Country Information:

We are happy to introduce you to what is Europe's least known country, slightly bigger than Belgium, wedged between Romania and Ukraine, and with a population of around 3 million people. Moldova was subdued by the Ottomans before it became a province of the Russian Empire in 1812. It was connected to Romania in 1918, only to be forcefully incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1944, sharing by and large the same destiny as the Baltic States (i.e. deporting of its elites to Siberia, engineering of artificial famine, etc). Since independence in 1991, at least a quarter of the population has had to migrate in search of work, making Moldova the European state with the highest percentage of nationals employed abroad. The current situation of the majority of the population is giving truth to the statistics that have rated Moldova as the poorest nation in the whole of Europe for many years; with run-down villages settled mainly by old people - with many pensions not reaching above 30 Euro for 40 years of work - and children, who have many times not seen their parents - many of whom have to live illegally abroad - for up to five years or longer. With neighbouring Romania having become an EU-member in January 2007 and the (only partially positive) impact of Moldovans returning from abroad, the nation might develop a perspective for a brighter future; for the first time since 1991, birth rates have recently begun to go up again. The young, European influenced generation is starting to leave its mark, voting in 2007 the youngest mayor (then 28 years) of any European state capital city - Moldova's Chisinau (700.000 inhabitants) - into office. In 1991, the most eastern parts of the country declared themselves the 'Independent Republic of Transnistria', which remains unrecognized on any level internationally, but is supported heavily by Russia, occupying this way territory of a sovereign country. Most Moldovans speak Romanian as their mother tongue, but some speak Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Gagauzian or Romani, demonstrating the ethnic diversity existing in the country. Moldovan economy is based largely on agriculture (up to 40 % of domestic employment), being famous for its wine production, and appropriately dominated by a gently rolling landscape and plains. While there is a long-term perspective of Moldova's integration into the EU within the next 10 years, at the moment one of the main interests for visitors from abroad is the ongoing debate around Moldovan identity, fuelled by both Romanian and Slavic influences and its own distinctiveness, making Moldova certainly one of the more interesting countries in Europe to have a look at in more detail.

HOW CAN I GET THERE?
There are direct train services between Moldova and Belarus, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine. Similarly, there are direct bus (coach) connections between Moldova and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Ukraine. We would like to strongly encourage volunteers to use train or bus services, as air transport remains the most environmental-damaging mode of transportation. If travelling has to be done by air, a range of countries including many of those named above offer direct connections to Chisinau international airport. In addition to that, there are direct flights from Austria, England, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania and Turkey. Potential volunteers from Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey might also consider to take a ferry to Odessa, the Ukrainian Black See-port and to continue their journey on bus (8 hours) to the Moldovan capital.

DO I NEED A VISA? Not if you are an EU- or CIS-passport holder, or if you are coming from Switzerland [volunteers from the Balkan - including Albania, excluding Slovenia - are still in need of a visa]. If in doubt, please write us.

WORKCAMPS IN MOLDOVA:
There are only a few principles on which the organisation of workcamps in Moldova is based. They are:
- Close relationship with the local community. Whereas sometimes workcamps tend to isolate themselves from the beneficiaries of their work, the organisers responsible for workcamps in Moldova are committed to establishing a close relationship between the volunteers and the local people.
- Workcamps in Moldova are open to adult volunteers of any age. Although the organisers are aware that the majority of volunteers are of similar ages, the chance of joining short term volunteer-activities should be open to anyone interested.

This is the fourth annual workcamp we are organising this year, after the "Tarna Rom"-camp in 2007 and the first "Eco-Razeni"-camp in 2008 and second in 2010.

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