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Volunteering ?
Before you join us, here’s what to expect…
(If you come with your vehicle, check the bottom of this page)
Life here is simple, wild, and deeply connected to the forest. We live mostly outdoors, surrounded by nature, with no shared indoor space yet. This lifestyle is not for everyone, so we want you to have a true picture before you arrive. Below, you’ll find the essential details. This page evolves alongside our community and is enriched by the voices of present and past volunteers. If there’s something you feel should be covered, we’d love to hear your ideas.
A Day in the Kingdom
Life here follows a gentle rhythm shaped by nature and by the people who share the space. We start the day with a morning meeting at 9:00 (sometimes earlier or later, depending on Ilektra’s work schedule). Together, we look at our project board — the weekly and monthly tasks — and everyone chooses what they feel like working on.
At the beginning of each week, we also fill in the weekly tasks board to decide who cooks, does the dishes, keeps shared spaces clean, spends time with the children, and more. We eat together at 13:00 and 20:00, but beyond that, your schedule is open: volunteers choose when and how they complete their tasks, following their own pace and interests within the flow of the day.
Living & Staying in Nature
You’ll stay in simple off-grid accommodation: tents, small rooms, or caravans depending on availability and season. Electricity comes from solar panels, water is limited, and most of our life happens outdoors. We cook and eat together, share daily tasks, and adjust to the rhythms of nature — sun, wind, rain, and the occasional wild goat.
Living so close to nature means sharing our space with some of its tiny (and not-so-tiny) inhabitants. You will certainly meet spiders—they’re everywhere and mostly just busy doing their job, keeping away the mosquitoes. From time to time, you might also come across a snake passing by or find a little scorpion under a rock. And if we ever let the kitchen get messy, a few adorable but very determined mice or rats will happily come looking for leftovers. Keeping our shared spaces clean and tidy helps everyone—humans and animals alike—coexist peacefully.
Accommodation & Sleeping Arrangements
For accommodation, we currently offer two vans and two caravans with multiple beds. Unless you request something different, we usually keep one space per person — or per couple/group if you’re arriving together. If another volunteer needs a bed, we’ll always check with you first. In case of heavy weather, anyone camping in tents may join you inside, so a bit of flexibility is part of life here. We also have a few tents available, but they are simple two-season ones; you’ll likely be more comfortable bringing your own tent and mattress. Sheets and blankets are provided, though we encourage volunteers to bring theirs when possible so we can keep ours for lighter travelers.
Getting Here
The main way to come to Skiathos is to go to Volos and see when there are boats here : http://openseas.gr/el/index.html or, closer to Athens, there are boats from Mantoudi (and they have a bus that leaves from Athens especially for those boats, check Routes from Athens to Kymassi for Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonnisos – EVIA PREFECTURE BUS S.A. ). If you come in the summer, there might be boats from Thessaloniki or Ag. Konstantinos.
If you don’t avoid planes, there are now two companies coming to Skiathos in the winter, Olympic air (https://www.olympicair.com/) and Sky express (http://www.skyexpress.gr/) . Because of the strange very early boat schedule from Volos, they might even be the cheapest way to come. During the summer, there are charters directly to Skiathos or Volos. You should check those too !
Cooking & Eating Together
Food is a shared joy here. We are a vegetarian space, often vegan, and everyone is welcome to cook for the group, no matter your cooking skills. We aim for simple, nourishing meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables, keeping spices light so everyone can adapt dishes to their own taste. Everyday food is provided for three meals a day. If you’d like extra snacks, special drinks, or anything beyond the shared budget, you’re always welcome to join us on a supermarket run to get what you need.
Help Us Introduce You
To introduce you beautifully on our website and help the community get to know you, we invite you to fill out this short form. It helps us share your story, your strengths, and the path that brought you to the Kingdom. Take a moment to tell us who you are — we’re excited to welcome you into our little world.
Safety Guidelines for Forest Living
Your safety matters deeply to us. Ilektra is an active member of the Greek Rescue Team and regularly attends trainings to stay prepared for any situation. On-site, we keep a fully equipped first-aid sports bag in the tool room — stocked for minor injuries and unexpected moments alike. Before using any tools, you’ll always receive a safety briefing, and we provide plenty of protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, helmets, ear protection, etc.), which everyone is expected to use.
When you arrive, we’ll also go through our safety guidelines for local wildlife such as snakes and scorpions. None of the species we’ve encountered on the land are dangerous, though vipers do exist on the island, so awareness is essential.
We will additionally brief you on our fire-safety plan. Bush fires are a risk in Greek forests, but in December 2025 the municipality carried out significant protective work — including clearing and thinning trees around our area — to reduce fire hazards and create safer zones across the island.
Here, we stay safe by staying informed, prepared, and connected.
How to Use the Compost Toilet
Our compost toilets are simple, clean, and perfectly adapted to life in the wild.
For pee, we encourage you to choose a tree or a patch of thirsty plants — nature loves the nutrients, and it helps keep the toilet buckets dry.
For everything else, use the compost toilet as usual and cover your deposit with a generous handful of wood chips. This keeps smells away and ensures the composting process works beautifully.
You’ll also find a couple of our famous “toilets with a view” around the land. They’re a favorite among volunteers — and they might just keep multiplying.
Living simply can be surprisingly delightful.
How to Shower Off-Grid
Water is precious on the mountain. We ask volunteers to take short, mindful showers and use only biodegradable soap. Boiling water in the kitchen for the outdoor showers or the fire water-heater in the bathroom can provide warm water when the sun is shy. If it rains for days, be ready for quick “cat-wash” hygiene instead of long showers.
When You’re Not Sure What to Do
There is always something useful to do in the wild: gardening, repairing, cleaning, helping with kids, organising tools, collecting firewood, or simply asking the others for a small task. Check the weekly task board, ask a teammate, or observe what the community needs. Initiative is valued more than perfection.
Our Group Culture
We meet every morning for a circle to plan the day, share needs, and check in as a group. Each time someone new arrives, we go through our group culture board together, making sure everyone feels aligned and supported. At the core, we are all equals here — there is no hierarchy, and everyone is responsible for managing their own working time and time off. We value clear communication, kindness, initiative, and flexibility, especially in a community made of many different people. Everyone cooks, cleans, and participates in maintaining the space. Living together outdoors asks for awareness, respect, and a willingness to adapt.
Laundry Bike Guide
We wash clothes using a pedal-powered laundry bike — eco-friendly and fun. Sort your laundry, follow the small-step washing instructions, and take turns using the bike. On rainy weeks, washing might be delayed, so pack enough clothes for unpredictable weather and mud. We wash the sheets in the automatic laundry machine in town. Let us know if you want to join the next laundry expedition, it costs 5€/machine (without drying).
Smoking Guidelines
Because we live surrounded by dry pine forest, fire risk is extremely high. Smoking is allowed only in the designated safe area and outside the land. Always use a proper container as an ashtray and never throw cigarette butts on the ground. From May to October, Greek law strictly forbids any kind of fire — no campfires, no fire pits, and no flames anywhere, on the land or elsewhere (including beaches). Safety first: one spark can start a wildfire.
What About the Weather?
Skiathos is beautiful — and wild. Winters (especially January–February) can feel very cold, and August heat can feel intense, even though temperatures rarely drop below 0°C or rise above 35°C. The island’s high humidity amplifies both ends of the spectrum. Rain is common, too — usually in short but heavy bursts that keep the island lush and green.
At any time, you can check the real conditions through our weather station here.
To know if you come with your vehicle
As fuel is way more expensive on the island, we would suggest you fill your tank before taking the boat. We have a few simple spots where campers and vans can park, and if your vehicle doesn’t enjoy muddy forest paths (they can become quite difficult to pass in the winter), the main road is less than 100 meters away. Before you reach the port, please call the ferry company — taller or longer vans often travel with the trucks, and you’ll need to confirm there’s space. There’s a natural spring near our land where you can refill your water tank. And if for any reason we cannot meet you at the port, make sure to ask us for the safest route up the mountain, as some roads are extremely steep.
Find us on Workaway
Discover more about life at Joyce ’n’ Fun — see photos, reviews, and daily rhythms of our volunteering community.
Even if you’re not a Workaway member, you can visit our profile to explore what we do and how to join us.
Contact Us
Ready to volunteer? Share your skills, interests, and available dates — we’ll find the best way to grow together.