'Home for All', a.k.a. the Social Charity Kitchen, is a Greek NGO that works to provide food for refugees in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. In addition they organise sanitary supply distributions, immediate response when new people arrive ánd support other local organisations. Home for All maintains an organic farm of 5 hectares of land where a lot of work needs to be done and a number of animals are cared for. There are 800 olive trees on the property and they recently purchased their own oil press, so that high-quality olive oil can be made. Quality is of paramount importance in all activities and the aim is complete circularity. Volunteers are very welcome to support the daily work in the kitchen and on the ecological farm. Many meals are prepared in the kitchen every day. The meals are intended for people in the refugee camp who are ill and/or follow a special diet and for minor refugees who are accommodated separately. Home for All also provides meals for local organizations, including an institution for the disabled.
Volunteer work
IBO volunteers can assist in the kitchen with preparation (cutting veggies), cleaning and tidying up and, possibly, preparing and delivering meals. In addition, volunteers can help the team of refugees and Greeks with sowing, weeding, watering, harvesting and other work in the field and in the kitchen. The working language is English. The work starts early and continues until early afternoon, due to the heat. Sometimes they work for a few hours in the evenings.
Accommodation
There is a house available for the volunteers, a 10-minute drive from the farm. Bicycles will be made available to move from the home to the work location. Two containers will be converted into sleeping places on the farm, so that volunteers will stay and work in the same place in the near future. Breakfast and (hot) lunch can be provided at the farm. Volunteers can prepare dinners themselves with ingredients provided from the organic vegetable gardens, but is is possible for the project partner to provide these as well, in consultation. The team is very flexible!
Leisure
In your spare time you can further explore the island. The location is close to the sea, so you can enjoy a swim or visit surrounding towns and villages. The team is happy to help you find fun excursions in the region and it is also possible to go out for dinner in the evening (instead of cooking yourself) and enjoy the Greek cuisine.
Travel
Volunteers are expected to arrange their own flight to the island of Lesvos in Greece. The volunteer group will be picked up there.
You arrange the travel to your project yourself. IBO asks all volunteers to travel in the most sustainable way possible, so preferably by train or bus. What you at least can do, is compensate your CO2 emissions. You can find more information about this on the website of Milieu Centraal. You can also compensate your emissions via IBO, by donating to our partner’s tree planting project in Uganda. You can read more about that here..
Preparation
IBO offers a good preparation for your volunteering work abroad.You will receive a digital information package and an invitation to a preparation meeting. Read more about the proces from departure until return.
Cost
IBO asks €50 registration fee. In addition, you pay a participation fee of €189 for this project. You can also become an IBO-supporter, then you do not pay a registration fee.
Would you like to know more about how your contribution is made and how it is spent? Read about the costs for participation.
Register
Register as a volunteer at IBO here.