Bona Fides Association and Fundació Catalunya Voluntària are looking for Polish volunteers for a new ESC project at The Actors’ Space – a renowned international center for theatre and film training located at Mas Fontarnau, a historic 16th-century farmhouse in Sentfores, just outside the ancient city of Vic in Catalonia, Spain. The volunteers will be combining permaculture work with performing arts: a unique mix of hands-on nature work and creative expression.
Place: near Vic, Catalonia, Spain
Dates: from October 2026 to May 2027
Duration: 8 months
Deadline to apply: 17 of September
We are looking for motivated young people interested in combining theatre, creativity, sustainability and life in close contact with nature.
The volunteering project will take place at The Actors’ Space, an international theatre and film centre located in a beautiful rural area near Vic, about one hour from Barcelona. The project combines creative and permacultural activities, including organic gardening, agroforestry, land care and eco-theatre.
It is a unique opportunity for participants to step away from the usual routine, develop new competences, explore their creativity and experience a different, more sustainable way of living in an international environment.
About The Actors’ Space
Artists and students from all over the world and particularly from Europe, have been coming over the past 26 years to train in the performing arts and celebrate creativity. We have been hosting individuals from 18 to 70 years old and from all walks of life on our international summer theatre workshops.
We are currently developing permaculture and ecological projects at the centre. Over the past years, young volunteers (between 19 and 30 years old) have been coming to help create forest gardens and organic vegetable gardens which we aim to develop further. We also want to develop other ecological, sustainable projects, such as tree planting and sustainable irrigation systems.
We call young volunteers to be a part of this change and participate in this project. We offer hands-on experience on sustainable practices such as: organic horticulture, syntropic agroforestry, tree propagation and care, water management and animal care (chickens). At the same time, we offer the Wild Theatre events project, which involves performing outdoors using the natural landscape as a stage(s) for performance. We want to inspire young artists to research and create meaningful art that focuses on solidarity between humans and nature.
Tasks description
1. Organic Horticulture. We expect the volunteers to develop skills in planing and organising the vegetable garden as well as everything related to it: preparing the beds, seeding, planting, weeding, irrigation, care and harvesting. We expect the volunteers to learn about types of soil, types of vegetable producing plants and different systems of growing vegetables, always guided by the Permaculture Principals of Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. An expert on horticulture will guide the volunteers both in practice and in theory.
2. Agroforestry. This task consists on maintaining and completing the three already existent Forest Gardens (pruning, weeding, mulching, planting and harvesting) as well as preparing for the plantation of a large number of fruit-bearing trees using syntropic agriculture techniques (design, fencing, soil preparation, tree propagation, etc.). The volunteers will learn practically and theoretically about Permaculture Design, water-wise agroforestry, soil and plant science and tree nursery techniques under the guidance of an expert.
3. Water capture and Irrigation systems. The volunteers will learn about sustainable water management. The project consists in creating a design to manage the water in the site. It includes capturing the rain water from the mountainside near the house by clearing and creating channels to fill ponds, which will be situated near the orchards.
4. Theatre activities. The volunteers will learn to plan and organise a theatre event, including promotion, audience management, preparing and constructing outdoor performance areas and installations in harmony with the natural landscape, etc. Those who want to, will be invited to devise and perform a theatre sketch during this event, under the guidance of The Actors Space teachers.
The volunteers will be able to participate in 3 outdoor shows performed in a town near Barcelona. These shows are part of an inclusive project promoted by the Town Hall of the city. The 15 actors and the many individuals that help out as crew, are all volunteers and include individuals with functional diversity.
Volunteers will also be able to help once in a while at BCN Studio, a small theatre in Barcelona that offers divers international theatre arts.
5. Maintaining a chicken coop, raising and caring for a small flock of chickens. Raising chickens in a chicken coop, is a way to keep the chickens safe and comfortable, which will increase the flock’s productivity. Keeping chickens is one of the easiest ways to live more sustainably. They help eliminate scraps, produce a natural fertiliser, get rid of pesky garden pests, assist with composting and provide fresh, free-range eggs.
Profile of the participant
We are looking for 4 young individuals between 20 and 30 years old who are creative, love nature, love theatre and love working together as a team, but also who like to be autonomous. Since the house is in the countryside, and there is no public transport, it is a must for volunteers to have a driving licence. It is ideal if volunteers come with their own car. While bikes can be used, the hilly terrain and sometimes steep paths make them a less convenient option.
This is a rural place with not much going on a part from the chirping of the birds, the beautiful views and the rolling of seasons. We look for young people who like the quiet, silence and stillness of nature and do not need constant ‘city’ stimulation.
READ THE INFOPACK FOR FULL INFO
Application
To apply for the project please fill in the application form: Application Form and send your CV and motivation letter (in English) to mariachiara@bonafides.pl and anna@bonafides.pl or contact us for any further information! Write ’ESC in Vic, Catalonia, Spain’ in the title of your e-mail.
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