Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Every week there is some activity in Permatopia. This could be yoga, sauna sessions, mending classes, small festivals or dancing events, or day trips to see the surrounding area, which are all free for volunteers.
There are many possibilities for meeting people when we are working and eating together and at informal or organized social events. As a volunteer, you stay in our common buildings, which is the area where people meet.
Volunteers at Permatopia are mostly young people who come from all over the world and have many different backgrounds. There are many interesting conversations taking place during the day and volunteers here often become friends during their stay.
We consider ourselves a “learning organization”; we don’t have all the answers, but we’re trying to find them as we go along – and we hope that our volunteers will take part in this.
We prioritize teaching volunteers about regenerative agriculture and sustainable living so that you can take what you have learned with you and help spread those ideas in the world.
Agriculture in Permatopia
Permatopia has 7 hectares of certified organic agriculture where we produce a variety of vegetables and fruits – primarily for our own consumption, with some products sold to restaurants. We have a vegetable field, a market garden, greenhouses, permaculture gardens, and a fruit and berry orchard. We also have chickens, ducks, bees, and a few goats and sheep.
We aim to cultivate all of our land using methods of regenerative agriculture and permaculture because increasing biodiversity and taking care of the soil is very important to us. We have a number of composting projects, some started recently, including vermicomposting, hot-composting and bioreactor composting. We make compost extracts to inoculate soil and seeds.
We use our small oak forest for materials, and we manage this and our other common areas with respect for biodiversity.
The daily work is done voluntarily by the villagers and by our full-time farmer Anders, and of course by our volunteers, whose help is very important to us.
We generally encourage you to stay for a couple of months or longer. The longer you stay, the better you can get to know our village and how it functions, and you can learn much more about regenerative agriculture.
The work
We primarily need help in the vegetable production. It is physical work and takes place outdoors.
The core tasks are planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting.
The tasks vary with the seasons:
In spring, we get the soil ready and put thousands of plants in the soil, and we take care of the beds by weeding and watering.
In summer, we start harvesting (and eating!) the crops, and everything grows like crazy so we have lots of weeding and watering. There are still some plantings done. In autumn, it’s all about getting the big harvests in so that we can feed the village during winter.
Other tasks include:
- Sowing seeds and tending to seedlings
- Processing harvest
- Composting/recycling of nutrients
The longer you stay with us, the more varied the tasks can become. Long-term volunteers will also receive more training and be able to handle more advanced tasks. Overall, we think that long-term stays are more enjoyable for everyone.
Workdays are usually Sunday to Thursday.
Accommodation
Our hostess Helle will look after you and make sure you have a good stay with us. She is the one who welcomes you when you arrive.
You will stay at the first floor of our common building, in rooms for one or two people. If there are many people staying with us at once, you may be asked to share a room with someone else. Volunteers share a kitchen and also have access to laundry facilities.
Please note that we only use organic/biodegradable soap/shampoo in Permatopia. So please don’t bring other types with you 🙂
On weekdays, there is a communal lunch and dinner together in the main dining hall. There is always a vegetarian and vegan option available. In the weekends and during the summer holidays (from late June to early August), volunteers cook for themselves.
You receive a cash allowance during your stay, which is higher on days where no food is served.
Please write to:
volunteer@permatopia.dk
