Behind the Scenes: Applying to Project Kamp

For a while now (10+ years), I’ve followed Precious Plastic and One Army — the open-source, radically transparent maker collective behind Project Kamp, a regenerative land project in Portugal rebuilding after a 2017 wildfire. So when I found their volunteer sign-up for Season 6 (2026), it felt like a genuine “why not actually try” moment rather than another tab left open.

The role: Hands-on Designer — one of several workspace/building positions alongside engineer, ruin renovation, carpenter, and general workspace help. Kamp’s sign-up process is refreshingly no-nonsense: a multi-page Google Form, tick only the box for the role you actually want, and back it up with real evidence rather than a generic cover letter.

Making the case

The tricky part with an application like this is that my day job — Product Owner work — tells them nothing about whether I can actually build something that survives contact with a chainsaw and a Portuguese hillside. So the application leaned entirely on the maker side of my life:

• Amateur theatre set design and construction — real builds, on a budget, that have to look right and hold together under a working cast for a full run.
• My VW Crafter campervan conversion — full 3D space planning, insulation, electrics, water systems, and solar, done from a bare shell.
• Comfort across wood, aluminium, and steel — from cabinet-grade woodworking through cutting, drilling, tapping, and bracket design — plus mechanical assemblies and low-voltage electrical installs, including vehicle electrics and battery/solar systems.
• A prototyping mindset: cardboard, foam, timber, or 3D printing before committing to a final build, and a strong bias toward repairing and re-engineering over replacing.

Then came the form’s more personal question — “why do you choose to help Project Kamp?” My first draft was pure unfiltered enthusiasm (“it’s a dream to even consider being involved”), which we tidied into something that kept the honesty but read a bit more coherently: that Kamp is one of the few projects actually doing the hard, dirty, physical work of sustainable living rather than just talking about it, and that this was a chance to contribute rather than just watch from the sidelines.

So application submitted, having updated my website to showcase my make skills, it was a question of nervously waiting… then the email came, Adrián from PK asked me to jump on a call, which we did and after a nerve-wracking 2.5 weeks I had confirmation I had been selected to join Season 26 at Project Kamp.