Overview

ID: Romania - 2205, “Community Development”
Location: Transylvania, Romania
Length: 11 Days

ABOUT The community PARTNER

The Community Partner is based in Saschiz, Romania, and their goal is to protect the nature-rich, farmed landscapes of Transylvania and to support the traditional farming communities who have created them over centuries and who maintain them today. Their vision is to give these landscapes and communities an economic future on the 21st century without sacrificing their sustainability and productivity.

SDGs: Sustainable Development

assignment DETAILS

The Saxon Villages area of Transylvania is one of Europe’s last medieval landscapes. It is approximately 300,000 ha, with a population of about 100,000 scattered in about 150 small villages and settlements. Low intensity agriculture coexists with an abundance of flora and fauna, including many nationally and internationally threatened species. It is now seen in Romania, and in Europe, as a high priority area for the conservation of its ecology, and for studies to understand how such areas can be preserved or restored elsewhere in Europe. The 13th century villages have remained unchanged in structure and largely unchanged in size for many centuries. The villages are typically built along each side of a stream.

The Associate will stay at either a former school building fully adapted and equipped to house volunteers, or one of the hotels/motels in the town of Sighisoara (located at about 6 km from the main site of Angofa).

Impact GOALS

The Associate will be documenting a wide range of projects with the goal to improve the living and working conditions for locals, the farming communities and to encourage younger farmers to remain in the area.

These projects include:

  • A pottery workshop in Saschiz whose aim is to revive the traditional crafts of the Târnava Mare area, by combining traditional techniques of pottery with the benefits of modern technology, thereby enhancing the quality and strength of these works of art, and to encourage tourism and education, providing tourists and schoolchildren with the opportunity to take part in pottery workshops.

  • The organisation has built 107 km of mountain bike trails. The trails, which were built across fields and through woodland using only earth and gravel, can get damaged by the weather especially over winter, so the route needs constant maintenance.

  • A project to restore a milk processing plant for Viscri Farmers Association is currently underway. The goal of the project is to design and create a local cheese value chain in the Saxon Villages area of Transylvania (Târnava Mare), which will give added value to the milk produced by grass-fed cows owned by family farmers in the region.

  • Angofa Nature School Project that will allow school children from Municipality Sighisoara, and more widely from towns/cities such as Cristur Secuiesc, Targu Mures, Medias, to enjoy nature classes in a modern and innovative nature school.

Desirable

  • Open to participating in our Mentorship Program where you will have the opportunity to mentor someone from the community in photography, in exchange for assistance during the Assignment.

assignment costs

$3,111.00 USD

Click here to learn about what costs cover. Don’t worry, you can fundraise to cover these and other approved costs on our platform.

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