In July 2025, Helena was part of an ESC Volunteering Team that our colleagues from IBO Italia organized together with two social farms near Genoa.
This activity was part of the ESC project 'VEIL-CORPS' co-funded by the European Union.
"I spent 2 weeks with 6 other volunteers on 2 farms in the Genoa area.
The first week we were at the Tutti giù per terra farm. Here we lived with a fantastic sea view in the mountains above the coast. We slept in tents, but also had a house all to ourselves where we cooked, but where we could also sleep when our tents were flooded during storms.
In that first week, for example, we helped out when a group of small children and their parents came to visit. We served food and helped to bake bread. On other days, we fed and groomed the animals or covered the beds with hay.
After a week, we moved to La Tabacca with all our luggage and tents. Now we no longer had a view of the sea, but lived further inland in the mountains. During our time on the second farm, we also looked after the beds and helped to build a new water filtration system.
As both farms were remote in the mountains, it wasn't always easy to do something in our free time.
So we did a lot of hiking and got to know the Italian public transport system. But experiences like being on a crowded bus together for 60 minutes or walking home uphill at 1 a.m. only brought our group closer together.
This meant that we regularly managed to get to the beach, visit Genoa or, as I said, go on lots of hikes, even when the temperatures were high. We also spent a lot of time together “at home”, playing various card games, cooking or simply having a siesta together.
During these 15 days, 7 strangers gradually became a well-rehearsed, functioning team.
We learned a lot about the other cultures and languages. Even if one or two small conflicts inevitably arise in such extreme situations as a work camp, we always respected each other and had a lot of fun together.
Thank you to everyone who made this wonderful time and all these experiences possible!"