Viking course & Challenge Playground

WORK/PROJECT: SEEDS volunteers will join the construction of a natural obstacle course and a challenge playground in the West of Iceland. The playground is being created and the work will be led by a landscape architect with great experience in this field, who has been working with SEEDS since 2009 in diverse projects around Iceland with great experiences for SEEDS volunteers!

The aim of the project is to develop a stimulating and playful area for children and families. Only natural local Icelandic materials will be used for the construction: Woods, rope, turf, rocks and stones are the primary building materials. Some of the tasks are to build turf and rock walls, challenging play structures of forest wood and ropes, making paths and planting woods.

The site is a youth activity centre owned and run by the Icelandic Sports Federation; the obstacle and training course will be used for the people staying at the centre and for visitors. Some of the main elements to built/jobs for SEEDS volunteers are a climbing wall; low rope obstacles, traditional playground elements, a shelter and landscaping. We will learn the crafts of the Viking days, using old day tools and techniques. We will learn to do rope and wood work and traditional Icelandic rock and turf walling. With these projects we want to establish platforms for recreational/sports use of the local surroundings, as to increase the outdoor use and improve the healthy lifestyle of the inhabitants.

SEEDS Volunteers will receive lessons in turf cutting and turf-walling, which is a traditional Icelandic craft, then produce turf material and at one point build a turf wall. Ideas will be put forth and volunteers will have some say in how constructions will look like.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will stay in the youth centre, a fully equipped house; sleeping in shared rooms. Please bring your own sleeping bag. Food ingredients will be provided and a kitchen will be available, volunteers will share the duties of preparing and cooking meals. Please do not forget some typical food for the international evening, where others can try and taste some specialities from your home countries.

LOCATION: The project will take place in the country side in the West of Iceland; in the district of Dalabyggð ('Valley district'); which is one of the smaller districts in Iceland and one of the most sparsely populated. Agriculture, especially cattle rearing has long been the occupation of the people here. Búðardalur is the largest town in the area.

The valleys of Dalabyggð have much to offer anyone enjoying the great outdoors, with varied landscapes, many walking paths and places of historical interest. Fishing, horse riding and historical walks through Laugar are among the attractions travellers are invited to enjoy in Dalasýsla. Few parts of Iceland are as rich in history as Dalabyggd, where records go back virtually unbroken to the Settlement in the 9th and 10th centuries. On the 24th July 2000, a replica of a Viking ship, Islendingur (Icelander), set sail from Budardalur harbour en route for Greenland and America, retracing the first Viking voyages to North America.

LANGUAGE: English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

TERMINAL: Closest International Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). SEEDS organises the 'minibus option', a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and vice-versa, which apart from being cheaper and more convenient, allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting and tourist sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 180. Volunteers applying for this project should have a motivation for working outdoors. Organised excursions and free time activities for the volunteers! Free access to the local swimming pool.

AGE: 18+