Lõimeleer
Lõimeleer
LÕIMELEER is a summer camp for children, young people and families from both foreign and domestic Estonia. Here, in Viljandimaa Tääksi, we meet all over the world and become friends, we learn crafts and the folk instrument-song-dance game, ride a horse and do many other cool things.
All this, of course, in addition to the usual fun and cheerful daily camp activities and games loved by children.
We do everything in Estonian and in the Estonian way.
The recommended age for participation in Lõimeleer is 10-18 years of age.
What does Lõimeleer mean?
“Lõim” means the warp that runs lengthwise across the fabric and “leer” means a camp. In modern times, the word “lõim” has also gained the meaning of cohesion and melting together. To sum up, “lõimeleer” means a place where Estonian youth from all over the world meet and form friendships that are just as tight as well-woven fabric.
“Leer” is a word with several meanings in Estonian, but it sounds more fun, poetic and vintage than the modern word for camp, which is “laager”. Historically, both words are German loans (compare German “lernen”), they are just loaned from different dialects and both have initially denoted a stopping place where people gather and learn something.
About Lõimeleer
Our camps help young people learn about Estonian culture and develop their Estonian skills through fun summer activities and socialisation. There will be no formal language learning in a classroom setting. Our camp’s working language is Estonian, but we are more than happy to provide explanations in English, to make sure everyone is included. Within the five years existence, we have had participants from the USA, Canada, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Finland, Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Norway and, of course, Estonia itself.
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The recommended age for participants is 10–18. As an extension of the children camp, Family Lõimeleer offers an opportunity for children younger than 10 years and their parents to take part in the camp. The younger children can partake in the activities of the teenagers’ camp, practice their Estonian and, by support from their parents, gather experience and courage for attending the camp unaccompanied in the longer run.
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The first Lõimeleer summer camps took place in 2016 under the auspices of the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, and our cooperation with the university continues to this day. The separate NGO HomeComing (MTÜ Lõimeleer) was established in January 2018. Camp teachers are youth work students and alumni from the Culture Academy and other Estonian universities. Through this, MTÜ Lõimeleer also contributes to raising a generation of youth workers with the international experience necessary in the 21st century.
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The location of the camps
Lõimeleer summer camps take place in Tääksi, a small but mighty village in Viljandimaa...
Camp activities
Young people and their families from all over the world form new friendships, learn how to make Estonian handicrafts, study traditional songs, dances, games and instruments, visit the smoke sauna and go on horse cart and dugout canoe rides, have water fights and even go ghost hunting at night.
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Camp instructors
Camp teachers are youth work students and alumni from the Culture Academy and other Estonian universities. There will be no formal language learning in a classroom. Our camp’s working language is Estonian, but we are more than happy to explain any activities in English to make sure everyone is included.
