En route to the Wild West

WORK/PROJECT: SEEDS volunteers will join the construction and maintenance of a natural obstacle course and a challenge playground in the West of Iceland. The aim of the project is to develop a stimulating and playful area for children and families.

Mainly natural local Icelandic materials will be used for the construction: Woods, rope, turf, rocks and stones are the primary building materials. The main tasks will be covering an existing obstacle course with protective oil, put down poles for a “spider web” construction for kids, make a Mikado Equilibrium course, make an outdoor fireplace among other tasks. Other tasks may be making paths and planting trees and create a garden grove. The volunteers will assist with building up a youth-camp by assembling bunk-beds and do some light carpentry work.

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. 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.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will stay in the youth centre, a fully equipped house; sleeping in shared rooms. Please bring your own sleeping bag.

Volunteers will be provided with food and be in charge of the cooking themselves. Do not forget some traditional/typical food from your home country for the international evening.

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, with only one town, Búðardalur with about 250 inhabitants. Agriculture, especially cattle rearing has long been the occupation of the people here.

Búðardalur is the largest town in the area. The county has a rich history dating back to the first settlers of Iceland. It is also notable that Leif Ericsson who discovered Vinland or America long before the time of Christopher Columbus grew up in Dalasýsla.

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 language in the camp; basic conversational skills are needed.

TERMINAL: Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).

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 200 (Euros).  Please note that the fees are to be paid to SEEDS on arrival in either Euros or Icelandic crowns.

Volunteers applying for this project should have a motivation for working outdoors.  SEEDS and/or our local hosts will organise leisure activities for the group of volunteers and will include hiking, excursions and possible horseback riding.

Age: 18+