CBB's Volunteer Messenger – Marche-en-Famenne
Looking for one volunteer
Trip type
City + Country
Marche-en-Famenne,
Belgium
Dates
From 1st of February 2027 until 31st of January 2028
Deadline to apply
05/10/2026, 23:59 CET
Hosting and support organisation -
Compagnons Bâtisseurs Belgium
The association “Compagnons Bâtisseurs” is a youth organisation based in the French speaking part of Belgium. We offer volunteering projects in Belgium for young people from 15 years old. Individually or in groups, a few days or several months, the projects always encourage meeting with others, discovery, diversity and adventure.
The aim is to offer to young people spaces in which they can interact and express themselves in order to raise their awareness about social and human challenges, to create solidarity, to increase their participation and commitment to society.
Volunteering, non-formal education, a permanent international dimension, welcoming diversity and networking are several aspects crucial to the organisation’s functioning.
Our activities are varied but always will have volunteering and/or non formal education at its heart.
Any activity of Compagnons Bâtisseurs has to allow:
• The fulfilment of free, independent and responsible individuals (favour empowerment)
• The meetings beyond the differences (raise awareness about the richness of diversity)
• The experience of civic engagement and volunteering promotion (encourage commitments)
• The informal and non-formal learnings (acquire and develop competences)
Our public is unique by its diversity. Young people from all origins and with different abilities interact and meet each other within our projects.
Young students, workers, youth experiencing difficulties, young Belgians and young from abroad, young people with and without disabilities.
Specific support measures allow us to act and insure the participation of all.
We have different places of work and activities, most of them located in Marche-en-Famenne. We have an office in the town centre, a community garden of more 20 acres nearby, a house hosting ESC volunteers whose activity takes place in Marche en Famenne, and a place able to host groups for residential activities throughout the year. Additionally, to these places, we also have an office in Liège from where part of the team works. Depending on the project you’ll participate in, you will be more or less involved in the maintenance and activities of these places.
If you apply for this project, your main place of activity will be in CBB’s Marche-en-Famenne office.
EVS (Erasmus+) and now European Solidarity Corps (ESC) experience
We have participated in the EVS Program both as Sending and Hosting Organization since 1997.
We believe that this program perfectly fits our organization goals and methods: non-formal education, active citizenship promotion, volunteering and multiculturalism are keywords in our daily activities.
We also particularly appreciate the learning opportunities that the volunteering program financed by the European Commission offer to all young people, regardless of their origin, background and economic means.
That’s why CBB supports the projects of about 30 international volunteers around Wallonia. The ESC team of CBB tries their best to connect this network of volunteers through different collective activities, seminars etc…
CBB is a member of the ALLIANCE of European Volunteer Service Organisations and the Coordinating Committee of the International Voluntary Service (CCIVS).
CBB develops different projects which mainly focus on group dynamics and international volunteering. As an ESC volunteer, you will support the work done at different stages in order for these activities to happen. From administrative tasks, to promotion, facilitation and even evaluation !
CO FACILITATION OF CBB ACTIVITIES
Being a “youth leader” is going to be one of your responsibilities. With the help of another team leader or CBB staff, you will maintain a good group dynamic and favour the learning experiences among the participants. You will be asked to co facilitate one or two international workcamps over the summer, but it can also be, depending on your interests:
- Throughout the year, CBB organises several local activities, ranging from one evening to a week: Weekend workcamps, similar to international workcamps; Environmental weeks, 6 days projects related to environmental awareness; Activities in CBB garden, one afternoon more or less every second week… are examples of activities you will have the opportunity to take part in;
- Intercultural Activities (“DIM”). Around 15 activities are organised per year. The aim is to create a meeting space for people newly arrived in Belgium and the local community. You will help planning these activities according to your interests and passions. For example: bread making, walks in places of high natural interests, etc.
- Preparation and monitoring activities: once a year (end of June), CBB organises a preparation meeting for all the young people leaving Belgium for their volunteering project abroad. At the end of the season (end of Sept.), we also invite them to gather to evaluate their experience. You will be asked to support CBB staff in organising and facilitating these events.
PLACEMENT (INTERNATIONAL WORKCAMPS)
International workcamps are short term voluntary projects gathering young people from different countries. During 2 or 3 weeks, these young people work on a voluntary basis for a non-profit organisation or a local community. The tasks to realise during an international workcamp can be very varied: renovation, construction, environment protection, summer camps for children, work in asylum-seekers centres…
During spring and summer (Feb-July), you will be involved in “placement work”: receiving and answering the application requests of foreign volunteers who would like to participate in our projects in Belgium and follow-up of their registration process, help to select volunteers for summer workcamps, contact partner organizations via e-mail and send them regular updates about our projects (these tasks seem to be administrative, but it can help to broaden your personal network and receive valuable professional experience).
SUPPORT ESC COMMUNITY
CBB is supporting more or less 30 young people doing their European Solidarity Corps every year (usually projects between 8 till 12 months).
To support so many young people in their projects implies different tasks for which we will need your contribution:
- Support in the recruitment of new volunteers (update the website, answer emails, compile forms…);
- Take care of the info packs for the future volunteers;
- Manage the ESC Buddy app, a multifunctional app whose aim is to support volunteers throughout their project. You will keep the app updated, add events happening in Belgium and other small back office tasks;
- Create a bond between the different volunteers and CBB, by encouraging them to participate in our local activities;
- Support the international team in the preparation, implementation, facilitation and evaluation of “Get Together’s”, events organised three times a year in order to gather all the volunteers
PROMOTION OF CBB ACTIVITIES
We need your help in promoting our activities through different means and towards young people in Belgium. In order to reach this audience, you will, with the support of CBB staff:
- Help to prepare and hold information stands in youth centres and fairs in order to present our activities and increase young people awareness about volunteering, non-formal education and intercultural exchanges;
- Take part in promotion of CBB in schools
YOUR OTHER MISSIONS
Apart from the different missions abovementioned, we also expect you to get involved in other aspects of the organisation’s activities.
- Supporting maintenance and management of our facilities for residential activities: CBB owns a facility aiming at hosting residential activities. It requires a regular follow-up of the available material and cooking products; cleanliness of the place and the laundry. You will occasionally support the dedicated CBB staff in these tasks.
- Participating in the associative life of the organisation: when starting your volunteering at CBB, you become a member of the team. As such, we expect you to actively take part in the activities related to the organisation’s community life such as: General Assembly, Team Building activity, Annual celebration…
- Personal projects: we really hope that you will bring us innovation and creativity. Depending on your preferences, desires and capacities, you will be encouraged to develop a personal project as long as it complies with the values defended by our organisation. We are ready to support you in its implementation!
Accomodation in Marche-en-Famenne
CBB offers the unique opportunity to encounter plenty of international exchanges while being located in a small, 17.000 inhabitants town in the French-speaking part of Belgium. From our office, in the center of Marche-en-Famenne, we organize projects all over the French Community of Belgium (Brussels and Wallonia) and maintain close partnerships with non-profit organizations from all over the world. This unique situation will allow the volunteer to share the semi-rural lifestyle of the area, but also to meet young people from different places of the country as well as to be in contact with people from the other side of the world.
The volunteer will live and mostly work in Marche-en-Famenne (except some activities that will happen outside the town), which offfers all modern facilities (shops, supermarkets, sports centre, cinema).
For the urban-life-style-lovers, it is, however, important to know that our town is located in a semi-rural area. Even if it is not far away from the biggest Belgian cities (57 km from Liège, 106 km from Brussels, 47 km from Namur) and well connected by train, Marche-en-Famenne can sometimes look remote and very quiet.
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 haf part of the year.
But the belgian population are usually warm. A lot of cultural and free events in the street happen during the year, which brings your journey in this little country funny and ressourcefull.
This project will be taking part in the south of the country which is french speaking. Be therefore ready to learn and speak french .
- Specialities : FRIES and 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 Location
You will be based in Marche-en-Famenne, CBB headquarters. However, you may be asked to go until CBB’s office in Liège from time to time in order to collaborate with the other volunteer doing their activity in Liège.
Working Hours
Working hours will usually be from 10:00 until 16:00 but we ask our volunteers to have some flexibility about this. Working during the weekends and the evenings will happen on a regular basis. You will have an average of 35 hours a week.
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 6 other volunteers. It is located in the centre of Marche-en-Famenne and has all the modern facilities.
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. 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
- Open-minded, curious, enthusiastic, empathetic
- Able to work in a team, with different target groups, and in a multicultural environment
- Willing to learn French
- Ready to propose, take initiative, discuss and give your opinion
- Flexible in terms of working hours, which sometimes do not correspond to a classic schedule
- 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 - Able to give copy of certificate of good conduct related to the work with minors before starting the activity
Raphaël, volunteer at CBB 2023-2024
Andreea, volunteer at CBB 2023-2024
Hello you future volunteer! I am Andreea, I come from Romania and currently I am at the middle of my project here at CBB.
Although time passes very fast, I can already say that I learned so many new things here, such as site editing, creation of content for different events or the other ESC volunteers; I helped with the promotion of our organization to young people, co-animated a work camp and helped with organization and logistics for other shorter events. I can say that you will never get bored here! I also did two trainings, one about being a leader in environmental projects and the other one about media (how to edit videos/films). The work is very diverse, you get to learn from different people on different subjects, departments and see how an youth organization works.
Besides the work part, I have the chance to be in an international environment, to be with people from so many different countries. CBB has around 25 ESC volunteers in the whole region so you will surely meet them as well! I heard so many interesting stories and perspectives and I know some of these people will remain my friends even after the end of this volunteering program. I also got to travel and explore other parts of Belgium like the big cities and traveled a bit abroad (trains and buses are well connected with other countries).
I would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to try something new, or different, even if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. In this long term volunteering program you will learn a lot and probably after you will have a clearier perspective of your life. You also get to enjoy a beautiful country, ones of the best beers in the world and tasty fries!
Just be prepared for speaking French, moody weather (rain, rain and rain) and to live in a quiet place in the south of Belgium! And check my ESC video recap 🙂
Dana, volunteer at CBB 2022-2023
My name is Bohdana, I’m 25 and I’m Ukrainian. Currently I’m doing my volunteering project with CBB in Belgium.
A year ago I was working in the business sphere in Kyiv, Ukraine and at some point I started to feel overwhelmed by lack of the opportunities for growth and lack of social impact, so I decided to completely change my life and applied to this project.
The first moment when I felt gratitude to CBB was February, when Russia started a full scale war against Ukraine and I found myself on the occupied territory. Of course, this experience changes everything in my life, changes my priorities. But I received bunch of letters from CBB with the words of support and warmth. I felt that there are people who don’t give up on me even despite the circumstances, even if it was easier to find another volunteer who would definitely come to the project. So, I decided not to give up on myself as well and started to search for the ways to come there.
Sure, this year was not an easy journey for me, but it was so fulfilling and so worth to live. I tried so many things and also learned a lot about myself.
So, to begin with the fact that I shared house with 6 people from different countries, and at some point I have found myself in a new family. Because even if by any chance you are annoyed by these people, you will never find a better support system for this year. We walked in the forest, played this annoying Italian card game, watched trendy and not so trendy series in French with Italian Netflix, decorated house for Christmas in October, cut each others hair, drunk perfect Belgium beers, cooked pizza, tortila, borscht, deruny. We laughed, cried, gave each other shitty love advices. And traveled. A lot.
I learned from these people and teach them a lot as well. Even if you already had the experience of sharing cultures, this one will be soooo much deeper.
Second thing I want to share is an amazing CBB team and all experiences you can go through with your volunteering. I already mentioned that CBB people are the ones who never abandone you. I have more. We had this team building in Liege and someone had an “amazing” idea to do kayaking. I’m not sportish person at all, also during the last months I lost a lot of weight. And at some moment I found myself in the middle of the deep river one kilometer behind everyone fighting against wind and flow. And what do you think? Of course my supervisor found out me in this awkward situation and she was staying close, making jokes on me but encouraging me to go till the end. And it was so perfect!
And with the tasks, I will say that I have variety of them. I’m doing some administrative work, helping with placement, ESC volunteers welcoming, managing ESC Buddy App, updating infopacks, helping with promotion in social media. Also I had an opportunity to lead youth exchanges and summer work camps. And for me it is a perfect balance between computer work and people work. For me the most touching were projects in refugee centres where we were doing some renovations but also we were talking to people and playing with kids. And this were the moments of humanity that a lot of us needs in our lives. If you are there, definitely go to the refugee center work camp.
Some tips from me:
- you are the owner of your experience. Try to participate in as many things as you can. It’s a one life time opportunity that can help you to try different things and decide what is closer to you.
- know who is your support system for the down moments.
- learn how to use train. There are a lot of discounts especially during weekends and holidays. If you don’t understand, ASK how it works.
- live the moment, time flies super fast
- cut each others hair.
Nabil, volunteer at CBB 2021-2022
Hello, My name is Nabil and I volunteer at CBB, my project started in March of 2021 but due to covid related issues, I couldn’t travel to the location of the project (Marche-en-Famenne) until August.
I have a somewhat skewed point of view of this position due to that, for the first few months I contributed to the project from my home in Málaga, remotely, making mostly graphic design and research tasks, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do that since it was an extraordinary bad situation that was out of control but I was still able to participate in this great volunteering opportunity even though I did not enjoy the full experience for the whole duration of the project.
Once I arrived at Marche-en-Famenne my tasks diversified, I kept doing graphic design tasks but I also added to my schedule administrative tasks and web design tasks in my time in the office, but the main difference of course was my participation in volunteering camps and youth exchanges, so far I have been in refugee camps doing volunteering projects and helping the people that were left in need due to the floods in Belgium this summer through workcamps. I found these projects extremely fullfilling and great learning opportunities.
My life in Marche-en-Famenne is a quiet one, I go for walks and enjoy the company of my housemates and friends pretty much daily, my days are filled with interesting conversations, laughs and solitary walks around the city, even though there is a huge forest nearby where you can go hiking, I’m just a little scared of getting lost so I prefer to walk around the town streets.
Travel opportunities are great, I have been several times to Liege and Brussels and I quite enjoyed my time there, Namur is also a cool city to visit.
If you are wondering if this opportunity is right for you I would suggest you give it a try since I was in the same place and I ended up having a wonderful time!
Djordje, volunteer at CBB 2018-2019
– Can you tell us something about you?.
I am Djordje (Vidojevic) from Serbia. I am now 26 and at the time of my project I was 24-25.
– When did you volunteer?
The project began early February 2018 and finished late January 2019.
– Where did you volunteer? Tell us something about the town you were living in, your house, your flatmates…
The town where I volunteered in is Marche-en-Famenne.
The thing I loved the most about the town is the presence of different second-hand shops, for example La Chiffonière. Usually sellers would give things for free. Another thing I liked so much is the forest which is close to the house of the volunteers. I liked to go run there or in other parts of the city, there was a period in which I used to do it every day. It was amazing, especially getting lost in the suburbs where all the large and fancy houses are.
Absolutely necessary to mention is the unicorn statue which is also close to the house, and the tourist office, great architecture and interior design. Another important thing is the fact that there are so many places where to get food, the best one for me was Le Nonna.
Among the things that I didn’t like is the fact that Marche being a small town is also a little secluded and it is not that easy to reach it. For example to get the train you first need to go to Marloie where there is a larger train station. Another thing is the lack of night life, everything closes earlier. Marche is also a small city where in the world of volunteering everyone knows each other.
In the house we were 5 at the beginning, 6 afterwards. Each and all of us where volunteers linked to CBB and the other volunteering organizations and living there was very nice. We cleaned every nook and cranny of the place, we helped renovate it, especially the creepy basement. I still have so many nice memories and we shared so many moments and experiences.
– Your organization (briefly): what is their goal, what do they do, some information in general.
The organization I worked with is called Compagnons Bâtisseurs (CBB). It is a NGO youth organization dealing with people with fewer opportunities, people with disabilities or simply youngsters which want to make experience abroad. They host people from abroad in workcamps or other formative experiences in Belgium and at the same time they send Belgians (mainly from Wallonia) abroad to do the same thing. The objective is to broaden the perspective of the youngster in order to contribute building a better future.
– A brief description of your job: what was your typical day at work, your main tasks, who were you working with.
My job consisted in different tasks. I worked in the communication part of the office, where I helped set up the Instagram account, I created leaflets and material using graphic tools for promotional purposes, I also sorted and edited videos. Plus, I took some part of the outgoing process (people from Belgium applying for workcamps abroad) and of the youth exchanges. During Summer I led 3 workcamps, the best one for me was Sugny in an asylum seekers center. I love workcamps so much that I took some days off to take part in two more as a simple participant. Another good thing is that you can think about everything as your personal project, they will never say no. Sometime there are not enough things to do at the office and it might get boring, that’s why there are so many opportunities to work outside.
– Why did you choose this project in particular?
I chose this specific project because I liked the program. Mainly because of the possibility to lead workcamps. I didn’t pay attention to the country the project was organized in because I think what you do is more important than where you are. But in the end, I liked Belgium so much. I actually would have wanted to enroll for the year after (2019), but the EVS platform was to be closed and no one knew what the future would have brought (actually there was only a reorganization of the program and a change of name, currently ESC), so I was forced to act quickly and enrol as soon as possible. I was very lucky to be accepted at CBB since I really wanted to spend some time outside Serbia.
– Positive (and negative) things: anecdoctes, experiences, what would you have liked to be different
I have so many memories of my project. First thing is that I traveled so much, both alone and with friends/flatmates. Belgium is such a central country in Europe and it is easy to reach everywhere else. There are so many activities and festivals that you are kind of forced to choose which ones to participate in and which ones to let go of. I am so glad I could continue the tradition of having Serbian volunteers in Marche. There are also some negative aspects to consider though. First of all the language. I didn’t know French, in the office they all speak great English and at home we found ourself in a situation in which we set up speaking Spanish, so my French didn’t quite improve enough. CBB should push more their volunteers to take up the local language. Being unable to effectively communicate in French, I missed out so many opportunities to get in touch with the local community, since in the city only few people can speak English, but again, being 5-6 people at home with all the activities you are involved with there is not enough time to really realize it. It’s different for other projects though, for example in the Maison de Jeunes the volunteers are always in touch with the local youth for examples.
– Some advice for future volunteers?
Cut your own hair, barbers are expensive! Buy the GoPass, go wherever you want. Explore Marche, connect with the people, enjoy your time in Belgium because it flies so fast.
How to apply ?
Deadline: 5th of October 2026 at 23:59 (brussels time)
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.
You will also have to sign up on the European Solidarity Corps portal (see above) and get in touch with a sending organisation in your country of origin. Do not hesitate to contact us in case you need more information.
In the days following the mentioned deadline, shortlisted applicants will be contacted to take part in a meeting.
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.