows where :). Few months left and we still write each other e-mails. And not only this we still can see each other, because one of the volunteers made short movie about our work camp, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZGVSgLldng.

Nina Zormanphotos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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KarajžewcCerkljanski mladinski alternativni klub je od 27. od 29. maja 2011 organiziral 4. tabor Karajžewc. Ta je bil letos nekaj posebnega, saj smo se odločili, da k sodelovanju povabimo mednarodne prostovoljce. Pri tem nam je pomagal Zavod Voluntariat, ki s svojim delovanjem podpira lokalne neprofitne organizacije in širi vrednote prostovoljstva, nenasilja, človekove pravice, solidarnost, spoštovanje naravnega okolja ter spodbuja k pravičnejši družbi. Prostovoljci, ki so prišli iz Hrvaške, Finske, Srbije in Francije so svoj prosti čas preživljali na kraju dogajanja že pet dni pred samim začetkom tabora. Pomagali so nam pri postavitvi odra, okraševanju tabora, sodelovali so na delavnicah ter s svojo nesebično in neplačano pomočjo osveščali o pomembnosti prostovoljstva tako na mednarodni ravni kot v lokalni skupnosti. Ker je tema tabora predvsem kulture bivanja, ki v prvi vrsti pomeni spoštljiv odnos do narave in bogatega etnološkega izročila znanj naših prednikov smo se potrudili, da smo ves teden živeli čim bolj naravi prijazno. S prostovoljci smo organizirali ločevanje odpadkov, uporabljali smo permakulturna stranišča, tudi okraševali smo samo z naravnimi materiali. Prostovoljce pa smo učili tudi kuhati karaževc (po kateri jedi je tabor tudi dobil ime), čežano ter smukavc iz kopriv. Za vse je bila to pozitivna izkušnja, kjer smo se veliko naučili o kulturnih razlikah in podobnostih, bivanju v naravi ter spoznali veliko novih prijateljev. Kar nekaj prostovoljcev je prepričanih, da bodo naslednje leto še prišli, če ne kot prostovoljci pa kot obiskovalci tabora Karajžewc.

Ajda Podobnik photos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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Kino Otok, Izola Kino Otok Izola was my first work camp. I chose Slovenia because it’s such a small country, so close yet so far and so unknown to me. I asked myself: what do I know about Slovenia? The capital’s Ljubljana, they used to be part of Yugoslavia... And that’s all. Not much. And I don’t like being ignorant, so I felt obliged to go. I was quite excited to discover that they actually had a coastline in Slovenia. Very short, but still (twenty-something kilometres, as far as I remember). And I was going to the coast! To Izola, so close to Italy that it had road signs in both languages, and the locals claimed they were more laidback than Slovenians from the north of Slovenia, and that their accent was different. And I can say for sure that the food was quite Italian (pasta, pizza, pasta, pizza...). Although I tried some local delicacies too, and discovered that Slovenians were more Balkan than I thought (e.g. ajvar is common to their cuisine). Oh and how I adored their pastries (please say ‘hello’ to the ladies working in that bakery open almost 24/7)... Anyway, let’s not digress...

It all started with a bit of disappointment when it turned out that no one could host me in Ljubljana (I use Couchsurfing when travelling) so I couldn’t go and see the capital. I decided to stay a bit longer in Trieste (I had arrived in Venice and went to Trieste from there), but it actually turned out that despite being so close to each other, Trieste and Izola do not have any connection on Sundays (which was supposed to be the first day of our workcamp). So I showed up in Izola on Saturday and was welcomed by Medea, our camp leader. I took a liking to her immediately because of her mythical name and the fact that she looked a bit like a hedgehog (no offence, Medea). I started volunteering straight away – joined in Medea and the rest, handing out leaflets about the Kino Otok festival, and in the meantime getting to know other volunteers who had arrived earlier – German and Nicole. I guess it was unlucky to get introduced to them first thing after arriving. When I met them, I started worrying that workcamps mostly attracted weirdos... Haha. OK to be honest I got to love Nicole from the very first moment, she’s so lively, talkative and bright, and so young – she was actually the youngest of us all. I was pleased to find out that the age span of our volunteers was around 20-30. Anyway, we packed up our promotional stuff around 11pm and that was it, the first day finished.On Sunday the rest of the volunteers arrived. People as different as can be. An American born in Taiwan, now volunteering for Peace Corps in Ukraine... A punk band guitarist from Serbia... A bank clerk in her early thirties from the Czech Republic... Plus guys

from other countries, like Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Serbia, Greece, Finland, and of course Slovenia. In one word: a bunch of international volunteers, the so-called ‘intervention squad’ as we were proudly named. At first we were not sure why...

Accommodation was pretty cool, if a bit insufficient at times (e.g. the number of beds) – it was a brand new flat with nice furniture and equipment. The place itself, Izola, made a very good impression on me. I’ve lived in really big cities in the last few years so I welcomed the tranquillity of Izola and its slow pace of life with pleasure. It’s a lovely place to be in – little narrow streets, the yacht harbour, the so-called beach (oh so disappointingly pebbly, but still very sweet), the beautiful skyline of mountains and cliffs... little restaurants, cafes and bars... people leisurely walking along the coast and riding mopeds without helmets... and the cleanliness... no litter anywhere. The good impression was spoilt a bit by the capricious weather. We were told it tended to be like this in June. But we were quite lucky – it got really nice with the start of the festival and remained so throughout, so in our spare time we could sunbathe and swim in the amazingly clear waters of the Adriatic Sea.Another drawback was the organisation of our work. We were there, eager to work (believe it or not!) but it didn’t quite work out, so to speak. We spent our first days being constantly on the so-called „stand-by”, which meant doing nothing and desperately trying not to get bored to death, by playing football with rubbish or giving each other piggyback rides. This got to the point when we decided to discuss the problem with the organiser of the festival – and it sort of got sorted, or so we hoped. It’s not a good feeling to be useless, and unfortunately that’s how sometimes we felt. There wasn’t much to do, and while being on stand-by we felt like we wasted our time and we must have seemed like a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings to other volunteers. It got better but I still feel I didn’t do much work (I know that other volunteers might feel different about this but I’m talking about my own experience). I understand that we would have come in handy if it rained – all in all, we were the intervention squad and we were supposed to „intervene” in case of rain. But it didn’t rain.

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Our work was mostly physical. And this is why it’s such a great shame we didn’t have enough guys (and our male friends had to work more than us, which wasn’t fair). We cleaned, and swept, and picked up rubbish, and set up chairs, stages, fences, screens, decorations... We didn’t have that much free time but because the work wasn’t hard I didn’t mind. Anyway, I really enjoyed myself, even while working. Maybe a bit too much at times... Haha. Normally I’m a grumbler, so if I say this, you can trust me: in Izola I met the most amazing people. Both the volunteers and the locals turned out to be fantastic people, with ideals and ideas that impressed me and inspired me. And I had so much fun with them, I didn’t want to leave after those ten days. After depressing winter

months and my mundane customer service job back in Barcelona (where I live) I felt really refreshed. The workcamp gave me a lot of positive energy. I can be quite a loner but in this case I didn’t mind living with other people, and spending so much time with them (mind you, it is genuinely 24/7, unless you choose to wander off on your own, which some people did).

The festival itself is a great idea. Open air-screenings had a wonderful atmosphere. I could see it was all a result of really hard work and heaps of enthusiasm and good will of people involved in creating it. The concerts after the screenings made for a great opportunity to mingle with the locals, who all speak very good English and are pretty well-travelled. Unfortunately I couldn’t watch films in the evenings but I tried to make up for it during the day, and I saw some interesting features, and interviews with directors and cast.I was proud to be part of this event, even if I didn’t prove to be as useful as I wanted to be. Nothing’s ever perfect – but as far as I am concerned, I can say without doubt that I do not regret volunteering at Kino Otok. I hope it’s not an exaggeration to say that I’ve made friends for life and hopefully I’ll get to meet them again.

Paulina Trampczynskaphotos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

Kino Otok, Izola

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Istra 2011Kot pove že ime, je tabor potekal v Istri, natančneje v slovenskem delu Istre, blizu vasi Lopar v zaledju Kopra. Trajal je en teden, od 15. do 22. junija. Sredi čudovite narave smo se prostovoljci lotili obnove in oživljanja tematskega parka. Ta je namenjen predvsem sprostitvi v naravi in obenem spoznavanju lokalnega načina življenja. Največji del parka je etno-botanične narave, lokalna zelišča, sadno drevje in okrasne rastline so posajeni v ločenih sestavih, manjkajo še napisi z domačimi imeni. Posestvo se razprostira na precej veliki površini, poleg gred z zelišči in sadovnjakov ga sestavlja še gozd in dva manjša umetna ribnika, namenjena za gojenje rib in zalivanje v sušnih mesecih.Naša skupina je bila majhna, poleg vodje skupine smo bili še štirje prostovoljci, jaz iz Slovenije ter po eden iz Češke, Srbije in Španije. Bivali smo v šotorih, hrano smo si pripravljali sami v hiši v parku. Delo je bilo predvsem fizično. Obnavljali smo poti po parku, nanje dovažali kamenje in jih utrjevali z zemljo. Kasneje smo očistili grede plevela in pokosili travo. Poleg tega smo razširili pešpot skozi gozd, očistili suho vejevje in povečali kotanjo bodočega ribnika. Zaradi zahtevnosti dela in visokih temperatur smo se dogovorili za »ločen delovni čas«, kar pomeni, da smo med poldnevom in četrto uro imeli prosti čas za kosilo in krajše izlete. Pri tem smo imeli težave z organizacijo, saj lastnica (in organizatorka) sprva ni razumela, da so prostovoljni tabori namenjeni tudi druženju in spoznavanju in ne zgolj delu. Po nekaj sestankih in posvetovanju z vodjo tabora smo se dogovorili za omenjeni delovni čas ter za izlete v lastni organizaciji. Za ta namen nam je organizatorka tabora posodila svoj avto. Tako so prostovoljci iz tujine lahko videli še kakšen del slovenske Istre, pa tudi jaz sem si ogledala do takrat še neznane kotičke. Ogledali smo si Hrastovlje, dolino Dragonje, bližnje vasi in v večerih Koper in Piran. Po napornem delu so bili izleti res prava stvar, ki smo se je vsi razveselili.Ker v hiši in okolici ni tekoče vode, smo se umivali z deževnico iz lokalnega zajetja. To pomeni, da smo se polivali z vodo iz plastenk, vsak pač glede na svojo iznajdljivost. To je povzročilo nekaj komičnih trenutkov, ko smo iskali vsak svoj grm, za katerim je bila »kopalnica«. Na koncu smo se odločili za umivanje v hiši, v kopalnici, kar je zelo olajšalo zadevo.Zadnji večer je bil kresni, 21. junija. Na ta dan na posestvu vedno organizirajo manjše srečanje ob ognju, kjer člani kulturnega društva berejo pesmi in prozo istrskih avtorjev. Tudi tu smo prostovoljci sodelovali pri pripravi hrane, prižiganju ognja in se kasneje pridružili družabnemu delu. To je bil tudi

zaključek našega tabora, ki nas je vseh, kljub težavam in posledičnemu občasnem pomanjkanju motivacije, naučil nečesa novega o Istri.

Tina Susnikphotos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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Refresh Camp TomajTomaj wasn’t my first workcamp, but it was the first abroad. Thanks my EVS project I also had the opportunity to enjoy this week in Tomaj, a beautiful and small village near to Sežana, in the border with Italy and well-known in Slovenia because of the local poet Srečko Kosovel, the vineyards and the beautiful landscapes. We were there seven days, we were also seven volunteers. In this seven days we felt connected with the locals and we really appreciate how they opened their houses to us and also how they let us become part of Tomaj. I just can say thanks to the volunteers, to the leaders (Ana & Ana) and to all the “tomajci”.

Silvia García, EVS volunteer in Zavod Voluntariat

Slovenia. The name of this country consists of the word “love”, and Ljubljana is consonant in Russian the word “love” (“Ljublju”). I felt in love from the first second in the airport! Or maybe earlier, when I was making my visa to Slovenia. For me, girl from Russia, it’s not easy. I’m not from Europe Union and I need a visa, but I wanted to make a little trip and spend more time in Slovenia.

Tomaj is my third voluntary camp. But the different one. It was short term camp, just 7 days. We were just 7 participants. We were living in a small village Tomaj near the border of Italy. But for me that time was like a fairy-tail. Beautiful nature, small red-roof houses, flowers. I couldn’t sleep there, it was impossible to sleep there, I was enjoying every minute with people or alone on some viewpoint watching mountains. The work was different, everyday we made something new. One day it was toys for kids, we were cleaning the path, collecting little stones near the church. Local people were helping us, or brought us water and fruits while we were working. Also everyday we had a lunch and dinner in different houses. All the time we were all together, work and free time, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We became close to each other. We had our common jokes, we were laughing always.

Now I started to learn Slovenian. That camp, local people, culture, beautiful nature changed me, changed my point of view, lifestyle. Yes, maybe it was too short. But I’ve understood that is the place I would like to live.

Helena Yurina

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Refresh Camp TomajThis camp which took part in Slovenia was my first, but hopefully not the last. To be honest I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this kind of “holiday”. I didn’t have a clue about work camps until one day, when my friend asked me if I would like to go somewhere abroad for the summer break. She said that it is a cheap way to travel, great for meeting new people and going to new places. How could I refuse? But I still wasn’t sure what I got myself into.

We first arrived to Sežana – a small city near the village of Tomaj, where one of the camp leaders came to pick us up. We were accommodated at the Tomaj village school. There I first met my camp mates. There were people from all over Europe – from Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia and us two from Slovakia.

Although it was at first difficult to find a common topic to talk about – since we were 7 strangers from different parts of Europe, as the days went by, the teamwork and spending time together got us really close to each other. Language barrier was really not a problem; we all spoke enough English to understand each other. Even though most of us could speak Slav languages and could speak with each other in our native language, we chose to speak English – for practice and also so that everybody would understand.

The camp leaders took really good care of us. We worked in the morning until noon and then in the evening so that we didn’t have to stay under the hot Slovenian sun. Work was quite physically demanding, but for me very refreshing. We gathered stones, cleaned paths in the woods, made toys for the village children.

I must say that the best part about the camp was the people. We were able to meet lots of locals, since everyday we were invited to eat lunch and dinner by different families living in Tomaj. Tasting local cuisine and local wine was a very nice experience.

And the worst part of the camp? That it lasted only one week. I have to go again next year.

Jana Jurankovaphotos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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Confluence 2011 - Surf campConfluence was going to be my first work camp, so I had no expectations how it should be, but I was very positive that I’m going to have great time. In the end of the camp I was even more positive and yes, it was even better than I have ever expected. Time flew fast and I hoped that I could live it through again. It rained a lot and it was really cold, but the warm atmosphere and great people around me didn’t let any bad thoughts cross my mind. Camp leaders did a great job figuring out alternative things to do while it rained, so it didn’t even bother us that much. At the end I can only recall the good moments when we were singing some songs together, having a camp fire or the feeling when I first time managed to stand on a surf board. On the other hand, things like “spending a night without sleeping at all because hard ground and coldness” or “the feeling when the surf board just seems to fight against you and doesnt let you to stand on it” make me only laugh - bad moments turn into good and unforgettable memories.

Anniina Heikkilä, participant

It was this winter when we – dressed into neopren clothes and wearing sandals at 5 degrees Celzium – first dived into the river with our surf boards. It was an amazingly cold experience, but so fun and different that we soon knew, that we need to share it with the world. And so we did. We quickly changed our SCI camp ideas into surf ones and we were more than happy when so many people decided to participate. And so we gathered… river surfers wanna be from all parts of Europe. The first thing most said was: »Oh my God, this is so hard!!« And it is – not the surfing part, but the getting yourself standing on the board part!! But the feeling when you succeed makes it all worth while. And it was an experience for the brave ones because we managed to get the worst weather week of the summer. The water temperature was below 20, so it was cold!!! But we did not let the weather bother us! We surfed, built a cable construction from one river bank to the other, we cleaned the river sorroundings, experienced search and rescue dogs’ rubbles training and area orientation, went wakeboarding, prepaired dishes from all around Europe, played the guitar, sang, made camp fire and had the best time! Let’s do it again – is all I can say :)

Simona Potočar, camp leaderphotos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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The voluntary workcamp KamfestThe voluntary workcamp Kamfest which lasted two weeks between 01/08 and 14/08 was an amazing experience for the second half of my summer. From the first day I met my volunteers I knew the group was going to be excellent and it has proven to be so.At the beginning, when I had a look at the application forms to see different motivations of the volunteers and the countries of their origin, I was confronted with two Serbian girls, three volunteers from Poland, two Turks and only one Finish girl. I was sure that the common language among people from the same country would prevent the group from further free time mixing and cooperation and leave the only Finish volunteer alone, so I prepared in advance how to prevent that from becoming the reality and I thought of different methods to do so. Nevertheless, my fears proved to be unnecessary as the group was so homogeneous from the very beginning that I did not even feel obliged to use my already prepared plans for integrating people into different national groups.From then on, I could almost say that the camp was nearly perfect. I believe this was mainly due to my organization and great preparation as a camp leader as I tried my best to give the volunteers the most accurate information possible, to encourage them for different types of the work, to organize their free time in order to be able to have as much of their stay in Slovenia as possible and the positive attitude towards everything. With a lot of energy, I believe I motivated the group, but I am more than sure that without each and every one among the volunteers, the camp could have been different. We were working as a team, we were spending our free time together, we were talking and comparing our countries, we had fun together. These were the major reasons in my opinion which made the Kamfest workcamp one of the greatest experiences in the campleading ever. This motivates me even more to attend other camps in the future and even more – I am impatiently looking forward to doing so.

Katja Ilovar photos by Tomaž Zajelšnik

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club of v lunteers

We are always here and there! Diversity of the indoors and outdoors activities are always together in Club of Volunteers. From an indoor workshop how to plant plants than the nature was calling us so the next activities were riding bikes around the city and building the garden in the prison. Not only this! Club of volunteers thought also for those who loves Yoga, Capoeira or learning Spanish language! Would you like to know about this topics? Go ahead with the reading and harry up to join our next activities!

Permaculture workshopsIn the frame of the project Green and Clean we had two main activities. First we had a workshop on the 2nd of June about how to plant plants. The workshop aims was to actively involve young people, in a number of permaculture for the promotion of a more sustainable way of life for all. In this workshop the target group was the pupils of Produkcijska šola. There were 20 volunteers that took part on it (this number includes organizers and participants).

The workshop started with the lecture of permaculture and the participants had the chance to know more about that topic and also getting to know the main general principles during you plant a plant. From a general part than the lecture was about some specific principles for the plants. After the lecture it was a movie on according to this also.This was the first part of the workshop and in the second one was more practical work, in which all the participants (after the knowledge that they gained from the first part) could be able to plant their own plant. Then they took the plants at home to take care of and to bring it in the second activity.The workshop achieved the main aims : - Training youngsters to gain some more knowledge in permaculture topic.- Start thinking about to grow their own food.- And to be able to plant their own plant!

After having this workshop was the time to give this message to other people as well. So, we had another activity which happened on 7th of July and it was an information campaign with bikes on the city. There were around 10 volunteers which took part on this action. Every one who joined the action had to bring his/her own bike. We took the plants which we already planted in the first workshop, putted them on the bike and then we had a ride around the city. The meeting point were to the office of Zavod Voluntariat. The ride started from there to Tivoli park. At Tivoli park we gave some plants to the people and message flyers with a seed inside. From Tivoli park the ride went to the center where was an improvised big garden around Preseren square. Also another improvised garden was “builded” in one of the triple bridge. Then we gave the plants to the people, by sending to them the message: “Plant a seed of surprise”.This action achieved main objectives :- Encourage bike riding and cycling around the city. - Promoting permaculture and spreading out the massage that planting a plant, growing your own food it doesn’t take a lot of time and it’s not difficult.But this is not enough, other activities followed. As

Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see happen”, we can live in harmony with the nature.

Julina Çanga

photos by

Veronika Savnik

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Garden in the prisonOn Tuesday, the second of August, I was fortunate to be able to participate in the workshop of permaculture, an action which falls within the framework of the Youth in Action program, funded by the European Comission and happening in the abandoned gardens of the Povšetova prison in Ljubljana.Organized by the non-profit organization ZAVOD VOLUNTARIAT (http://www.zavod-voluntariat.si/), the idea of the workshop was to help create green gardens in the Povšetova prison with the principles of permaculture, a system which uses the natural resources towards a sustainable agriculture, managing and improving all efforts of the communities as well as individuals, a very interesting and natural solution for the so-called industrial agriculture and its negligent use of pesticides which affect dramatically more and more many people’s health.It was my first time doing this kind of environmental workshop so I didn’t know really what to expect from this experience. We started at 9am (together with some prisioners, the Zavod Voluntariat Organization as well as volunteers from Slovenia and from other countries) with the explanation of Mirjam Kopše (a gardener herself and an expert in this area) about the process of doing permaculture and the definition of the tasks we would be performing during that day.From taking all the big stones as well as trash (such as plastic, glass among other things) from the soil and cutting the grown wild plants and grass from it to plant new herbs and create the best natural environment for them, there was time to help with each task and eventhough it was a very hot and sunny day, no one seemed to notice it, being totally opened and permanently dedicated to the project through all the activity, working the soil together with the organization and the prisoners, all united for the same environmental cause.Let this be the starting point not only for green work at the Povšetova prison, but also and mainly for future projects in this area, towards a more self-sufficient and sustainable agriculture and way of living as well as for educating young people with fewer opportunities.

Ines da Gama, EVS in MCT Trbovlje photos by Silvia García

Press reviews about the workshop:- Delo: http://www.delo.si/novice/slovenija/lokacija-povsetova-zadeva-ureditev-vrta_2.html- Dnevnik: http://www.dnevnik.si/novice/slovenija/1042463185- Siol.net: http://www.siol.net/slovenija/lokalne_novice/osrednja_slovenija/2011/08/zelenica_pred_zaporom_na_povsetovi_bo_zelenjavni_vrt.aspx

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On 20th of July, Club of Volunteers organized the “yoga workshop”. We met in the early morning, one of the best moments in the day to practise yoga. To learn and also to enjoy about the practise of yoga, it is always good to know at first some basic concepts of it: about the origins, the kind of yoga you are practising, what can we obtain and what is necessary to have with you.

About yogaYoga refers to traditional physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines, originated in ancient India, whose goal is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity.

Hatha yogaThe word “hatha” comes from the Sanskrit terms “ha” meaning “sun” and “tha” meaning “moon”. Thus, Hatha Yoga is known as the branch of Yoga that unites pairs of opposites. Hatha Yoga is known as the branch of Yoga that unites pairs of opposites referring to the positive (sun) and negative (moon) currents in the system

What we didWe did relaxation, asanas (body positions) and pranayama (breathing techniques).

Yoga workshop

What we neededFor make this practise easy we used comfortable clothes, a blanket and a liner (armaflex).

From Club of Volunteers we want to thank to the trainer, Lena, for sharing with us her knowledge about yoga. We really enjoyed this workshop and we’ll try to use what we learned into our everyday.

Namaste!

Text and photos by Silvia García

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Capoeira workshop When arriving to Capoeira workshop, organized by Club of Volunteers, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. I hadn’t tried Capoeira before and didn’t know a lot about it. Thanks to great teacher and nice group after those two hours I know now a lot more. We started a workshop with little history about Capoeira and warming up. After that we learned some basic moves of Capoeira. Although it was hard work to make all moves (I felt the workshop still in my legs two days after) it was so fun. We didn’t need any knowledge about Capoeira before workshop and the teacher told really well what we should do. We practiced moves first slowly and then we tried to do them a little bit faster every time. In Capoeira it’s about your body and moves you make, having fun and listening the music at the same time. I was amazed how good I felt after the workshop: my body was relaxed, I felt the music and I even got more energy. In the end of the workshop we listened some music of Capoeira and saw instruments they used. Instruments were interesting and it was amazing how many different kind of sounds you can get out from them. Learning one easy Capoeira song was also nice: whole group sang together and clapped hands. I left from the workshop with relaxed body, energetic mind and painful muscles. Capoeira is not just and activity, it’s own Capoeira culture.

I was really happy that I decided to participate for this workshop. It was well organized and all people in the workshop were really nice. I haven’t participated to other workshops in Ljubljana before but Capoeira workshop was great start because there isn’t anything better than spend time with your friends, move your body and have nice time.

Sanni Nieminenphotos by Mina Mansoor

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Language group: Spanish and more...The knowledge of languages is really useful if you are planning to travel, to be a volunteer abroad or just to communicate with your foreigner friends.Last month of July we started with the first lessons within this language group. We started with one of the most beautiful and nice languages in the world: Spanish :)

Something about SpanishSpanish language is becoming more and more important in Europe, is the foreign language of choice after English. With some 400 million speakers, it’s the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world, and nowadays it has more native speakers than English does. It is expected that by 2050,10% of the world population will speak Spanish.Spanish is spoken in Spain, all over America (more and more even in USA), Guinea Ecuatorial (Africa) and also in Philippines. With some basic knowledge of Spanish it will be easy to understand roman languages as Italian, Portuguese, French and also the languagues spoken in Spain as Galician, Catalan, Valencian... The Spanish language is regulated by the “Association of Academies of the Spanish Language.” Its permanent committee is in Madrid, which also contains the headquarters of the “Royal Academy of the Spanish language” and the “Instituto Cervantes”.All these academies working on developing consensus dictionaries grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and so on.

My experience as a teacherI have been a teacher before but in a totally different subjects (drawing, mathematics…). I asked and I also did some research about how to teach Spanish and I’m really enjoying the preparation and the moment of the lessons. I felt really grateful after the first lessons because everyone that is joining us for Spanish lessons are really motivated and appreciating this minutes we dedicate to learn about the language, but also about the culture, the music, the differences between Spain and Latin America…For the moment we are learning Spanish, but if you are interested in learn Italian or Albanian just contact us.Also we offer to our volunteers the possibility to have the experience on teaching: if you know German, French… and you want to have an experience as a teacher, also contact us in club.of.volunteers@gmail.com.

Silvia García

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Special concert Bob Dylan As many of you know already, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana released an outstanding CD featuring many well-known Slovenian musicians, each covering a different Dylan song. The overall theme of the project is volunteerism with each song representing a different issue, and an accompanying booklet is loaded with information designed to raise awareness about issues that are vital to Slovenians.

The event took place in City Museum on May 24, the day when American music icon Bob Dylan was celebrating his 70th birthday. Vlado Kreslin, Laibach, Katalena, Zoran Predin, Hic et Nunc, Mia Žnidarič, Niet, 6 Pack Čukur, Severa, Chris Eckman & the Frictions, Brina, Peter Lovšin, Murat & Jose, and opera soprano Sabina Cvilak gave their voices to help several nongovernmental organization, including Zavod Voluntariat, to raise awareness about many issues, including human trafficking, violence against women, child abuse, children’s health issues, mental and physical handicaps, youth drug prevention, active citizenship, asylum issues, the environment, fighting against corruption, development and global issues, and regional cooperation.All these Slovenian musicians will all gathered again on 21st September 2011 at 18pm in Križanke, where you can hear them alive performing famous Dylan’s songs such as: Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right), Subterranean Homesick Blues, Just Like a Woman, Boots of Spanish Leather, Simple Twist of Fate, Ballad of a Thin Man and etc. Besides the concert all the nongovernmental organization will have their stand in front of the Križanke where you will have a chance to get more information about them, their work and how to get involved.

All the volunteers are kindly invited to the one of a kind concert Bob Dylan: Postani porstovoljec! We hope we will see you there!

Nina Luin

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