Days Off

By volunteering under the ESC programme, we are given 10 days off per month (national holidays are not included). For most projects, this means having the weekends off, plus two additional days off per month. But here, we can take our days off whenever we want.

That means that weekends are not necessarily days off, and most of the time, we do work during them. But we can still take them off if we want to. And that really goes along with the spirit here, where you don’t live according to a specific schedule, but rather by following nature and the seasons.

It can also be a little tricky. In my case, I kind of forgot to take my days off at the beginning of my stay, so I have quite a lot of them left now. I will never be able to take them all before leaving, and I don’t really want to be completely away for my last month here anyway.

Once you get into the flow, I would say it’s quite easy to forget about them, especially when you are enjoying your time here. Also, we are free to listen to our needs and the needs of our bodies when planning our working days. This means that we can have a lighter day one day and a heavier one the next.

A lot of variables can affect the way we work, when we work, and when we decide to take our days off.

Overall, I think we have lighter days than usual, probably because this place needs attention all the time. We cannot stop taking care of the living beings here just because it’s our day off. That’s also why it can be difficult to have time off all together, and it makes it even more special when we do.

Zoé