Service Volontaire International - ESC: Volunteer at our Mushrooms Circular Economy Project!

Presentation of the programmeWe are looking for 2 long term volunteers, who will work in this circular economy project called Café Vert! Since 2020, our ESC volunteers are part of this experience. Our cooperative IDC's projects aim to raise awareness about the actual context we are living and to propose and create solutions to be part of a positive change in a social, cultural and environmental aspect. In this project especifically, we will reuse waste to create new life. You will collect coffee waste from cafés and restaurants (by cargo bike!) and mix it with mycellieum to grow oyster mushrooms. Then monitor their growth, harvest and sell them in a local market. And after harvesting, we use that new “waste” in our earth-worm farm, which is great to create new and rich soil for plants. Infopack (dates are not updated): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p2qn87gm761o0k4uwccj0/IDC_MushroomsGrowers3_2025.pdf?rlkey=0ure37wk5kevtmavc98dpbm7n&st=twtdla3l&dl=0

Local accommodationVolunteers will stay in shared rooms with other person of the same sex, in an appartment in the city center of Carcassonne (just some meters from the main square!). All the transport from the city to the campsite, related to the activities, are covered. Volunteers will share the common tasks of cleaning, cooking and arranging the place. We will give the food budget so that volunteers can make the shopping. We don’t buy industrial food and we try to eat as local and seasonal as possible. And of course, we eat very, very local, eco and fresh mushrooms!

About the leisure activities possibleVolunteers will learn how to grow mushrooms from coffee waste (from the collection step to the selling of the products), how to structure and communicate workshops and events, how to participate in local markets, and they will learn different sustainable practices to be more ethical and respectful with the environment. They will be able to lead them after or to propose new ideas/projects around sustainability, local and organic agriculture, intercultural exchange... And help in the communication of the project.

RequirementsThe Participant profile: We are looking for youngsters who want to invest themselves in a new life experience, with lots of challenges and learnings! Motivation to learn how to grow mushrooms is a must! The activities are a bit of a routine, but it demands lots of observation in the details to make sure that the production will go as planned. There is also space for creativity and new ideas, in terms of improvement of the activities, creating cool content to share the project, creating events, etc. French is a bonus! We are looking for volunteers to stay for at least 6 months, and there is the possibility of staying for a whole year. If you are available to come a bit after the date of the offer, it can be possible! Please, send us your CV to [email protected] so we can send you the next steps for the selection process.
Deadline: 04/06/2026 14:26

Extra info about the projectThe project is implemented under the European Solidarity Corps Programme, financed by the European Commission.
The participating organisations have to be mindful of these needs as they are responsible for providing a respectful and trusting hosting environment. At the same time, the organisations participating in the initiative devote a great deal of time, energy and resources to set up a high-quality activity; they should therefore expect that European Solidarity Corps participants show a similar level of respect for the local communities and the people that are directly concerned by the activities (https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en).
What do we provide ?

• Training before and after the project
• Health insurance during your project
• round-trip travel reimbursement
• accommodation and food
• pocket money
• language course
• Return Week-end
• Youth Pass and SVI international Volunteer passport

Before applying for this volunteering project, you need to enroll yourself at European Solidarity Corps Platform (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en) and specify your European Solidarity Corps Participant Number (PRN).
This organisation holds a European Solidarity Corps Quality Label.
Contact the ESC coordinator at +32 2 888 67 13 to get more informations.

Price descriptionProjects from the european commission are free for volunteers