I had the opportunity to participate in the SJ80 workcamp in Saint Pierre de Cóle rehabilitating a medieval castle called Chatéau de Bruzac. It is a medieval settlement with most of it in ruins where we did mostly clearing of vegetation for the creation of a medieval garden.

The first day we went to the settlement I was amazed by the great potential it has and its great beauty. The owners of the castle, Sonia and J.Pierre are a charming couple who bought the castle 30 years ago. Since then, they have been rehabilitating it little by little, with great enthusiasm. For me it was very satisfying and emotional to see how excited and grateful they were for our effort. 

Besides them, everyone from the village and the castle association welcomed us with open arms and showed us their culture, traditions and places of interest.

The other colleagues of the workcamp as well as the organizers are wonderful people with whom I have lived for two weeks. I have been able to share incredible experiences and build very close bonds with them and I take from this experience true friends. 

Thanks to the organizers of the workcamp everything worked smoothly and naturally, always caring about our welfare and always with very good vibes and a special affection, so without them this experience would not have been the same.

Personally, I have been impressed by this area of France, the Dordogne. Until then unknown to me, it is a natural and very rural environment that has really taken a place in my heart. 

The campsite, our home this two weeks is a very beautiful and calm place, where I personally had great sense of well-being. Coming from a big city, I will miss very much my free time sleeping under a big oak tree or the nights when I could observe the sky at night.

I had previously done environmental volunteer work cleaning beaches or rivers for a day, but I had never participated in an experience like this.

I have also been lucky enough to live in different countries throughout my life and to live numerous experiences and get to know different cultures. 

I can say without a doubt that this volunteering has been one of the best experiences of my life. For the first time I have felt how our work has been truly appreciated and I have felt a special affection from all the people surrounding this project. 

Without a doubt this has opened my eyes to see how necessary and satisfying it is to give our small contribution to the community. 

To conclude, I am tremendously grateful for this experience to all the participants of the project, and to Solidarités Jeunesses, to YES Europe because without them this would not have been possible.