Would you like to embark on the journey of a lifetime for a year-long paid European Solidarity Corps experience (formerly European Volunteer Service, EVS) on an Earthship-inspired project in Luxembourg? Are you curious about eco-construction, volunteer engagement, the Transition movement and working in an intercultural environment? Are you between 18 and 30 and a resident of the EU?
We have an opportunity for you to step into the Äerdschëff team, starting beginning of August 2019 for 12 months. If you are interested in being part of a great project under the conditions of the ESC European Solidarity Corps programme, write to us at aerdscheff@cell.lu with your CV and motivation letter until 31st May 2019. Looking forward to your application!
CELL is currently working on the design and implementation of an ecological and participatory building project that is supported by public authorities and a philanthropic foundation. We are planning to build the earthship during 2019-2020, so this is an exciting phase to join for. Through this project, CELL combines responses to current societal challenges in terms of energy transition and training in eco-construction. The project that we’re developing is a self-sufficient building, based on the principles of the ‘Earthship’, i.e. autonomy in terms of water supply, electricity supply, wastewater treatment and thermoregulation. The project also has a strong food component. The materials are as far as possible natural or reclaimed/recycled. For more information about the project, see our webpage or visit the Äerdschëff facebook page.
The local community where the project will be realised: The immediate environment is the Canton Redange, a cozy and progressive region on the border to Belgium, 45 minutes away from Luxembourg-City. There are many potential points of cooperation also with the surrounding municipalities.
CELL is organised in a network-like way, so that we have action-groups in different parts of Luxembourg, some in rural, some in urban places. The volunteer can participate in various local transition initiatives and support them.
Luxembourg is an intercultural, wealthy country with an enormous ecological footprint, so it is an interesting place for a non-profit such as CELL to operate in promoting sustainability. It is also a very small country where you will find that contacts and people allow you to open doors and push forward great projects.
We are looking for a person interested in eco-construction, ecology and self-sufficiency. It is very important that the person is self-motivated and capable of working independently, but he/she will be accompanied by a team of technical and general support.
What we can offer to ESC-volunteers in terms of service and learning opportunities during 2019:
– taking an active part in the project “Äerdschëff” in the Redange/Atert region
– acquiring permaculture skills and aspiring to food autonomy on two different sites
– involvement in an intercultural team of part-time volunteers who are running CELL
– self-management and communication skills
– group process skills
– participation in trainings and events organised by CELL
– realising your own heart project in the context of the Äerdschëff
– living in a vibrant social environment with lots of ecological initiatives and a great cultural wealth
The role of ESC volunteers:
ESC volunteers will participate in daily CELL and transition activities, as necessary. They will actively participate in the running of two permaculture sites and they will be asked to pursue their own heart projects developed jointly with CELL.
Possible activities in which the volunteers will be involved and activities the volunteers could create in our organisation:
– Eco-Construction: Participating in the realisation of the Earthship, involving various tasks from organising and gathering materials, coordinating volunteers and logistics, being in contact with collaborating organisations, to hands-on work on the construction site, …
– Gardening: planting, weeding, cleaning, mowing, mulching, seeding, composting, pruning, harvesting, tending, etc. in a vibrant community environment…
– Household management: cooking and kitchen duties, looking after the participants of courses, tending the CELL rooms
– Organisation: assisting in organising and running CELL events, courses and activities, running meetings and steering group processes
– Participation and representation: representing CELL at network meetings, festivals, demonstrations, conferences, fairs, gatherings and other public events
– Administration: updating blog, website, email lists, social media, membership correspondence, documentation, …
The profiles of volunteers we would like to host:
– Experience in Permaculture, Transition and / or self-sufficiency.
– Being at least familiar with self-build situations (chantiers participatifs).
– Being at least familiar with eco-social organisations and ways of proceeding.
– Being passionate about agroecology and low-impact living.
– A good level of French is a bonus in Luxembourg, especially when dealing with local authorities such as in the ‘earthship’ construction project.
– Own way of transport (ex. car), or a driver’s licence is a bonus when working in the countryside in Luxembourg since public transport is limited.
To apply, you must fulfill the ESC criteria, i.e. be between 18 and 30 years old and be a resident of a EU country or one of the ESC Partner Countries (you can find a list here). Please note that we are only recruiting a volunteer for a full year.
Recruitment process:
We will recruit the volunteers on the basis of their motivation letter and the CVs and an interview before the CELL executive board makes a decision.
We would like to extensively interview a selection of high potential candidates before we recruit them, keeping in mind that we are an organisation run by volunteers themselves, and that therefore we cannot realistically contact all candidates.
We would like to ensure the best possible match between CELL and the volunteer, in order for the volunteering time spent with us to be mutually beneficial, inspiring and positive. Please send in your CV as well as a personal motivation letter until 31st May 2019 to aerdscheff@cell.lu . We are not ready to host volunteers under 18!
Volunteer Payment:
Participants of the European Solidarity Corps get their accommodation and public transport within the country paid and receive a monthly compensation of circa 470€. At CELL, they can participate in trainings and seminars for free.
Accommodation:
The volunteer will most probably live in a house-share with other European Volunteers. The accommodation will be in a rural area, but with good public transport connections to the city.
Please familiarise yourself with the process of European Solidarity Corps and let us know in your letter whether you have already looked for a sending organisation:
https://ec.europa.eu/youth/solidarity-corps
Our PIC 935599921
Looking forward to your application!
The Äerdschëff-team
The month of September was dark and damp – or at least our workshops were. Despite the blazing sunshine outside, a sizeable group of curious minds gathered to learn more about innovative uses of mycelium and the perks of having an underground larder.
Maurizio giving us a crash course in the diverse and fascinating world of fungi
On 23rd September, Maurizio Montalti from the Italian company Mogu held a 1-Day workshop in the FabLab in Differdange. Mogu is a pioneer in the field of growing bio-material for construction and other things like leather using mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi. 19 interested participants (even some from Namur and Karlsruhe) got to know all stages of the mycelium growth, from the first thread-like fungal hypha to the dense, finished product.
After a quick introductory crash course in the technology that Mogu works with, all participants were ready to get their hands sterile, and then dirty: propagating “starter mycelium” in petri dishes, pasteurizing straw and corn starch (which our fungi would feed on) and preparing already colonised organic material for our own mycelium xperiments. Using 3D printers and a thermoformer, various artistic objects, lampshades and tiles and were quickly manufactured and served as moulds for the mycelium to grow in. Rodolfo Baïz (Fablab) and Rodrigo Vergara (Äerdschëff) built a low budget incubator that created the perfect conditions for the mycelium to thrive in. Some of the artworks grew particularly quickly and were ready to be “baked” in the Fablab oven after only two weeks (people must have thought we were baking some Pizza Funghi). Waiting is the hardest part, but soon we will hopefully see fungtastic results.
Tina (centre) and Mrs Block (left) in her earth cellar
A week later, the Austrian architect and earth cellar-expert Tina Wintersteiger came for a two day event to show us how teaming up with the elements can save a lot of energy. In her presentation on Friday September 28th in the Beckericher Millen, we learned about different clever storage options for all manner of garden-produce. The concept is simple and has been used for millennia: a dark space that is surrounded by soil as much as possible, in combination with strategic ventilation creates the stable temperature and humidity that fruits and vegetables need to stay crisp for up to two years. Having visited many community gardens, smallholdings and commercial farms in Austria and Germany, Tina presented us a whole inventory of unconventional ideas for earth cellar-inspired storage solutions. Most of us, for instance, were not aware that with a few little tweaks, already existing rooms in the house can become a suitable storage room for certain vegetables.
The next day (Saturday), a group of 12 highly motivated people met for the workshop that gave us the opportunity to ask in-depth questions about our own storage-plans. Every participant sketched their living situation and discussed the different options with the group and Tina. In the afternoon, we visited the earth cellar of Mrs Block in Calmus that she had built and used successfully with her family.
The idea behind both these workshops were directly related to the Äerdschëff – we wanted to get to know materials and techniques that will be implemented in it, while also spreading innovative concepts and potentially find willing volunteers for the Ä-project.
Thanks again to all participants and course instructors for the insightful and inspiring workshops!
Sophia Hafner
Ever wondered how they stored food before electricity?
ÄERDKELLER WORKSHOP
with Architect/Earth cellar expert Tina Wintersteiger (A)
Tina Wintersteiger is an architect and gardener in community gardens. For the book « Basiswissen Selbstversorgung aus Biogärten – Individuelle und gemeinschaftliche Wege und Möglichkeiten » by Andrea Heistinger she carried out building surveys and interviews and gathered knowledge about practices and (construction) techniques around the topic of fresh storage in earth cellars and external storage. Her office « Bauteiler » in Vienna (with Ing. Peter Kneidinger) offers among other things planning services for the construction of earth cellars and other naturally air-conditioned buildings.
FRIDAY
Lecture about earth cellars at 19h at the Millen in Beckerich.
The lecture will be held in german (we are working on a translation into French).
SATURDAY
Practical workshop and visit of an existing earth cellar in the afternoon.
In the planning workshop Tina Wintersteiger would like to respond to the questions and ideas of the different participants.
In small groups everyone will reflect on their own starting point. In a next step we will compile the results and collect topics. Subsequently we work solution-oriented on the topics and specific questions.
The aim of the approximately 4-hour-long practical workshop is that each and every participant can go home with a more concrete idea about their personal earth cellar, like how much storage space is actually being needed, which type of building fits in their context or how big their construction should be.
Apply soon —> limited spaces
Registration open until the 21st September,
please subscribe at: aerdscheff@cell.lu
Prices:
– 75 € Friday+Saturday
– 10 € only Friday
Did you know that fungal mycelium (i.e. mushrooms’ vegetative network)
can be employed as a versatile building material?
CELL Äerdschëff Project is organising a workshop around Mycelium as biomaterial,
in direct collaboration with MOGU (IT) and with Fab Lab Differdange (LU).
The practical all-day workshop, led by Maurizio Montalti (MOGU),
will be held on Sunday, 23 September (10:00 – 18:00) at the Fab Lab Differdange.
After a short theoretical introduction on Mycelium-related processes and applications
(e.g. insulation, tiles, leather, etc.), participants will engage in hands-on learning activities,
with the objective of creating a variety of prototypes by means of mycelium growth.
Date: 23 September 2018
Location: Fab Lab Differdange (115 Rue Emile Mark)
Language: EN
Participation Fee: 100€ (20 participants max)
Please register at aerdscheff@cell.lu
During last few months we have been working hard to make our Äerdschëff even more adapted to Luxembourgish weather and legal conditions so that the building can come material and fully functional.
You can check the results out underneath.
Plan of Aërdscheff
Cross section of Aërdscheff
South facade of Aërdscheff
En raison d’une grève annoncée en France, nous avons reporté la formation au 27 avril 2018.
Formation: Organiser mon chantier participatif
Date: 27 avril 2018, 9:00-18:00
Lieu: CELL Beckerich
Langue: française
Prix : €120/personne
Dans le cadre du projet Äerdschëff, CELL a le plaisir de co-organiser avec Twiza cette formation sur l’organisation des chantiers participatifs.
Objectifs pédagogiques
• Préparer et réaliser un chantier participatif dans de bonnes conditions de convivialité et de sécurité.
• Appréhender le contexte juridique et assurantiel.
• Garantir la réussite du chantier participatif au regard du projet dans son ensemble, et en fonction de ses besoins et de ses ressources.
Programme
Ce sont les erreurs qui coûtent cher. Faites le point sur les bases pour que cette expérience reste un moment de convivialité qui accélère et dynamise votre chantier, une source de plaisir et non de stress.
1. Comprendre la pratique du chantier participatif
1.1 : fondamentaux, acteurs, typologies de chantiers
1.2 : pourquoi faire un chantier participatif ?
1.3 : contexte juridique et assurantiel
2. Préparer le chantier participatif
2.1 : communication et recrutement
2.2 : logistique de chantier, intendance pour les volontaires
2.3 : formalisation du cadre et des engagements
3. Réaliser le chantier
3.1 : phasage et planification
3.2 : sécurité
3.3 : animation et encadrement, organiser la convivialité, journées-types, répartition des rôles
4. Evaluer et équilibrer ses ressources et ses besoins
4.1 : anticipation du coût réel
4.2 : faire le bilan, outils méthodologiques
4.3 : se faire accompagner
Public
Particuliers qui envisagent d’avoir recours au chantier participatif dans le cadre de leur projet.
Prérequis
Aucun. Justement, le but de cette formation est de reprendre à la base. Attention toutefois, c’est une formation intense pour loger en une seule journée.
Intervenant
Cédric DANIEL, fondateur de Twiza, 1er réseau de l’habitat écologique et participatif en France.
Logistique
Pensez à apporter votre repas du midi, sachant qu’il y a sur place de quoi réchauffer et de la vaisselle. Un calepin et un stylo sont les bienvenus.
Inscription
Places limitées à 12 maximum. Inscription valide après réception des frais d’inscription (€120) sur IBAN LU25 1111 7051 6673 0000 (BIC: CCPLLULL).
ou utilisez le bouton ci-dessous
The Tiny Office is sleeping under the snow, waiting for the chantier to start!
Everything is calm now and coverend by snow, but in few months everything will change, the Äerdschëff is getting closer!
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