Internships at Sunseed
Gain valuable practical skills
Internships at Sunseed are a great opportunity to gain some hands-on experience within different areas of sustainability. This ranges from agro-ecology, communication, ecosystem restoration, environmental education, sustainable living skills or appropriate technology. We provide the space and support for self-driven education.
Our internships fall into two categories, General and Research internships. Below you can find more information about them!
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As an intern you are free to develop your own research project alongside the daily departmental tasks. You will receive a supervisor and a personal mentor to guide you through this process. In general, an internship at Sunseed is for you to explore and turn your theoretical research into hands-on practice.
The ideal candidate for our internships would be comfortable with, or ready to explore, the balance between communal living, professional responsibilities, and environmental integrity.
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You will be working in on of our eight departments.
1.
Secure your funds
Find out if your university has available funds to finance your traineeship at Sunseed. If not, find and alternative funding. Typically our internships are funded by Erasmus+.
2.
Plan your internship
After having read about our departments, select a department, an internship model which corresponds with your wishes or share you ideas with us concerning a tailored program.
3.
Apply
Prepare your CV and fill out our application form. Select one department you want to work in and tell us what you would like to learn or a project you want to develop. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
4.
Interview
After reading your application, we will have an interview with you. The community will then collectively decide on the recruitment.
Our general internship is the chance for you to explore in depth one of our departments and learn from our daily tasks and long-term projects. You don't need to bring a specific research project from university or be connected to a university at all.
You will learn from your department supervisor and get to develop a project for the department and your personal research. You will contribute to the running of everyday life, taking on responsibilities to assure a supportive communal and low-impact environment.
Please choose a department you'd like to do your general internship in:
General internship
Our research internship allows you to bring your academic skills to the ground and conduct a community based research project with us. In the section below you find some more specific investigation proposals that we would be thrilled for you to work on. These can be adjusted to personal research interests, while keeping in mind the objective of place-based and impact-bound knowledge creation. You may also bring a research project that you’re already working on.
You will learn from your department supervisor who then guides you through your research project. Research interns are expected to be self driven investigators. You will contribute to the running of everyday life, taking on responsibilities to assure a supportive communal and low-impact environment.
Please choose a department you'd like to do your research internship in:
Research internship
Research internship proposals
1
Alternative refrigeration technologies
2
Syntropic agroforestry methods
3
Solar and wind power low technologies
4
Alternative economies
& community management
5
Decolonize
Sunseed
6
Natural
cosmetics
7
Seed
saving
8
Archiving project history
9
Organic spices production
Your internship
at Sunseed
6 h of work per day, 5 days a week
Personal mentoring sessions
Internship supervisor
2 days of holiday
per month
Free food and accommodation
Project development support
Prices
Our internships are typically funded by the Erasmus+ program as part of your university studies. Please check with your university's internships and mobility department if there are funds available to carry out your internship with us.
To help keep Sunseed as a project running and accessible to everyone, we use a “bottle” pricing system. This means the amount you pay depends on your financial situation.
This system is based on shared responsibility and individual circumstances. The minimum contribution is 400€ per month, which covers your basic costs, including accommodation and three meals a day.
If you receive funding from a university or organisation, a higher contribution (or ‘bottle’) helps support both the project and other participants who have a lower budget. If you don’t have enough funding or any, a lower pricing option may be more suitable for you.
We ask you to choose the bottle according to the amount you receive for funding or what you can afford if you don’t have funding. After that we decide together on the right contribution through a conversation.
Bottle system:
1. Bottle
You can contribute 750€ per month (Paying 22€+ a day). This should leave you with sufficient money to cover extra expenses, such as travel and pocket money.
2. Bottle
You can contribute 650-700€ per month (Paying 17€ a day). This should leave you with sufficient money to cover extra expenses, such as travel and pocket money.
3. Bottle
You can contribute 400-600€ per month (Paying 13€ a day). This should leave you with sufficient money to cover extra expenses, such as travel and pocket money.
This is always an open conversation, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you any questions!
What does your contribution cover?
Organic food
From Monday to Friday we serve three vegetarian meals a day. Food on the weekends is self-organised with the use of our supplies. 15-20% of the food comes from our gardens. The rest is bought from local farmers and regional ecological producers.
Educational activities
Our team offers a range of activities depending on the departments' needs. You can get involved with gardening, eco-maintenance, drylands management and more. You can also take on a personal project if you have a specific skill.
Accommodation & maintenance
Your payment covers accommodation in our dorms, clean bed sheets, the use of natural cosmetics and administration costs. Our houses are maintained in the traditional Andalucian style. While reusing as many materials as possible, we still have to buy some from time to time.
Fixed costs
To provide an educational experience for people from around the world we have many hidden costs - rent, insurance, taxes, website hosting, phones, internet, car maintenance, staff reimbursement and more. Your contribution will help us to continue running Sunseed in the long-term.
Personal projects by our past ESC's
As an ESC volunteer you are encouraged to create a personal project at Sunseed. Some small initiative or experiment connected to the project and your interests. Have a look at what our previous ESC's were up to:
