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Choose an operator or location to see the available possibilities for volunteering.
Develops and coordinates technical, creative and learning activities through The Owl’s Nest, including work that is not tied to one location.
Paul Krugerstraat 362021 XN Haarlem
info@the-owls-nest.nl
+31 23 369 0 269Spaarndamseweg 120 A11-A122021 KA Haarleminfo@the-owls-nest.nl+31 23 369 0 269Tugelastraat 552021 TB Haarleminfo@the-owls-nest.nl+31 23 369 0 269Volunteering can take different forms with different operators and at different locations. People may contribute practical help, technical or creative knowledge, hospitality, documentation, maintenance, organisation or support for a particular activity.
There is therefore no single permanent list of volunteer roles that is the same everywhere. Opportunities depend on the activities, the people already involved, available support and local capacity. Choose an operator or location to read the enduring information associated with it.
Specific requests, broader campaigns, changes and practical examples are published below as dated publications. A request identifies something concrete that is needed. A campaign brings together broader or longer-running efforts around a purpose or need. Updates show what is changing, while practical examples show what volunteers have actually contributed.
ASK-Solutions offers different ways to contribute to technical, educational, creative and public-benefit work. Volunteering may take place through a location of The Owl’s Nest or through wider projects involving software, documentation, research, communication and practical organisation.
Volunteers can contribute to the technical, educational and public-benefit work of ASK-Solutions in many different ways. This may involve practical work, sharing knowledge, supporting a project or helping organise and document work that others can build on.
Existing experience can be valuable, but volunteering can also provide room to learn through real activities and shared responsibility.
Possible contributions include making and repair, software, websites, data, electronics, documentation, writing, translation, research, communication, workshops and project support.
Some work takes place through a particular location of The Owl’s Nest, while other activities belong to wider projects of ASK-Solutions and may not depend on a physical workshop.
A useful volunteering role starts with the work that needs to be done and the knowledge, interests and realistic availability of the person involved. A contribution can be small and clearly bounded or develop into longer involvement when that works well for everyone.
Current possibilities vary between projects and locations. The requests, updates and examples below show how people can contribute in practice.
Paul Krugerstraat is a shared workshop where volunteers can contribute to making, repair, practical activities and the continued development of the space. Contributions can range from sharing knowledge and supporting projects to preparing work, maintaining equipment and helping activities take shape.
Volunteering at Paul Krugerstraat can involve making, repair and the practical work needed to keep a shared workshop useful. Volunteers may contribute to individual activities, help prepare projects or support the development and maintenance of the workshop itself.
Experience with woodworking, metalworking, repair, tools or materials can help other people move forward with a project. Contributing does not always mean acting as an instructor: preparing work, thinking along, maintaining equipment and helping organise materials can be equally valuable.
People can also learn through participation and gradually take on work that fits their growing knowledge and confidence.
Workshops, repairs and shared projects require more than technical skill alone. Volunteers may also contribute to preparation, practical organisation, communication, workshop improvements and activities that connect the location with people in the surrounding community.
The requests, updates and examples below show which forms of involvement have arisen at Paul Krugerstraat.
At Spaarndamseweg, volunteering is closely connected to technical projects with practical and social value. This includes preparing older computers for renewed use with Linux, as well as electronics, device repair, 3D printing, testing, documentation and other work that combines knowledge, reuse and access to technology.
An important activity at Spaarndamseweg is preparing somewhat older computers for renewed use. Suitable systems are checked, cleaned, repaired or upgraded where needed and installed with Linux before being made available to people who could not otherwise easily afford a computer.
Volunteers can contribute to different parts of this process, from hardware assessment and installation to testing, preparation and documentation.
Other work at Spaarndamseweg can involve electronics, soldering, computer and device repair, 3D printing and related technical projects. People may contribute specialist knowledge, practical assistance or careful testing and preparation.
Well-defined tasks also provide opportunities to learn while contributing to work with a practical result.
The work combines technical knowledge with reuse, free software and wider access to digital technology. Volunteering can therefore support both the useful life of equipment and the ability of people to participate more independently in a digital society.
The requests, updates and examples below show how volunteers, projects and cooperation around this work develop in practice.
The Spaarndamseweg location is housed in the last remaining building of the former Conradwerf. The wider wharf site has disappeared, but this largely hidden building still preserves a tangible connection with Haarlem’s industrial past.
Its age and gradual adaptation give it a layered, lived-in atmosphere: full of character and history, without the hard and impersonal feeling that can accompany a modern purpose-built environment. The building is shared with small businesses, musicians, community initiatives and other users, allowing technical, creative, social and practical activities to exist alongside one another.
The future of this last surviving building is uncertain. A local petition asks the Municipality of Haarlem and the owner to investigate its heritage, sustainability and possibilities for reuse before making an irreversible decision about preservation, integration or demolition. Read and support the petition about the former Conradwerf.
Tugelastraat provides opportunities to contribute to focused technical, digital and organisational work. Volunteers may support electronics, diagnostics, precision repair, software, websites, data, 3D design, testing, documentation and the preparation or organisation of projects and technical materials.
Volunteering at Tugelastraat can involve electronics, diagnostics, precision repair, 3D design and printing, websites, data and digital systems. The location is suited to concentrated technical work and to projects that require preparation, research or careful testing.
Useful contributions are not limited to building or repairing something. Volunteers can also help test hardware or software, document projects and methods, organise components and technical information, prepare equipment or improve material that other people need to understand and continue the work.
People with particular technical or digital knowledge can contribute directly to projects, but advanced expertise is not required for every task. Accuracy, curiosity and a willingness to investigate can be just as important in documentation, testing, research and project preparation.
The requests, updates and examples below show the different ways people have contributed through Tugelastraat.
The publications below show where specific contributions are needed, which broader campaigns are under way, what is changing and how volunteers have contributed in practice. Each request, campaign, update or practical example is connected to the operator or location for which it was published.
Requests, campaigns and updates are dated because needs, progress, opportunities and local arrangements can change. Practical examples remain available as lasting illustrations of the different ways people can contribute, even when the activity described has already been completed.
Requests identify specific needs for which contributions are welcome. Campaigns bring together broader or longer-running efforts around a purpose or need. These may involve time, knowledge, practical help, materials or other contributions.
A request for RAM, laptops, desktop PCs and accessories to repair usable hardware, put it back to work and, where possible, pass it on.
A request for volunteers to help build a masonry wall at the back of The Owl's Nest workshop at Paul Krugerstraat.
Changes to volunteering opportunities, local arrangements, activities, projects and ways of contributing.
No volunteering updates have been published yet.
These practical examples show the different ways volunteers have contributed to activities, projects, locations and knowledge sharing. They may describe completed work or continuing involvement and are intended to illustrate possibilities rather than advertise a current volunteer role.
Passing a bundle of cables through a steel beam: we designed and printed a fitting PETG cable grommet and shared the adjustable FreeCAD design.
A practical example of how several volunteers helped restore the doors at Paul Krugerstraat, with new timber, transom windows, glazing, door hardware and paintwork.
From temporary supplies to our own utility connections: how volunteers helped build the meter cupboard at Paul Krugerstraat and make the location usable.
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