Eibhlin, Education Coordinator for Suderbyn Ecovillage

I’m the Education Coordinator at Suderbyn Ecovillage, an ecovillage just outside Visby on Gotland.

On a day-to-day basis, I handle the administration involved in our European Solidarity Corps (ESC) projects, such as interviewing and selecting volunteers, applying for funding, and writing progress reports. It involves a lot of project management, but I also spend as much time as I can working with the ‘garden team’, maintaining our permaculture garden.

I’ve always been really interested in permaculture and community living, so when I saw an ad back in 2024 about becoming an ESC volunteer on Gotland, my ears pricked up. I loved my time as a volunteer, and I just happened to arrive at a time when they were looking for a new volunteer coordinator. I had the communication skills from my time at SLU, along with previous experience in project management, which made me a good fit for the role.

It’s a great place to study! The range of courses and programmes means there are always lots of people around with really interesting and diverse experiences.

Permaculture means we don’t use anything artificial on our crops, so we make our own fertiliser by fermenting plants like nettles into ‘potions’. This smells really bad, but it’s one of the tasks I love doing in the garden. It makes me feel like a fairytale witch, stirring a cauldron.