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PARTNER

Host Partner: Rock Farm is a therapeutic growing project open to everyone, restoring both the landscape and people through an innovative market garden model. They grow fruit and vegetables using regenerative, permaculture, and no dig principles, with absolutely zero pesticides or herbicides. The farm is at the cutting edge of embedding productive crops in a forest garden ecosystem, which sinks a large amount of carbon into the soil instead of emitting it and provides the backbone of their sustainability and therapeutic work. Retreats, camping, workshops and horticulture courses are also available at Rock Farm, especially for marginalised people.Rock Farm is part of One Church Brighton, an organisation with several social projects in and around the Brighton area. The farm grows produce on 6 acres of community land in West Sussex, offering access to horticultural therapy and community gardening for a range of volunteers and vulnerable groups.

WORK

Volunteer Work: Volunteers will carry out environmental and sustainable conservation volunteering while learning hands on practice in carbon-negative food production and sustainability. Volunteers day to day task would include a range of skill based learning activities for example: planting trees, growing vegetables, picking and preparing crops. Volunteers will also be harvesting fruits and vegetables which are needed for the market, alongside the potential of some construction work to further enhance the volunteers skillset. Volunteers will be receiving an educational experience alongside the volunteering. Main volunteering tasks will include: Berry Picking Cleaning and weedingTending to plantsLooking after wildlifeTree careEducation sessions with the host

ACCOMODATION AND FOOD

Accommodation and Food : Volunteers will stay in large style canvas tents throughout the project, this is off-grid, sustainable living, so please plan ahead and bring warm clothes and sleeping items.Rock farm will provide dry goods and fresh produce for 2 meals per day, plus one hot meal cooked together with the rock farm staff. All Volunteers are expected to get involved in the cooking process and washing up. Volunteers will have access to 2 showers ( they are outdoor showers, so you will need to bring flip-flops/sliders and a swimming costume. Carbon negative showers only provide a certain amount of hot water per day. One of the tasks for the volunteers is to create the hot water system Rock farm has a small furnished cabin in the camping area for use as a meeting and relaxing area. There are a 4 further buildings/cover for eating and cooking ( including a pizza oven Facilities are basic and this is part of the experience. The farm operates mostly off-grid, so all toilets are composting loos and there is a limited amount of solar-power for charging of phones. It is strongly recommended to bring a battery-pack for your phone, and to embrace having a break from your tech

LOCATION & LEISURE ACTIVITY

Location and Leisure: Rock Farm is based near Steyning, about 20 miles from Brighton. Volunteers will have the chance to visit the local area and go for hikes in the countryside. Visits to close-by sites will ensure that the group get to explore the area and learn about British culture.There are two farm shops within short walking distance if volunteers want to get any food/snacks ( with a further two villages within an hours walk. The accommodation is on the South Downs walking trail, with many beautiful hikes available to the volunteers. The Concordia Leader will help volunteers make plans for their free time ( but volunteers will be expected to contribute ideas and suggestions for activities.Volunteers will have cultural visits and leisure activities will be organised together with the group. Activities will include: Walk to local historic town SteyningPizza Oven nightGames Night Camp FireVisit to Brighton Farwell Party

REQUIREMENTS

Documents and Application: To apply a Volunteer Engagement Form (VEF) is required and letter of motivation with parental consent. ETA/VISA, volunteer agreement, passport, arrival and departure details, medical and dietary requirements, media consent or not.

Host organization

CONCORDIA UK

Concordia is a charity that began after the Second World War. Our aim is to bring people from different countries and cultures to work together towards a common goal. In turn it is hoped this will help break down cultural stereotypes and lead to greater international understanding and peace. There are two ways in which we do this. The first is the long running farm scheme. This enables students from other countries to come to the UK to undertake seasonal paid work and participate in our educational training programme. The second is the volunteer programme which works on an exchange basis; sending UK volunteers abroad and receiving international volunteers to work on volunteer projects in the UK.

The volunteer programme began in 1993 when we hosted our first international volunteer project with the Countryside Service of Brighton. The project involved undertaking environmental work in the beautiful South Downs. Since hosting this project Concordia joined a network of other similar organisations known as the Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations and it is though this network that we exchange volunteers. Today we send around 250 volunteers a year and place over 250 volunteers from abroad on short term projects in the UK. We also offer longer term opportunities for individual volunteers to assist our host organisations for several months called our Medium Term Volunteer Programme (MTV) and have a funded scheme which sponsors a small number of volunteers from the South (Africa, Asia and Latin America) to participate in a UK programme which usually runs for a month this is the Richard O�Brien Bursary Scheme (ROBBS).

Our projects in the UK are all community based and can involve either environmental work, working with children or people with special needs or setting up events which need support from volunteers for example helping to run festivals. There are usually between 5 and 15 volunteers placed on a project and when necessary we place 1 or 2 co-ordinators to help the group outside the work programme.