EVS WWOOF other possibilities...


European Voluntary Service is an EU funded volunteer programme to encourage social cohesion between EU member states. It is open to anybody between the ages of 18 and 26 from an EU member state or an applicant member state. It is also possible to qualify for EVS if you are from a non-EU East European country, a non-EU country bordering on the Mediterranean, or a country in South America. An applicant must apply through a 'Sending Organisation' in his/her own country. These organisations are registered with a State agency in that country and may be a youth or other type of organisation. For countries outside of the EU, where state agencies have yet to be established, application is made through an appointed coordinator. Further information about this can be had by e-mailing us.Voluntary service is normally for 6 months to 1 year. Travel and training expenses are paid for by the EU and a pocket money allowance is given. Full board and lodging is provided by the 'host organisation', Aisling Árann in this case, which also provides on-site training and mentoring. There are four volunteer positions available through EVS. The work involved includes:

The four volunteer positions are:
  1. Self-sufficiency - household duties
  1. Self-sufficiency - organic gardening
  1. Self-sufficiency - building & maintenance
  1. Publishing - guide-books, an on-line magazine and websites

Each position is described below:

1. Self-Sufficiency (Household):
Your work will be located in the house and the close surroundings. In the house itself, you will have responsibilities for making bread, jam, wine, etc. You will also have a part to play in hospitality, waste management, and creating a good atmosphere among all who live there. Outside you will have responsibilities in the kitchen garden, the herb garden, in the plastic tunnel (greenhouse) and with the chickens, ducks and geese. For this work you need to be friendly, welcoming and a good practical organiser.

2. Self-Sufficiency (Organic Gardening):
Your primary responsibilities will be in the main gardens associated with An Charraig. These gardens are in different parts of the island and you will travel to them mostly by bicycle. Your work will include planning, ordering, sowing in trays, using heated beds, watering, collecting seaweed, making beds, planting, weeding, earthing up, working in tunnels (greenhouses), harvesting, preserving. You will need to be strong, fit and really interested in this work.

3. Self-Sufficiency (Building and Maintenance):
Aisling Árann has a number of properties where work is ongoing in building and maintenance. You will have opportunities to learn such things as: build dry-stone walls, thatch a roof, construct structures in stone and in wood, do plastering, wiring, plumbing, repair roofs, hang doors, and many other works that need to be done. There is also car and machine maintenance. You will need to be a practical person, interested in solving practical problems, and able to operate various simple tools.

4. Publishing - online magazine, websites and guidebooks:
Aisling Árann has an office at An Charraig where you will have your main responsibilities. The office publishes a regular internet magazine (the AISLING), a number of web sites, and language editions of a guide-book for Inis Mór. You will have opportunities to work in all of these areas as well as to help with keeping accounts and general maintenance of the office. Good computer skills and good English are essential as well as a real interest in this type of work and in the aims and objectives of Aisling Árann.

Applications for EVS position
To apply for an EVS position at An Charraig, please send an e-mail to aismag@iol.ie with the following details: