Help to create a Magic forest in old mining Romanian Village!

Magic forest volunteer project – The Village of Dognecea is a very small community in South-Western Romania. I am an architect that decided to try and change the world from within the system. I learned after working in public administration, for 2 years in a bigger city, that the system is as rigid as the people who apply it… and that is why I chose to come and work for this community… because I believe in the people here, who are open and kind and wishes to help the community develop… and also they support my crazy ideas… So this initiative comes from the heart…. from the idea that everyone needs to play and have magic in their lives no matter the age… Feeding the inner child!

The community is small, with around 2000 persons spread over a valley in around 800 homes. There are 4 lakes in the area, some old gold/copper mines, beautiful forests and not the best roads to get here.

My wish is to create opportunities for people to play, for locals to learn and earn and for visitors to feel experiences…

What type of host are you?

Community/Eco-village

What are you looking for help with?

• Building
• Charity Work/Fundraising
• Cleaning
• Computer/Web
• Teaching/Language Exchange
• Farming/Gardening
• Film-Making
• General Help
• Hostel/Hotel
• Writing

What’s the mission of your community?

Being a small community our budget is virtually non-existent, so we creatively wish to open our lands to artists and volunteers and also to attract visitors. So we offer to all artists EXPOSURE and publicity for their work in our Magic Forrest, … and to all VOLUNTEERS a safe and fun space to enjoy nature and local culture while helping us reshape our community.
We also provide food, and rooms with shared bathrooms, a kitchen for cooking and/or camping spots for those who wish to stay in nature. Locally guided hiking trips in the forests. Mushroom picking and fire camps with local moonshine. Sometimes rooms in local’s homes.
For art projects, we can provide all kinds of natural materials and some stuff limited to our budget.
We intend to keep this initiative open during the summer for as long as we can, at least until 2023… to make Dognecea a place for creation and Magic.

How many volunteers could you host?

• Up to 10 volunteers

When would you need volunteers?

All year long, but most effective actions can be made in summer!

How many hours of help per day?

4-5 hours of help per day

How many days of help per week?

5 days per week – 2 days off

Note about the volunteer work and other expectations

We wish to start an OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS and VOLUNTEERS to come to our lands for a few weeks and to work with us: the locals, the artists, the children, and the bystanders, to learn from each other and to enjoy days while creating and leaving behind all kinds of art … a bit of our souls…magic! …. and lights…we must have many tiny lights 🙂

This is the concept for our MAGIC FOREST – PADUREA FERMECATA, a place born from play to express the essence of nature.

Because we are just at the beginning of our project, we have lots of smaller projects like:

• clearing vegetation,
• preparing and cleaning the building where future workshops will be held and Artists and Volunteers will live,
• making a summer garden with a terrace from a ruin,
• small construction repairs
• marking Forest trails
• teaching the locals English language
• opportunities to earn while organizing own workshops for tourists
• making better camping spots in the Forest and around the lakes
• or any good initiative proposed by you!

Are accommodation and food included?

Yes, we offer food and accommodation

What type of accommodation can you provide?

• Private Room
• Dormitory/shared rooms
• Tent

Diet – nutrition information

We offer natural and locally grown products, from the villagers, and from the fresh market… and we invite volunteers to cook their meals. Sometimes we organize local events with the villagers around the campfire, where grilling is involved or cooking on the big pot. Vegans and Vegetarians are welcomed, although Romanians treasure their porc meats highly … we will provide lots of porc specialities.

Fees transparency

We ask for no fees of any kind, all who wish to join us are welcomed to stay as much as they wish and get involved in our projects in ways that are personal and relevant to them.

VISA – could you provide Visa support/info/invitation letters?

Yes, we can help with Visa/invitation letters

Volunteers’ benefits

The artists and volunteers have an opportunity to earn money by making workshops for the locals and for tourists. We support any initiative that has, as a result, cultural exchange, creative play, learning by experience, children education…any other good ideas!
The locals are happy to trail with guests and teach them to forage for mushrooms and pick all the natural plants and berries the forest has to offer.

What to do in the free time

Our area is rich in the natural landscape, like forests lakes, old mine galleries. Our guests are welcomed to enjoy a day by the lake or hitchhiking on the trains in the forest. Alternatives outside our small community involve travelling to bigger cities like Resita or Timisoara… for anything a big city has to offer.

Language

Romanian, English, Spanish (beginner) Italian (beginner)

Geography

We are located in the first row of the Western Carpathian Mountains boarded by the Pannonian big fields… From our tallest view (that also happens to be an old Roman road) we can see as far as the eye can! Our villages are linear organised between hills and forests, and we also have 2 beautiful lakes. But what makes our place special is the mining character that shaped both architecture and natural landscape, remaining are old mine galleries and mining building, most in ruin but with incredible touristic potential.

How to get to your site

The community of Dognecea is accessible by bus, car or bike… our closest big city is Resita, or Bocsa, if volunteers reach these two cities then we can pick them up by car. Timisoara is a local travel hub, with the airport and all the fancy services… from Timisoara to Resita/Bocsa the 100km are easy to manage…

As for covid restrictions:

All travelers arriving from RED listed countries, will need to enter quarantine for 14 days if the following documents are NOT provided:

• Proof of Vaccine being taken
• Proof from any medical unit that the person already had COIVID in the last 6 months
• ANTIGEN test, confirming antigen presence in the body, valid in the last 14 days

So dear friends, if you have vaccine then NO quarantine, otherwise any of the above will help, also must be noted that a PCR Negative test will not be enough to prevent the quarantine restriction according to law. But in our small village, if you have a negative PCR test…. then we will only restrict your movement in the village for the 14 days quarantine.

All travelers coming from YELLOW listed countries will have to enter quarantine if the following documents are NOT provided:

• PCR Negative test valid in last 72 hours

All travelers arriving from GREEN listed countries, will enter NO Quarantine and have NO restrictions at all.

Is there internet access?

Yes!

CONTACT DETAILS🔍📧

See more pictures here👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/654780485203565 ℹ️
004 0731 378 086  – WhatsApp and normal phone 📱

urbanism.dognecea@gmail.com 📧

Hostname: Comuna Dognecea – Ami Florei

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