OscailtA volunteering adventureFreezing in Ostfriesland
Breaking news: Italian MP, Sgarbi denounces the Statistical Fraud on COVID-19. The speech of the Member of Parliament Vittorio Sgarbi in the session of the Italian Camera, Meeting no. 331 of Friday 24, April, 2020. Vittorio Sgarbi, denounces the closure of 60% of the businesses for 25,000 COVID-19 Deaths, of which the National Institute of Health says 96.3% died NOT of COVID-19 but of other pathologies. That means only 925 have died of the virus. 24,075 have died of other things.2006-09-18T13:18:47+00:00Indymedia Irelandimc-ireland@lists.indymedia.iehttp://www.indymedia.ie/atomfullposts?story_id=78452http://www.indymedia.ie/graphics/feedlogo.gifIlluminatinghttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1674982006-09-18T13:18:47+00:00Deirdre ClancyI found this article really interesting. I've always wondered whether these holi...I found this article really interesting. I've always wondered whether these holidays were properly regulated in terms of checking the veracity of the descriptions provided and matching people's skills to the right situations. It doesn't seem to me that VSI does its homework if this is anything to go by. The photographs of the bathroom facilities, in particular, are pretty stomach churning, though the house and landscape look as if they have a lot of potential. They should probably have advertised for volunteer plumbers rather than farmworkers.<br />
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Well done on the account - I'm sure it'll prove useful to many people, particularly in these days of rising 'ethical tourism' and volunteer holidays, where there are bound to be some dud operators who exploit people's goodwill (though in this situation it sounds more amateurish than consciously exploitative). The account is pretty balanced in its assessment and is kind where I wouldn't have been. I don't think there's any excuse for getting people into a situation where they're risking illness unless they consciously choose that they're going to take such risks. There's no nobility in that form of living when it can be easily avoided - most people I've come across involved in sustainable living are not subjecting themselves, or more importantly others, to these types of conditions. <br />
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I'm glad you had some good times, though.Idealism to the point of irresponsibilityhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1679592006-09-20T20:43:16+00:00Lara HillFascinating and well-written article. It's interesting to hear about the health ...Fascinating and well-written article. It's interesting to hear about the health troubles the volunteers suffered when one of the main reasons for these types of projects is to improve the health of the planet and its people. I think the scale and over-ambition of this project and others like it is part of their downfall. It seems to me that it might be better to slowly and gradually foster a more sustainable relationship with our food. For example, begin by planting some herbs on the window sill and trying out some fair trade products from the amnesty, trĂ³caire or oxfam shop.<br />
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In general I'm pretty sceptical about eco-tourism. The destination in this article was European, but I'm suspicious if the package involves a long haul flight to a developing country. My understanding is that it would be better to give the price of your 'holiday' directly to the project so they could employ local people living there and save carbon emissions from the flight fuel.<br />
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I'd be interested in hearing about any positive examples of eco-holidays as they often seem more about making the traveller feel better than really helping the environment. Good stuff...http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1680052006-09-21T01:31:05+00:00Jan PalachIndeed, this is a really interesting article and a very good choice to make the ...Indeed, this is a really interesting article and a very good choice to make the features page.<br />
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Well done David and Indymedia.Link to VSIhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1680642006-09-21T14:33:25+00:00ShipseaMore information here:
http://www.vsiireland.org/new_website/bin/content.php?s....More information here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.vsiireland.org/new_website/bin/content.php?show=page&PageID=9" title="http://www.vsiireland.org/new_website/bin/content.php?show=page&PageID=9">http://www.vsiireland.org/new_website/bin/content.php?s...eID=9</a>Thanks for sharing!http://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1681692006-09-21T21:03:50+00:00Eoin DubskyThanks David for writing about your experience, and Indymedia editors for featur...Thanks David for writing about your experience, and Indymedia editors for featuring it here. It speaks to the difficulties of trying to so many things: From the honesty and naivete of people trying to make radical change to a sustainable lifestyle (asap!!), to the possible abuse of volunteer good-will and European volunteer programs for personal/private projects.<br />
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Reading it reminded me immediately of two things:<br />
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A recent article I read in the Guardian or somewhere like that about "Gap year volunteering" as a kind of imperialism (e.g. PDF research paper: <a href="http://www.gapyearresearch.org/TomMA.pdf" title="http://www.gapyearresearch.org/TomMA.pdf">http://www.gapyearresearch.org/TomMA.pdf</a>). Obviously not the case in Ireland-Germany volunteer exchanges, but still an issue in the whole international youth volunteering world. <br />
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Another thing was this article in CounterPunch or ZMag by a sub-editor for some publishing house who do books by Noam Chomsky. She complained that Chomsky spends 99.9% of his book talking about how things are (i.e. what's wrong in the world), and perhaps one or two pages max on solutions. It's always harder to figure out the solutions. It's an exploration, a journey. <br />
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Thanks again David for sharing your journey with us!Another viewhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1681862006-09-21T23:00:58+00:00SleepyI have done two workcamps abroad through VSI. The first was everything I'd hoped...I have done two workcamps abroad through VSI. The first was everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. The second was closer to the one described abroad.<br />
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Both times, on my return I participated in the evaluation with volunteers from other workcamps. The large majority of them were happy with their camp.<br />
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Both times, most of the other volunteers on my camp had done several workcamps previously, and generally found them positive experiences.<br />
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My partner has done about half a dozen workcamps through the SCI affiliate in his native country. He would also say that most of them have been very good, with a couple exceptions (one of which, incidentally, was a German camp).<br />
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The SCI affiliates only co-ordinate the camps, they don't organise them, and this lack of complete control inevitably allows the occasional abuse to occur. I'm not sure what exactly can be done to prevent them, but in my (and my partner's) experience the SCI affiliates do take action when abuses are reported to them and, if they do not receive reassurances from the affiliate in the host country, they will stop sending volunteers to workcamps co-ordinated by that affiliate.<br />
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It would be a shame if anyone who'd been thinking of doing a VSI camp was put off by the above account. If I'd heard myself complaining about the last camp I did, I'd probably be put off myself... but I know most of them aren't like that.Living off wastehttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1681892006-09-22T00:12:11+00:00Paul BaynesOne thing I found particularly interesting about David's experience was the idea...One thing I found particularly interesting about David's experience was the idea of feeding yourself on the waste discarded by a supermarket.<br />
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Throughout the world, a process of urbanisation has been in progress since the industrial revolution. These days, in the global South, a huge movement of poor people from the countryside to cities is continuing. These people usually live in 'shanty towns' made up of self-built housing, and get whatever jobs they can. Failing that, many of them live from the rubbish discarded by those higher up in the social order.<br />
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The attached photo is of a dump in Manila, in the Phillipines, which is used by resourceful slum-dwellers to find produce to sell. There's an accompanying article at the following link:<br />
<a href="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Manilas_Garbage_Dump_Offers_Lifeline_For_Poor.html" title="http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Manilas_Garbage_Dump_Offers_Lifeline_For_Poor.html">http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Manilas_Garbage_Dump_....html</a><br />
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It is amazing that the lifestyles and patterns of consumption of some of the world's citizens are so wasteful that people can live off what we throw away. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant to have to eat rotting food, particularly when you've paid for the privilege!! But it's an interesting idea to try to make use of what has been discarded. I'd imagine it put you in touch with just how privileged most of us are, even to be able to have access to this here internet thingy.<br />
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I know there are some in Ireland who forage for discarded food, including some Food Not Bombs activists. I think it's a great way to illustrate the ridiculousness of the huge material disparities between different sections of the world's population. From both an environmental and a human point of view, there's no sense in living the way we do... but we're all caught up in it.<br />
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I think this Food Not Bombs website is out of date, but it explains the concept...<br />
<a href="http://www.freewebs.com/fnbdublin/" title="http://www.freewebs.com/fnbdublin/">http://www.freewebs.com/fnbdublin/</a>Correction to my earlier posthttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1682092006-09-22T07:26:23+00:00SleepyFirst paragraph should end "described ABOVE" not "described ABROAD".
Told you ...First paragraph should end "described ABOVE" not "described ABROAD". <br />
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Told you I was sleepy.Living Off Rubbishhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1682652006-09-22T12:27:03+00:00David LoganOne of the volunteers who was on the Othala project with me did another one afte...One of the volunteers who was on the Othala project with me did another one after that. I hear that it was really good. They were attempting to furnish a flat entirely with unwanted goods. Here is the blog for the project: Waste not want nothttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1684272006-09-23T12:39:43+00:00Deirdre ClancyStrangely, even local authorities are getting into the living off waste philosop...Strangely, even local authorities are getting into the living off waste philosophy and have provided a forum for people to give away their unwanted goods free at <a href="http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php" title="http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php">http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php</a> <br />
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I think it's ethically commendable to try to use what would otherwise be wasted. Mostly, though, this doesn't have to involve foraging in bins for half-eaten mouldy food - nobody should have to do this (though I know there are situations where people do have to). Any good sustainable project should probably be at the stage of growing its own food fairly early in the day anyway. <br />
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Recently, I read about a successful scheme in the UK where homeless people (who partake of their own accord) are taught furniture resoration skills in live-in scenarios; the furniture is just rescued from dumps. Apparently the restored furniture is walking out of the shops - people love it. It's often very high quality and just needs a bit of work. You can use 'waste' and still have something beautiful; squalour and rotten conditions and bad 1970s decor don't even have to come into it. In this case people are also being taught a skill that helps them out of squalour.<br />
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SCI volunteer projects and recyclinghttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/78452#comment1684602006-09-23T17:17:16+00:00Alma McQuadeI have worked voluntarily with VSI in the past and supported volunteers who stay...I have worked voluntarily with VSI in the past and supported volunteers who stayed in Irish short term projects, as well as going to work with a VSI project abroad. I'm sorry to hear about David's experiences, as mine were so positive. At my work project, we used to have a morning meeting where available work was offered to us. We chose the tasks we wished to do. Accommodation was good, food often donated or grown at camp, but always wholesome and fresh. It was a long-standing, well-recognised project, though. <br />
*All projects in Ireland are voted on by VSI. One of the criteria is that the project is not for individual gain, but actually makes a difference to the community, or to a charitable organisation. <br />
*All feedback by volunteers is listened to, so please feed it back to VSI and SCI.<br />
*SCI encourages eco-friendly travel, lift-sharing, etc. I hope that this does not discourage anybody from taking part in a project.<br />
*Deirdre, check out Sunflower Recycling's new shop in Summerhill (Busybees ? Can't remember the name) and the SWITCH (Saving Waste IT Can Help) Project.