Ohara 4 (Family workcamp)
Breakdown:
- Accommodation and food: 0.00 Japanese Yen
- Transportation: 0.00 Japanese Yen
- Activities: 0.00 Japanese Yen
- Hosting organisation support: 6000 Japanese Yen
Description: "This project is actively working for SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with Ohara Eco Project (OEP) since 2009. There were 600 inhabitants in Ohara village with 90 houses 100 years ago, but now only 1 elder! OEP was founded by the local people in 2006 and has rehabilitated 7 houses of cultural heritage. They maintain and revive the trails and fields, organize the workcamps with NICE and run various eco tours, so got the best prize in the award of Creating Home Town by the national government in 2016! The family workcamp started since 2013 (President of NICE keeps joining as a leader with his kids) and hosted a lot of families from Japan, Asia, Europe and Americas with great success.
Type of Work: Volunteer will help to 1) maintain the old houses by cleaning up, drying many sleeping mats, etc., 2) do farming (weeding in the green tea field that was abandon, cultivating, planting and harvesting potatoes) and 3) do other community work (e.g., construction, chopping woods, trail maintenance). Children sometimes work with adults and other times play in the nature (river, etc.) by the assistance of some parents (by turns) and supporting vols.
Study Theme: Local SDGs (2030 goals) of Katsuyama
Accommodation: A few rooms of the traditional renovated house! Meals will be cooked by turns. Sleeping bag is not necessary. Simple shower rooms. Clean toilets. You can see how the village looks like at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzGZvho8fVQ
Language: eng,
Requirements: Only families (Children should be 6-12 years old) can join this program. Basically up to 4 persons (2 adults) per family. High motivation to work and cooperate. Respect to the local culture and way of the organization! Speaking Japanese language is welcomed!
Approximate Location: 200 km north east of Osaka. Katsuyama is an agricultural city and famous for dinosaurs discovery. Ohara village is located at 500 m a.s.l. and surrounded by the mountains with very rich nature (e.g., the spring water is drinkable and very tasty!).
Notes: *Outcome of this workcamp: In 2022, 17 vols. from 7 families joined and made great contribution to have dried over sleeping mats, weed in the tea field (see the pictures), made natural clay for walls, cleaned the village road, etc. Please see the presentation made by the volunteer for the IVS contest in Japan; https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/e5-55193721 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)
Exchange parties, Excursion on a free day including the famous Dinosaurs Museum and its experience program of fossil excavation, etc.
Please see the presentation of the volunteer for the IVS contest in Japan 2016 https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/e1-67951349 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)