Sant Antoni’sTower

CODE: CAT11ESCVT/26

Work:

The young volunteers will participate in the maintenance of the Sant Antoni Tower space in the municipality of Jesús (Tortosa, Catalonia). This is a meeting place for young people from different international programs. Young people are not only accommodated in this space, but also workshops, exchanges, and long-term stays are held, starting in 2021.
The house has a capacity for 35 people. The exteriors are being conditioned so that they can be used for different purposes: ecological gardens to employ young people, leisure areas, areas for ornamental plants, etc. With this project, the young participants will help with its maintenance: repaint doors, make posters, paint fences, and make stone constructions, as well as be able to get to know the local community where the project is developed in collaboration with other local partners.
The main focus of the work will be repairing an ancient stone well that supplies water to the house. The well is built using the traditional dry-stone technique.
Volunteers will help restore its structure, paint the upper part, and improve access to it, since it is also one of the most beautiful and emblematic features of Torre Sant Antoni.
Volunteers will conduct the following tasks:
- Break off the damaged stone from the wall and clean it.
- Replace it using mortar.
- Repaint the columns with the house’s color.
- Build a wooden door for the motor.
- Paint the railings that provide access to the well.
- Carry out a social action in the municipality, either environmental or social, in order to reconnect with the local community.

Accomodation and food

The volunteers will share space with other international long-term volunteers in Sant Antoni’s Tower.
The tower is composed of different rooms where long term volunteers live, the group of volunteers from the workcamp will be able to share rooms in bunk beds after another group is leaving , and also sleep in big tents outside with mattresses.
All the facilities are shared with both males and females. As the house is in a natural place, you need to consider that there will be insects and mosquitos.
The volunteers will sleep in 2 rooms of 6 people (in bunk beds), and others can sleep on mattresses in big tents. In case of rain, mattresses from the tent can be placed into the rooms.
No differences between gender in the rooms and participants must bring a pillow and thin cover for nights. In the house, there are 4 showers and 4 toilets, and outside, there are 2 showers.
During the day it can be really hot, so volunteers need to be prepared with hats, sunscreen, and long, thin clothes.
Participants will share toilets, kitchens, and other common spaces with other local volunteers.
Food needs to be cooked in teams of 3-4 people sharing kitchen or spaces outside the house.
WIFI is available and there is no washing machine but laundry in the nearby village of Roquetes.
The place is beautiful but very hot during summer, so please make sure to come with an open mind since when it’s hot we need to adapt. All the technical tasks are outside under the sun, so please, join this workcamp if you don’t care about getting your hands dirty.

Location and leisure

Jesús is a decentralized municipal entity that belongs to the municipality of Tortosa and is next to Roquetes village. Tortosa is close to the mountains and to the seaside (20 minutes by train) in Ampolla. What is the temperature? It depends on the year, but generally the volunteers need to be ready for hot temperatures.
Some leisure activities the volunteers will do:
- Traditional cooking and laughter therapy workshop.
- Workshop of bird boxes.
- Excursion to the beach (train paid by the volunteer)
- Group knowledge activities and movie passes.
- Local swimming pool (the entrance should be paid by the volunteer)
- Kayak (cost paid by the volunteer)
- Visit to the local free museums: https://agenda.tortosa.cat/event/espai-museu-joan-panisello/2023-06-21/ https://lajota.cat/el-cijte/

Project hosted by

The coordinating organization for the workcamps is Obre't Ebre. It is a non-profit association created in 2005. The main area of activity is in Terres de l'Ebre.
The main objectives of the association are to foster the social inclusion of young people, generate socio-community actions to foster social cohesion and the values of cooperation, tolerance, respect, and justice; foster participation to educate active citizens; and promote volunteering as a tool for social cohesion.
In addition to informing, advising, coordinating, and managing international mobility programs in the field of non-formal education. To achieve its goals, the association works with the following programs: awareness, mobility, participation, and training.

Directions to meeting point

The meeting point will be July 2nd at Torre Sant Antoni in Jesús, Tortosa, from 15:00h to 20:00h. (https://goo.gl/maps/qmAVJManm6t8Gshu5)
On the day of the arrival, the organization can be reached at +34 657 288 485 / +34 673 48 69 81. Please inform Obre’t Ebre if you encounter any issues or delays.
During the day of your arrival, the organization will be available on this mobile number, +34 657 288 485, in the WhatsApp group to which volunteers will be added before arrival, and by e-mail at obretebre@sinergia.org.
In case you can’t let them know because your mobile is not working properly, you can connect to Wi-Fi for free at the Barcelona airport.
Please inform Obre't Ebre in case you have any complications by e-mail mentioned above, so we can be aware.
The volunteers will go from Barcelona to Tortosa and Jesús as their final destination.
. By Bus (Barcelona Airport–Tortosa): From Barcelona Airport Terminal 1, there is a bus to Tortosa bus station, located near Parking Exit C. If the volunteers arrive at Terminal 2, they can take the green shuttle bus to Terminal 1. It runs every 6–7 minutes, 24 hours a day, is free of charge, and takes about 10–15 minutes.
The bus to Tortosa is operated by HIFE (https://www.hife.es/) and takes approximately 2 hours. Volunteers can check exact departure times from Terminal 1 on www.hife.es. Tickets can be purchased online (be careful if your flight is delayed) or from the vending machines near Parking C. Each ticket costs 23€, and please, keep them.
Volunteers will spend only about 15 minutes on this bus from the airport because it will take you only on the borders of Barcelona. Once near Barcelona’s borders, volunteers will board another HIFE bus to reach Tortosa Main Bus Station or Tortosa–Peaje.
If the bus stops at Tortosa–Peaje (10 minutes from Tortosa), volunteers will need to transfer to another bus to reach the town center. It may seem a bit complicated at first, but don’t worry.
The bus driver will usually announce if passengers need to change at Tortosa–Peaje, and volunteers can also ask the driver at any time to confirm the correct connection.
. By train (Barcelona Airport–Tortosa): To reach Tortosa, you must first go to Barcelona train station called Estació de Sants. From the airport, you have two options:
Option A-Train (R2 Nord) Take the R2 Nord train from Terminal 2. Trains run every 30 minutes. The journey to Estació de Sants takes about 30 minutes and costs approximately 4.20€.
Option B-Metro: Take the L9 Sud (orange line) from Aeroport T1 or Aeroport T2 to Collblanc. Change to the L5 (blue line) towards Estació de Sants. Metro trains run approximately every 7 minutes. The total journey takes about 40 minutes and a single ticket costs around 4.60€.
From Estació de Sants to Tortosa: At Estació de Sants, take a national train operated by RENFE to Tortosa. The journey takes approximately 2'30 hours and costs around 15€. You can check schedules and book tickets on the RENFE website.
Once you arrive in Tortosa, there are three options to reach Jesús:
Walking (distance around 3,5 km and 45 minutes)
Take the bus L1 (Tortosa Centre - Ferreries - Jesús - Roquetes) and get off at Plaça de la Creu in Jesús. Then walk to the house for around 5 more minutes. Cost approx. 1,75€
Taxi with a cost of approximately 8/11€. Find some contacts at
https://www.serveisactius.cat/es/baixebre/taxi-tortosa https://www.taxis24h.com/taxis-en-tortosa/
Tortosa by car: volunteers can park it inside the area of the house, and they can also arrive in the evening from 15h to 20h.

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