Self-sustainable life solutions

in an OFF-GRID eco-community in Hungary

Group volunteering experience

Location:  Hideghegy eco-community in Pécsely, HUNGARY

Dates:      30 September – 20 October 2024

Deadline of application: 22nd of September 2024

WHO CAN APPLY:

  • Young people (18-30) from all Europe, with a European residency.
  • We will host 13 participants from abroad and 2 Hungarian participants, a total of 15 volunteers.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

Off grid solutions:

We teach you how you can build and how a complete off grid farm works using solar panels, complete gray (waste) water system, how to use a fire stove, solar cooker, compost toilets inside and outside.

Water:

In the climate change the water keeping management is the first and most important knowledge. So we invite an expert who teaches the basic principles of this topic. Then we would create a natural water isolation layer and build a small rainwater storage in it.

Eco gardening approach:

As permaculture designers we explain the basic planning principles which you could use in your future land. We will harvest vegetables, and then plant seeds in our walipini. We teach you to grafting trees or other plants as this is a basic step to make food in the forest, and we would take care of these trees. You can learn about animal keeping of chickens, horses, and bees. We prepared a new electric fence for a cow.

 

 

Eco-architectural focus:

constructing stone retaining wall, work with adobe (building a cane wall and covering it with mud), fence weaving, and building wood structures. You can get acquainted with working with wood, stone, clay, which can be useful almost anywhere in the world in anyone's life. 

Organic Food, herbs and cooking:

Taking part in kitchen tasks, cooking, baking our bread ourselves and preparing lunch from fresh ingredients we picked from the vegetable garden. Our mission is to share knowledge about collecting, processing and conserving herbs, and practices about natural medicine and making cosmetics out of them. How to make herb tea, a hydrolate and essential oil, a cream, toothpaste or soap. We will collect and make food by edible wild plants which you can find in nature.

Community building:

Cooperating in a community in our life is very rare nowadays. Community: Practicing application of community cooperation methodologies (project and task planning, local roles, division of tasks, scheduling, taking responsibility, risk and conflict management)

CONTEXT:

MISSION and about the Cold Hill shelter community

Our mission is to help people to prepare for changes which come from our ever changing climate, and help you to gain new skills, learn how to self sustain yourself and be resilient to be able to cope with what is possibly coming in our lifetime.

We would like to share with you our knowledge in this topic which we collected in the past decade through trial and error.

Come and put yourself to the test:

  • how to build with natural materials,
  • how to plan your permaculture garden,
  • make your own veggies and fruits or
  • be able to recognise plants in the wild and make use of them as medicine or just a herbal healing tea on a cold winter night and of course
  • all this while you are living in a community.

 

PLACE:

Pécsely is a picturesque village on the northern part of Lake Balaton, with 560 inhabitants. Our community is located above the village in a 6 hectare area, with a breathtaking view of Lake Balaton. Our community consists of 5 permanent members and around 10 local families who we cooperate with.

 

PLEASE be aware, that 

  • our community lives under quite simple circumstances, in nature, so there is mud when it rains, and hot, when the summer sun is shining;
  • the work with mud, wood and stone can be physically demanding;
  • you have to have sturdy boots that are suitable for this work.

PRACTICALITIES

Accomodation:

  • You will sleep in a yurt / stone building / tent. We use outdoor showers using harvested rainwater.
  • Washing machine will also be provided.
  • WIFI is provided.

Food:

Provided by the community, prepared together. Healthy, organic, mostly vegetarian and vegan options. 

Water, bathroom, toilet:

We bring drinking water from a nearby well.

We use outdoor showers using harvested rainwater. 

We exclusively use outdoor compost-toilets that we have built ourselves. 

Map: 

The GPS coordinates for our community are: 46.9625, 17.755

137 kms from Budapest, 25 kms from Veszprém and 12 kms from the Balaton Lake. 

Travel:

You have to arrange it yourself after discussing your options with your host. Costs will be reimbursed.

We strongly encourage people to choose green travel options such as trains or buses. You will get detailed instructions about how to get to the site from the organisers.

Travel reimbursement:

Your travel will be reimbursed by the European Solidarity Corps program up to 309 Euros (up to 2000 kms).  We strongly recommend choosing green travel options, such as trains and buses.

Insurance:

Volunteers are insured through the ESC’s Henner insurance scheme. Please make sure to have your valid, blue EU Health Insurance card with you. Hungarian volunteers should have their own TB insurance. 

Pocket money:

you will be granted 7 Euros/day pocket money. 

Passport and visa in Hungary:

Hungary is part of the Schengen area, easy to enter for EU citizens with a passport or an ID. In case you need a visa to enter Hungary, we discuss the details and arrange it individually. For information about visas, please visit this site: https://enterhungary.gov.hu/eh/?en 

COVID Situation:

Currently there are no restrictions introduced by the Hungarian government, so it does not affect your travel to Hungary.

Weather:

The weather in October can be quite unexpected, so prepare yourself for chilly to warm.

Currency and banking: 

The currency is Forint (HUF). 1 Euro about 390 Forint. (1l milk = 500 Forint, 1beer = 500 Forint, 1kg bread = 1000 Forint) There are possibilities to change money in bigger cities, but you can pay with credit/debit cards in most shops. You have to have a European Bank account or else, we recommend that you open a Wise/Revolut account before your departure where we can transfer you the travel reimbursement and the pocket money.

Electricity:

The Hungarian electric system operates on 230 Volts, 50 Hz, with round prong European style pugs.

We are off-grid!

In the community we use solar power: we only have sufficient electricity in case the sun is shining, otherways only enough to charge the phones!

 

What (not) to bring? 

BRING:

- comfortable clothes/shoes that you do not mind if they get dirty (in the garden, while working with mud or doing some other work. Best to bring sturdy boots that are safe to work on a construction.

- your own water bottle, rain jacket

- mosquito and tick repellents

- sleeping bag, sleeping mat (and perhaps a pillow)

- towels, toiletries

- headlamps

- EU Blue social security card, masks 

- special medication, documents, if you might need them 

DON'T BRING:

- jewelry, electronics

- pets, animals

 

Basic phrases in Hungarian :

Yes - Igen 

No - Nem 

Hello - Szia 

Goodbye - Viszlát 

Please - Kérem 

Thank you - Köszönöm 

My name is… - Az én nevem... 

Could you help me? - Tud nekem segíteni?

I don’t understand - Nem értem. 

How much does it cost? - Mennyibe kerül? 

 

All about ESC - What is the European Solidarity Corps program? 

All the details you find on this link: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/mission_en  

What to expect from being involved as a volunteer in this program? Here you go. - https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/4-17-3877/Info+kit+European+Solidarity+Corps.pdf

All about about Henner insurance you can find on this link: Henner

Yes, you will get a Youth Pass certificate after your voluntary service, here you can get more information about what Youth Pass is and how you can note your learnings. https://www.youthpass.eu/hu/ 

Local contact numbers: 

- Regina Csatlós, host: +36-20-474-7372

- Balázs Tőgyi, organiser, ecological workshops: +36-30-618-1750

 

See you in Hideghegy soon :)

The program is funded by the Counsil of Europe's European Solidarity Corps Programme.