3-4 weeks May workcamp between 7th May — 4 th June

Autumn Camp: 24 Sept — 16th October

£75 – €100 per week – one week deposit

Both workcamps provide an opportunity to join the work rhythms of the Centre, to learn natural building methods, organic gardening and to participate in authentic community building which includes the building between people in communication, trust and appreciation. People often elect to stay on after the May workcamp and join our summer staff and there are often opportunities for extending your stay in this way. In the camps we are building and maintaining physical structures, and we are building and enhancing interpersonal ones as well. All of our workcamp projects give excellent opportunities for gender role reversal as you can see from the photos on this page depicting workers from our previous camps.

In addition to the main building and renovation projects there is spring housecleaning, our ground floor rooms need beautifying with fabrics and paintings, crazy paving will continue as will shoring up drywalls, the organic vegie patch gets turned and planted, and of course there is the support team to help with cooking, cleaning, gardening etc.

In October we convene a second workcamp (2-16 Oct) to carry on whatever work remains unfinished from the May camp and to pack up the Centre. This two-week October camp is the time when we put our two Campuses (Kissos and Anilio) to bed. There is work to do in getting the gardens ready for the winter, we knock down the temporary workshop spaces and pack them up, we do a bit of minor maintenance of the buildings, for example, painting and wood preserving. Often there is some pruning and planting and tree work as well. Aside for this, we always need a support team to help with cooking and autumn cleaning.

As usual, working and sharing together as a team engenders a strong community feeling and the feedback on the October workcamps over the years has been consistently positive. As opposed to the excitement and strong energy of the May workcamp when we ready ourselves for the season, the October camp is mellow and quieter, as is keeping for the onset of winter and our season to go inward and reflect on our accomplishments over the summer season and to give ourselves feedback and to envisage next year's season. As it gets cool to cold as October progresses, warm pullovers are useful and we sleep under blankets. The month is usually a dry one, with the days being crisp yet still warm till about 4 pm.

Rhythm

Working daily and planning together in a team engenders a powerful community experience, of which the morning after-breakfast council circle is an integral part. We don't go to work till we know where we all are and what we want to do and who is going to do what. Sometimes this needs to be a 15-min check-in, and sometimes it is an hour-long or more deep sharing. In the camps we expect team members to put in about 30 hours of physical work a week with one full day a week off to relax and enjoy this remarkable region of Greece, still unspoilt by foreign tourism. Everyone shares in the cooking and meals cleanup. There is plenty of free afternoon time to enjoy the beaches and, in May, the late spring flowers along the forest paths.
In October, there is an autumnal tranquility, and although evenings can be cool, the sea is at its warmest of the year, and most days are sunny and warm, with occasional showers. By the last week of September we have the spectacular beaches of the East Pelion virtually to ourselves.