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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