volontariato internazionale, antirazzismo, pace, diritti
Code:NICE-24S-0905A
Where:Osaka
Number of volunteers:10
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Maintain SATOYAMA forest to keep biodiversity and encourage sustainable life!
In the morning, volunteers will work in the forest to maintain. Cutting woods, pealing skins, cutting bamboos, sometimes chopping firewood. In the afternoon, volunteers will have activities such as discussion about environmental issues, bamboo craft, having a lecture about SATOYAMA. Volunteers will get knowledge of conservation work in a forest.
This project is actively working for SDG 15 (Life on Land), organized together with local NPOs, ‘Association to protect nature in Tondabayashi’ and ‘Hamuro club’ since 1999. 67% of land in Japan is covered with forest and 40% of them is human-made planted forest called SATOYAMA, where people used to receive the benefit to live such as food and resources. SATOYAMA needs to be maintained its biodiversity and to keep water adjustment function. Our ancestors had protected and utilized the forest in an ecological and sustainable way, which has been neglected by modernization. We try to revive it with global voluntary power! Most of the members of the local organization are aged 50-70 so they expect our participation of youth and foreign vols. to vitalize the activities both mentally and physically.
Takitani fudo, Tondabayashi city in Osaka. 60 km south of Osaka city Exchange parties, experiencing Japanese culture etc.
Simple local community house. Meals will be cooked by volunteers by turns. Volunteers will take a bath to go to hot spring everyday.
Interest in nature conservation. Adaptability to enjoy a simple lifestyle is needed!
The nearest airport is Kansai (Osaka). To the meeting point, it will take about 1 hour by train. You need to arrive at Kansai airport by 10:00 on the 1st day and can leave the airport after 18:00 on the last day.
Code:NICE-24S-0906A
Where:Ishikawa
Number of volunteers:10
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Painting the long fences, restoration of work roads, planning and managing exchange events. You can make Kamimamakuchi village encourage!
Main works are (1) Drawing on the fences that are near mountain, (2) Agriculture: harvesting rice, (3) Supporting the events with local people, and do some other work for the community.Volunteers get knowledge about actions for developing local village. Also, the basic knowledge of the Japanese language and local culture.
This project is actively working for SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with "Kamimamakuchi village" since 2013, and they tried starting new project with volunteer. Depopulation (especially of youth) is a serious problem here similarly in many other country sides. This village have only 20 families and very few young people. It is difficult to keep traditional culture and community work, so we aim to help keeping this landscape/cultures and telling local village’s attraction by young power! *Outcome of this workcamp: Volunteer had painted fence about 1km! And organizing candle night festival, cultural party! Local people really welcome to coming the new people! Please see the long term goal of this project as "Local SDGs" at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/2019-wp2-188758763 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!).
Ishikawa prefecture is almost middle of Japan. Campsite is very small village located in South part of Ishikawa prefecture. There are rice fields, historical shrine, and beautiful nature. (https://goo.gl/maps/JBr8Py5WowS2) Exchange parties with local people, trekking and hot spring etc.
The community center in the village. There are clean kitchen and toilet. Volunteers take a shower in the kindly local people's houses. Please bring sleeping bag! Volunteers prepare the meals by themselves. Wi-Fi is not available.
High motivation to work hard and seriously and enjoy simple countryside life. Need idea for local revitalization. Speaking Japanese language is welcomed!
Meeting place is "Komatsu station". Nearest Domestic airport is "Komatsu". The closest International airport is Osaka (Kansai). It takes 4 hours by express train. From Tokyo (Narita/Haneda), 5 hours by express train/ 8 hours by night bus (you need to arrive by afternoon of the day before the first day) On last day, you can leave campsite around noon.
Code:NICE-24S-0908B
Where:Nagano
Number of volunteers:6
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
First international workcamp of this place to support the artistic event of mentally challenged people together with the local people and the artists in a very beautiful nature of the mountain area!
We will 1) Support for the art event conducted by mentally challenged adults together with community members and artists (Event is scheduled to be held in various locations to produce large paintings in a field using soil as paint under the guidance of a picture book artist.), 2) Maintain and prepare the art event venues and ateliers, including fields and warehouses and 3) Support the daytime activities, including making things in the atelier (e.g., dyeing plants and trees, setting up weaving machines, etc.). Discussion on activities in the volunteer's home country and local art brut/ outsider art
This project is actively working for SDGs 10 (Reduced Inequalities), newly organized together with NPO WHITE CANVAS, a Non Profit Organization to empower mentally challenged people through the power of art. It was established by Kyoko who was a very active members of NICE with a lot of workcamp experiences in Togo, etc. and the company who had been working with her. Then more members joined when the workshop was about to open. They organize the workshop "TIME WARP" that is a workplace for adults with special needs for weavery, pottery, small garden and embroidery work. They all love art and craft, having big interests on humans. They don't stick in specific philosophies, but anthroposophy is one of their guides. They work and study together with a certified anthroposophical doctor, nurse, curative pedagogistst and Extra Lesson practitioners. *Outcome of this workcamp: In 2023 Jul., we had a pilot weekend workcamp with 13 vols. from Japan and Vietnam that was very successful to convince the values and power of the workcamp through the physical work (clearing the bushes, cleaning the rooms) and active exchange!
The project is located in Azumino-city, Nagano pref.; foothills of the Northern Alps of Japan. 189 km north west from Tokyo, 150km north east from Nagoya. It is famous for beautiful nature as well as the fresh, tasty fruits especially, apples! There are no shops nearby.Exchange parties, hot spring, excursion on a free day, etc.
Volunteers will sleep in the tatami (Japanese traditional carpet) rooms of a separate house near the office of White Canvas. Meals will be cooked by volunteers by turns. Sleeping bag is necessary. There is a shower room, a kitchen and wifi.
Volunteers need to have respect and interest in others and other cultures. Enjoyment of living in a natural setting where one comes into contact with insects and soil. Willingness and flexibility to engage in a variety of activities. Motivation letter is needed!
The nearest international airport is Tokyo (NRT or HND). From Tokyo to the meeting point near the project, it takes around 4 hours by ttain or bus. Volunteers need to arrive at the airport in Tokyo by the end of Sep. 07 and can leave there from the beginning of Sep. 16.
Code:NICE-24S-0911A
Where:Ishikawa
Number of volunteers:6
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Revive the countryside and beautiful village by maintenance of the forests and fields. You can enjoy very beautiful nature and traditional Japanese culture!
We will do various work to activate the area and success their culture. Main work are (1) maintaining/harvesting rice and vegetables’ fields for sustainable life (2) communicating with local people. And do some other work for the community.Revival of the abandon villages. Bring some info.! Volunteers get knowledge about actions for developing local village. Also the basic knowledge of the Japanese language and local culture.
This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with Shizentaiken Ozuchi Mura since 2013, founded by local people to keep the original landscape. There were 140 inhabitants with 20 houses in 1916, but now only one person lives there. Still 10 houses remained and the area was designated as Nation's Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings. We will try to improve the situation by young voluntary power. Since 2016, Ozuchi village and NICE have started weekend workcamps and over 400 vols. joined here per year and love this village! Local host hope to pass this village down the next generations! *Outcome of this workcamp: This village had become abandoned, but one of the former villagers was maintaining the terraced rice fields alone from his home in the town. But through the workcamps working together with him, he has gotten so empowered that he started living there again since 2018!
The southwest part of Ishikawa prefecture. Ozuchi village is surrounded by mountains, so very isolated, but beautiful place. Charcoal making was main industry. Exchange parties, trekking and hot spring etc.
Renovated house (traditional house!). Simple shower room. Clean toilet. Sleeping bag is needed! Food will be cooked by volunteers. There is a cat. Wi-Fi is available at the base facility, but internet access may be difficult due to the mountainous terrain.
High motivation to work hard and simple life in the isolated area and respect to the local culture and way of the local organization!
Nearest Domestic terminal is Komatsu. International airport is Osaka (Kansai) or Tokyo (Haneda/ Narita). From Osaka, 4 hours by express train. From Tokyo, 5 hours by express train/ 8 hours by night bus (Meeting time is First day's 2 pm, Departure time is Last day's 12 pm at Kaga-Onsen station)
Code:NICE-24-1009A
Where:Shimane
Number of volunteers:12
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Supporting a local festival related to Shintoism to activate local people and to hand over traditions to the next generation!
Volunteers will mainly prepare and join the local festival. Cut bamboos to make lanterns and some small tools to be used in the festival. Volunteers will also need to practice traditional music in every evening with local people to play and walk around the village at the festival. Volunteers will also organize a program in the elementary school to promoting both inter-cultural learning and also, the festival to the children.You can get the knowledge about Japanese traditional festivals and customs.
This project is actively working for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDGs 15 (Life on Land), organized together with the local group, “executive committee of Light and Tradition festival” since 2011. Recently, aging and depopulation of the area is getting very serious as well as many other rural villages in Japan. They expect the workcamp to activate local traditional festivals related to Shintoism, which is Japanese traditional religion. This event is combined with 2 events called “Bamboo Lantern Festival” and "Gaku-uchi" which locals play Japanese drums and flute with walking around the village to wish for the productiveness of grain. Local people want us to know their traditional cultures to be succeeded to the next generation.
Misato-town is located in the middle of the Shimane prefecture, famous for Iwami silver mine as a world heritage. There is hot spa, some famous shrine as origin of Shintoism. Japanese Shinto music and dance, home staying, lecture about traditional cultures.
Local community center. Meals will be cooked by volunteers by turns. There is a shower room.
Interested in Japanese old culture, positive attitude to communication with local people
The nearest int'l airport is Kansai (Osaka). From Osaka to the meeting point in Shimane, it takes 6.5 hours by highway bus and train. Volunteers are recommended to arrive there one day before workcamp starts. Hiroshima airport is also available by take a flight from Kansai airport, it takes about 4 hours to the meeting point by train and bus. Volunteers need to arrive at the meeting point by 13:00 on first day and can leave there after 13:00 on last day.
Code:NICE-24S-1016A
Where:Nagano
Number of volunteers:8
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Organic farming and nature life in the beautiful and traditional mountain communities in Japan. No road for cars, the only way to reach there is by walk for 1.5 hours!
Volunteers will stay and work in Maki for some days and Tateya in other days. The work will be mainly helping organic agriculture (cutting thatch, harvesting/ threshing rice, selecting beans, taking care of goats, cows and chicken) and also carrying the things from the town to Maki, renovating the trails on the way, helping the house works especially cooking, etc. Be ready to work for quite a long time (05:30-18:00 with some brakes) and hard! Similar type of communities in each country and their networking
This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 10 (Reduced Inequalities), organized together with Kyodo Gakusha since 2000, a cooperative community where people with various backgrounds such as mentally disadvantaged, people who are tired of city life, who want to learn farming, who want to live in the nature, etc. They have 5 communities in Japan incl. Maki and Tateya and grow animals and vegetables in ecological, organic way. Maki is located in a very isolated area (not accessible for cars and we have to walk 4 km in the mountains!), so it once became an abandon village in 1970s and then, was revived by Kyodo Gakusha. Over 10 people incl. 2 families were living till several years ago, but less and less in these years (almost nobody in the winter), so vols. are needed even more! Tateya is located on the hilly (less than Maki, but still a bit isolated) area where 30-40 members live and mainly do rice farming as well as growing cows and chicken. *Outcome of this workcamp: In 2023, we had 4 short term workcamps and 1 LMTV project with 13 vols. who greatly contributed to their protecting the houses, farming and caring animals that was difficult to finish by the time they needed without volunteers! See the long-term goal of this project as Local SDGs made by the previous project leader at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/2019-ep3-188767935 (only in Japanese, sorry, but you can still enjoy the pictures!)
Both are located in the beautiful places near “Japanese Northern Alps”. Maki is in about 900 meters asl. and there is something remained here that most of Japanese areas have lost in modernization. Tateya is surrounded by the farms and 40 min. walk from the train station. Exchange program, Excursion on a free day (possibly to Hakuba, a famous tourism spot), etc.
Maki: Volunteers will sleep in a few rooms of the volunteers' house that is a very beautiful cultural heritage and equips the basic facilities such as water, electricity, toilets and a bath room! They will have meals, meetings and social life with Kyodo Gakusha members in the main building (just 30 meters far). Meals will be cooked by together with the members by turns. Sleeping bag is not necessary.
Volunteers need to have high motivation and patience to keep the hard, long and important work in the very isolated, natural place and to respect the way of the local host. No special skills nor experiences are needed. Motivation letter is needed!
The nearest international airport is Tokyo (NRT or HNH). From Tokyo to the meeting point near the project, it takes 5 hours by express bus. Volunteers need to arrive at the airport in Tokyo by the end of Oct. 15 and can leave there from the beginning of Oct. 25.
Code:NICE-24S-1117A
Where:Kumamoto
Number of volunteers:10
Language:English
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Let's stop climate change through the carbon offset and bamboo charcoal and enjoy nice exchange with local students and people!
Climate change, eco life, forests and future plan about Minamata. Bring some info.!
This project is actively working for SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDGs 15 (Life on Land), organized together with NAP (Nobel Application of Plant resources) since 1992 and since 2016, as a part of SCC (Stop Climate Change) projects initiated by NICE with NVDA (Asian network). NAP is a local NPO to recover natural ecosystem cycles. Minamata had experienced the terrible industrial pollution though it is completely safe and clean now. As well as many other parts of Japan, bamboo trees, originally brought from China by human being, are severely spreading and damaging the eco-system. Also, the beaches have a lot of rubbish, but when it’s clean, there is a lot of sea food such as oysters and sea urchins. Rehabilitation of seaweed forests has been done since several years ago. The workcamp has been stopped due to COVID-19, but finally revived since 2020 by this project! *Outcome of this workcamp: Workcamps have made various kinds of great impacts to create a forest on the reclaimed land, etc. In 2019, 4 LMTVs from 4 countries and 6 STVs from 5 countries, together with local people, maintained 1ha of bamboo forest, made 541 kg of charcoal and reduced 1.1 ton of CO2 emission. In 2023, 5 vols. worked very well! Please see the long-term goal of this project as Local SDGs athttps://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/17-82084627 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)
South west in Kyushu islands. People are cheerful and many of man like to drink sake!! If lucky, you could enjoy parties under cherry flowers!
Community center (Volunteers will borrow the bathrooms of neighbors that creates nice exchange). Cooked by volunteers. Sleeping bag is needed! Moved by the bicycle.
Be able to ride a bicycle. High interest in environmental issues and their activities, big motivation to work hard, open mind, cooperation with others. Any experience and skills of the environmental work, Carbon research and Crowd funding are welcomed!
The nearest airport is Kagoshima and there is LCC from Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka. From Kagoshima airport to the meeting point, it takes 2 hours by bus. You need to arrive at Kagoshima by 11:00, Tokyo by 07:00 and Osaka by 06:00 on Nov. 17 and can leave there after 20:00 on Nov. 30 from Kagoshima and mid night from Tokyo/ Osaka.
Please see the presentation of the volunteer for the IVS contest in Japan https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/17-82084627 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)
Code:NICE-24S-1201A
Where:Kagoshima
Number of volunteers:7
Language:Japanese
Extra-Fee:9000 JPY
Age:18+
Working in the flower farms of the southern island. Vols. need to speak very good Japanese!
The volunteers will be spilt into 3 farms (without change in the whole period) and mainly help to harvest the flowers and other farm work such as selection and rapping of flowers. Farm work will be 5-6 days in a week usually around 08:00-18:00 (sometimes, even longer) with lunch break in 12:00-13:30. There will be some pocket money to be used for meals (besides the lunch on the working days) and a part of the travel cost to the island. Thus, there are some possibilities to have another public work once a week such as beach cleaning and activities at the elders home though not sure. Local SDGs (2030 goals) of Erabu
This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with a group of farmers since 1995. The project has been held mostly in March and this is the 3rd time to be held in the summer since 2019. The project started by the links with the President of NICE who had a farm stay here in his student days. The island has rich, beautiful sub tropical nature with corral leaf on the beach without being polluted by the tourism. As the location is isolated and very far from the cities, they can hardly get the paid workers to help their farm work, so vols. help it to protect their industry and life! Thus, the volunteers can learn a lot from the natural and local life, by that many of them become a big fan of the island! *Outcome of this workcamp: Workcamps have greatly contributed to the farmers (not to waste the flowers due to lack of working power) in 2023 by 3 workcamps with 10 vols.!
Okino erabu island. It originally belonged to Ryukyu kingdom of Okinawa islands which deeply effects the culture. It had been once occupied by the USA after the World War II, but returned back to Japan in 1953. Birth rate is one of the highest in Japan since people help each other like a big family:) Excursion on the island (limestone cave, etc.) on the free days, welcome/ farewell parties, swimming in the beach, sea turtle (or if lucky, also whale!) watching, etc.
Local house rent for the volunteers with some sleeping rooms, bath, kitchen, toilet, etc. Meals will be cooked by the volunteers themselves besides the lunch on the working days that will be provided by each farm.
Good Japanese (no problem for the daily and work conversation). Respect to the culture and farm life and high motivation to work hard. You don't need much power, but patience to keep (and positive attitude to enjoy!) the same work
The nearest international airport is Naha. The ferry runs every day (Naha 07:00 - Wadomari 14:10, Wadomari 12:00 - Naha 19:00. 5,760 JPY for one way). Vols. need to arrive at Naha by the end of Nov. 30 and can leave there after the beginning of Dec. 21.
We can open the place for international volunteers ONLY IF we already have a Japanese volunteer or resident in the same period.
Lunaria - Associazione di Promozione Sociale
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Lunaria ha ottenuto nel 2021 i label di organizzazione accreditata nell'ambito dei programmi Erasmus+ e Corpo Europeo di Solidarietà. E' stata premiata come Best Practice europea nel 2015 e nel 2017 per i progetti di Capacity Building con paesi partner. Né la Commissione Europea né le le sue Agenzie sono responsabili del contenuto del sito dell'associazione.