Internship @ the Environmental Education Center “Sunseed Desert Technology”

“Sunseed” is an educational environmental project already working since 1986. After my Geography studies in Vilnius University I decided to put my knowledge to practice in an international organization. In my search of a place to do my internship I was looking for organization which would represent my values, where I could get an opportunity to creatively use my knowledge gained during my studies and develop myself in the ways I couldn’t do in university. “Sunseed Desert Technology” seemed like a perfect match for me.

Sunseed is based in southern Spain, Almeria province right in the middle of Tabernas desert in a small oasis of Rio de Aguas. Project consist of nine different departments all taking care of different sustainable life parts, eco-constructions, appropriate technologies, organic gardening, food and cosmetics recourses and others. Each department is sustaining the life of a community as well as educating visitors of the center. This project is also exceptional because all the people working or just visiting the project are living in a community, so the experience given in the project is based on so much more than just professional competences.

During my traineeship I had an opportunity to work in a Drylands Management Department, where I developed my own project. One part of the project was to plan and map new and already known hiking trails around the project. Other part of the project was to make interaction activities to the members of the project related to the geography of the area.

During my stay in the project I gained much more experience and knowledge than I could have ever imagined. I have learned and improved many things from a professional side of my education but I have also developed as a person, learned more about sustainable life style and made new friends. During my stay I got an offer to stay and work for the organization for one year, so my Erasmus adventure became a life project, at least for a year.