Accueil Famenne – Rochefort

Looking for two volunteers

Trip type

ESC Volunteering

City + Country

Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium

Dates of the next project

From 1st February 2027 to 31st January 2028

Deadline to apply

28th of September 2026 at 23h59 CET

Hosting organisation: Accueil Famenne

Accueil Famenne is a non profit organisation whose social aim is to welcome, accompany and support people whose basic needs are barely or not met, without any distinction of origins or believes. It aims to promote fraternity, solidarity, equality and social justice in Rochefort and surroundings.

Accueil Famenne has three main axis:
– A hosting venue “L’élan“ for single-parent families and isolated and financially disadvantaged people
– A food bank for people of Rochefort and surrounding facing financial difficulties
– A second hand shop “Li Gurnî“ working according to circular economy principles; providing affordable house items, whose benefits goes to financially support to two first axis.

Accueil Famenne works with economically disadvantaged and/or morally isolated people. It adresses its first activity to any adult and family in Brussels and Wallonia, while the food bank is destined to people from Rochefort and surroundings.

Support organisation: CBB

Check us on Facebook, Instagram and take a look at our website!

CBB is a nonprofit, apolitical youth organisation recognized and financially supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. We propose different activities based on volunteering and nonformal education: local and international workcamps, short and long term volunteering services (including ESC), leisure time activities for and with disabled people, camp leaders trainings, etc. CBB is active within the different European programs of volunteering and non-formal education since 1997 and also hosts ESC volunteers each year.

CBB’s role as support organisation is to:

Promote the project and links between local and international associations
Support the selection and preparation of European volunteers before arrival
Manage administrative matters such as budget allowances, creation of bank account, enrollment at the municipality, insurance contracts
Write the activity agreement
Provide pedagogical support for the volunteer and the hosting organisation by ensuring the participation to the NA seminars, organising evaluation meetings with the volunteer and the hosting organization to reflect on learning outcomes
Handle practical arrangements, including accommodation, health insurance, French lessons, online language tools, etc.
Create networking activities with all ESC volunteers of the hosting organisations we support

The volunteers will be involved in the three aspects of Accueil Famenne's activities :

All these activities take place within the organization’s own facilities, which cover nearly 2 hectares.

1. The hosting venue "L'élan"

The hosting venue is a shelter for people experiencing social difficulties and victims of domestic and/or intra-family violence. This service helps people recover and maintain their independence and balance in a more sustainable way.

During their stay in the shelters, beneficiaries are supported by social workers and educators in various aspects of their lives. The team also offers beneficiaries a range of activities : gardening, sewing, parenting, cooking, art therapy, sports, etc. As children make up around 40% of the residents, some activities are specifically designed for them, such as cooking, crafts, climbing, painting, cinema, bowling, etc., and also have specific objectives.

Your task as a volunteer will be to take care of the vegetable garden :

There is a vegetable garden that has been restored by previous volunteers. You will be asked to continue the work that has been started. Specifically :

Think about which vegetables to plant and how much.
Landscaping the site: building pallet benches, a picnic area, creating paths, structures for climbing plants, planting hedges or trees, etc.
Sowing, planting, maintaining, and harvesting various vegetables, pruning grapevines
You’ll learn how to use specific tools for these different tasks

And to help the head chef prepare meals for the residents:

Learn and prepare local recipes
Learn how to use professional kitchen equipment
etc.

2. The food bank

The food aid service provides support to part of the population of Rochefort. The distribution of food parcels is managed by local volunteers twice a week.

Your tasks as a volunteer will be to support the food aid volunteers :

Assistance with collecting unsold items: twice a week, local volunteers visits local supermarkets and bakeries to collect unsold items. You will accompany them in this task.
Assistance with preparing packages: twice a week, local volunteers prepare the packages to be distributed. Here too, you will assist them.
Help with distributing food packages on Tuesday and Friday mornings if needed;
Support during “coffee receptions” and awareness workshops, organized by the service’s social worker in order to build a relationship of trust with beneficiaries
Depending on the volunteers’ wishes, it would be possible for them to organize cooking workshops to offer to beneficiaries in order to introduce them to their culture, or to raise awareness on alternative diets.

3. The second hand shop "Li Gurnî"

The second-hand store is run by two employees supported by 14 local volunteers. Li Gurnî operates entirely on donations. People can drop off their items directly at the store or use a free home pickup service.

Your tasks as a volunteer will be to renovate, customize and upcycle second-hand furniture :

Assistance with collecting donated furniture;
Inspiration and design research;
Repair of any damage to the furniture;
Sanding, stripping, or air blasting;
Customization: decoration, painting, tie-dye, decoupage, replacement of hardware, etc.; possibly,
complete repurposing of the furniture to make something else.

And to help the employees of the shop :

Help sorting donations according to item type (clothing, tableware, electronics, decorative items, etc.);
Arranging shelves and working on item presentation;
Providing support during the organization of special events (e.g., clothing swaps).
Help with general store maintenance (cleaning, tidying up, etc.)

Developing a personal project:

Thanks to its infrastructure and the variety of people involved in its project, Accueil-Famenne offers a wide range of learning opportunities for volunteers. The organization also gives volunteers plenty of scope to set up a project which, while in line with the values upheld by the structure, is personal to the volunteers
and allows them to explore other avenues of learning than those initially planned within the project.

Accommodation in Rochefort

Accueil Famenne is located in Rochefort, in the Belgian province of Namur. It is a small town of around 12 000 inhabitants with an active cultural center, a youth center, a library, a few bars and historical landmarks, and some shops.

Nevertheless, the closest train station is 5 km away from the town. Buses run every day, though on Sunday they are less frequent. Hence, the volunteer must be aware that rural areas in Belgium are not very well connected, but remain close to the cities. Marche-en-Famenne and Dinant are the closest towns. Bigger cities like Namur, Bastogne and Liège are reachable through bus and train.

The volunteer must appreciate living in a semi-rural area such as Rochefort.

This project is therefore very suitable for volunteers who are not attracted by a very lively nightlife, but mostly by quiet evenings and outdoor activities during the week-end.

The country - BELGIUM

Squeezed between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium is one of Europe’s tiddlers.
The north is flat, the south dominated by the picturesque Ardennes and the 65km North Sea coastline monopolized by resorts, except for a few patches of windswept dunes. The 4 seasons are well divided, cold and white winter and warm and sunny summer… But be ready to grey sky at least a half part of the year.

But the Belgian population is usually warm. A lot of cultural and free events in the streets happen during the year, which can make your journey in this little country fun and resourceful.

This project will be taking part in the south of the country which is French speaking. Be therefore ready to learn and speak French! Especially in this project involving kids.

Specialities : FRIES, BEERS and FESTIVALS
AREA: 30,518 sq km
POPULATION: 11.420.163 million
CAPITAL: Brussels (pop: 1.191.604)
REGIONS: Flanders (North), Wallonia (South), Brussels – Capital
COMMUNITIES: Flemish, French and German speaking community
LANGUAGE: Dutch (±59%), French (±37%) and German (±1%)
CURRENCY: Euro

Working Hours

Working hours will usually be from 08:00 until 16:00 (with one hour lunch break), from Monday to Friday. However, we ask you to have some flexibility about this. You will have an average of 35 hours a week. Weekends will usually be free except exceptional cases.

Food

You will receive a budget and will prepare your own meals.

Pocket Money

Participation in the European Solidarity Corps is free of charge, except for exceptional contribution to travel costs. You will therefore receive free board and lodging during the whole activity. In addition, you will receive pocket money for personal expenses throughout the duration of the activity, including holidays.

Accommodation

You will live in a house that will be shared with other volunteers. You will have your own private room. There are two volunteers’ houses in Rochefort. Depending on which house you live, you’ll be 250 or 650 meters away from Accueil Famenne.

Insurance

You get covered, throughout the activity period, by the obligatory European Solidarity Corps insurance plan (Henner) that the European Commission sets up. This coverage is only complementary to the mandatory coverage of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which you must obtain prior to departure.

In certain cases, when national rules deprive participants from coverage under EHIC for the duration of the placement, Henner will provide full coverage. However, you must provide proof that obtaining the EHIC in your case was not possible. You should contact your National Agency for advice on your specific circumstances. You must read carefully the insurance-related information here.

Language course

EU Academy + French lesson. We provide an online language course as part of the budget from the Commission. You will need to complete a level test before the activity starts. We encourage you to join free French lessons given in the municipality or around if possible. We recommend that the participant starts practicing French prior to their arrival in Belgium and that they participate in as many activities as possible in order to get better at the language.

Aged 18-30 years old
Motivated to join our project
Sincere interest for our activities
Interested in learning french (for better interaction with the beneficiaries)
Willing to discover and to learn, open minded to try new things
Willing to work with your hands in a social setting
Willing to share ideas and creativity
Sensitive to the privacy and intimacy of the people living in the hosting venue “L’Élan”
Before departure, being in contact with a support/sending organisation to receive information and preparation
> Look up for a support organisation in your region via this link
Project open to everyone, regardless of their nationality, religion, believes, diploma, or professional experience
Able to give copy of your criminal record before starting the activity

How to apply ?

Deadline to apply: 28th September 2026 – 23:59 CET

1. Answer the questionnaire below – scroll down a bit to see it (NB: you will be asked to attach a CV at the end of the form)

2. In the frame of the new program of the European Commission, the European Solidarity Corps, you need to create a profile on the new data base: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en (“JOIN THE CORPS”).

3. (optional) if you’re feeling creative, please feel free to send us any additional material related to your application: esc@compagnonsbatisseurs.be

The creation of a profile on the ESC portal AND fulfilling the form (in English or French) is compulsory for us to take your application into consideration.

In the days following your application, the pre-selected volunteers will be contacted for a skype interview.

PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM WITHOUT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE !

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, we prefer personnal answers than perfect ones.

ESC Accueil Famenne

Step 1 of 4 - Personal Data

Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Personnal data
By filling the information below, you provide us with personal information. You are aware of the fact and agree that the pieces of information will be used in the frame of the call for candidates for the Erasmus+ volunteering project. Your personal data will be used by the persons in charge of the selection of volunteers in the sending and coordinating/hosting organizations. Each part mentioned takes the responsibility of erasing the documents containing your personal data once the selection procedure is over.
Name*
Surname Name
PRN*
If you already have it: it’s a super long number you receive when you get registered into the PASS.
Birthdate*
Month
Day
Year
Phone number*
Don't forget your country code (+33 for France, +34 for Spain...)
Official residency address*
Street Address City ZIP / Postal Code Country
Email adress*
Do you need a visa in order to participate to this project?*
If you're not from EU, it is most likely that you'll need to apply for a visa in order to participate to this project, even if you have a valid visa at this current time.
Are you available for the whole project duration?*
Preference will be given to the volunteers able to join the project for the whole period.
Within the ESC framework, you are only entitled to 12 months of financially supported VOLUNTEERING projects. Have you ever benefitted of financial support for other volunteering projects before?*
If yes, what was it and for how long?*
Sending organization (Name, OID number, contact person’s name and email address)*
What are your (long term) travel experiences?*

Long term

Short term