The project
Maintenance at the national historic site (Akagi Castle ruins). Cleaning of ditches and maintenance of turn mirrors in the area. Re-repair of public toilets that have been maintained in previous work camps. Think about what can be done to boost the future of depopulated and ageing areas.
Accommodation & food
Community centre. Bring your sleeping bag. Meals will be cooked by volunteers by turns.
Location & leisure
Nishiyama area, Kumano city, Mie prefecture. It is more than 200 km far both from Osaka and Nagoya.
Sightseeing along the Kumano Kodo, hot springs, BBQ, discussions, etc.
Project host
This project is actively working for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with Association for Promotion of Regional Development in Nishiyama area, Kumano city where is depopulated in Mie prefecture since 2017. There are about 220 residents whose 73% is over 65 years old in Nishiyama area where volunteers will mainly stay. One youth who had joined an international workcamp in the past, has started organizing weekend workcamps since 2011 in Nishiyama area. 5 years later, local people have been getting open-minded to youths from outside of the area. Since the local people are getting too old to maintain public places such as parks or ruins of a castle, they need hands from international volunteers! Last year, more local elderly people got involved in the camp because the volunteers actively helped the work a lot and practiced traditional Japanese dance together. This year, local high school students may be invited to join a part of the camp.
*Outcome of this workcamp: Please see the long term goal of this project as Local SDGs at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/2019-wp5 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!). The local people and vols. sometimes cry on the last days. In 2019, 7 vols. from 4 countries worked well.
Interested?
Enquire below and we'll connect you with one of our volunteering team to help you apply or answer any questions. We can help guide you through the process for a hassle free journey to your next project.