Pro Terra Engiadina

Switzerland

Workcamp

Written by Sara Castillo

August 2020

Between July 19th and August 2nd, I was with a group of 5 volunteers in Sent, a village in the Engadine valley. We were participating in the Workcamp “Pro Terra Engiadina”. Last summer I had already participated in this Workcamp as a volunteer and this year I went back as Camp coordinator. As I enjoyed last year so much, I decided to repeat this year. I couldn’t miss the experience!

During two weeks we were working with the local project Pro Terra Engiadina (PTE). PTE is a cross-sector foundation which aims to maintain and promote the natural and cultural landscape and biodiversity in the Engadine valley.

Every day we were working in different (amazing) places and doing different types of work: one day, maintaining dry meadows and dry pastures, another day building wood houses for birds and bats, preparing the goat sheds for the winter, cutting invasive herbs, retrieving branches and stacking them into piles, collecting stones to build cairns… We always worked with farmers and experts and they gave us an insight into the history of the valley and foundation, ecology, and alpine farming in the region. We were very happy and grateful! I think we made a positive contribution to the preservation of this precious cultural landscape.

We had the opportunity to break down prejudices, build connections, and promote peace through volunteer work. I think a Workcamps is a wonderful experience to promote social change, respect for human rights, and cultural exchange.

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