Lõimeleer: eesti keele ja pärimuskultuuri laager väliseesti lastele / Lõimeleer: A cultural immersion camp for young Estonians living abroad

Abstract

Lõimeleer is a cultural immersion camp for young Estonians aged 10–16 living abroad. Held each summer, it gives them an opportunity to mix with kids of their own age who live in Estonia, to learn handicrafts, such as woodwork, jewellery
and textile making, to play games and musical instruments, to practice singing and dancing, to find out how horses are harnessed, and to learn other quintessential Estonian traditional skills. The main organiser of the event is Lõimeleer
(HomeComing) NGO with partners from University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy: both students and alumni of the programmes of leisure time managers and teachers, folk music and Estonian native crafts are involved.

Lõimeleer takes place in and around Tääksi school, Viljandi county. The programme of the camp is related to the major Estonian cultural events each year, such as the Song and Dance Festival, Viljandi Folk festival, etc. One camp shift in 2019 was dedicated to ESTO, a global get-together of diaspora Estonians.

Questions about the rationale of the initiative, the activities carried out in the camp, the feedback they have received, and what their own personal impressions have been were put to Priit-Kalev Parts, the initiator and main organiser of Lõimeleer, and Iti Jantra-Metsamaa, who has worked as a camp counsellor and as head of the camp in 2017 and 2018.