Monsagro (ESP-12)


Type: Education: Kindergarden, Environmental/Green Projects: National Park - Country: Spain

Brief description and main aims

Main Activities

  • The activities you can do as part of the project are either environmental (the volunteer will be placed in a work team with a few local workers who can guide them through what needs doing. Their hours are usually 07:00-15:00) or working with children (they leave mid-way through September). There is also the option to do a mix of both. The tasks included are listed below (but this is not an exhaustive list)…If they like, the volunteer can also participate in the museum. This would generally involve giving guided tours of the museum, so a good level of Spanish and/or English is important if you are interested! Someone with experience in IT would also be a good candidate for a position at the museum. 

Volunteer tasks

Depending on the area the volunteer chooses to work in they will carry out different tasks. 

Environmental area:
  • Helping maintain the national park (e.g. keeping tourist hotspots accessible and tidy such as viewpoints, paths, etc.)
  • Helping maintain the botanical garden
  • Helping keep areas at risk of forest fire clear and safe
  • Supporting associations that work to prevent forest fires (helping with prevention methods etc.)
Children/young person’s area:
  • Teaching English to the children and the other volunteers (adults)
  • Supporting school staff with carrying out activities, games and workshops with children
  • Participating in the various activities organised by local volunteers
  • Offering their own new activities and games to the children

Volunteer requirements / Skills

The volunteer should:
  • be over 18 years old.
  • have a basic level of Spanish and, if the volunteer wants to work on the educational side with children, an intermediate level of English.
  • be intrested in the environment.
  • have a positive and flexible attitude.
  • be able to adapt to the village’s needs, as these can change!

Location

Monsagro is a small village located in the district Salamanca (Castilla y León). It has a population of around 140 inhabitants, but due to its peaceful beauty and ideal climate, this rises to around 1000 in the summer months.
 
It is located in the national park Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia, and it belongs to the former "Las Batuecas" National Hunting Reserve, made up of various neighbouring towns. It is located around 90km from Salamanca, the region's capital, 33km from Ciudad Rodrigo (to which it belongs in administrative terms) and 3ookm from Madrid. You can easily get to Salamanca/Ciudad Rodrigo on buses that leave daily from Monsagro.  
 
Monsagro has 1 primary school with 5 pupils during the winter, with the number increasing to about 50/60 during the summer months. It has a brand new interactive fossil museum that opened recently, as well as marine fossils over 400 million years old embedded all around the village, such as on paths and on the walls of houses. 
It also has 1 community library, a botanical garden, a recreational centre for the elderly, amongst other things. 
 
It is a quite small place that is fairly isolated. This means that if you are coming from a bustling city, or even a large town, you will likely experience a bit of a "culture shock". 
 

Duration

The project will be available to volunteers for the summer months (June/July – September). It might also be possible to extend this period once the volunteer has arrived and settled, should they want to.
 
If you want to take part in the museum, a long-term project could be arranged.

Hosting Situation (Board and Lodging)

Volunteers will stay in a flat located at the centre of the village with their own bedroom (usually private, but it is possible they share with another volunteer). The bathrooms and kitchen is shared, and volunteers buy and cook their own food. 
 
There is WiFi. 
 
Volunteers are given 100€ per month (by AFAIJ) to buy food. 

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