A reboot for the "spiders": how Zainsk volunteers fight burnout and keep weaving their networks

      Volunteers of the “Macrame” club celebrated sending their thousandth camouflage net with a joint trip to the thermal baths

      The “Macrame” club at the Zainsk-2 Youth Center is marking an important milestone — 1,014 woven camouflage nets. Behind each number are months of painstaking work and a particular philosophy of help, where both the work itself and the team spirit matter.

      Three years — that is how long the “Macrame” club, a branch of the volunteer movement Zainsk s Vami, has been operating. Here volunteers weave camouflage nets. Every knot in them is a piece of care. Recently the club sent its jubilee 1,000th net, proving that even the largest undertaking is made up of many small steps.

      The process requires not only hands but heart. Cutting material, braiding the edges, creating the camouflage pattern — it is meticulous work. Materials are constantly needed for the process: old tulle, nylon tights, knitwear. Volunteers also gratefully accept tin cans for making dugout candles.

      The club’s work is not limited to nets. Two local seamstresses help volunteers by making sets of underwear for soldiers and pajamas for hospitals. And each finished camouflage net is sent to the front not empty-handed — it is accompanied by a special “humanitarian charge”: a small pouch with the soldier’s most essential everyday items — from thermal socks to letters.

      But where there is constant emotional investment, there is a risk of burnout. Recognizing this, the “Macrame” club made caring for the team’s psychological state as important a part of the mission as helping the soldiers of the Special Military Operation.

      A key remedy has been joint trips. Recently a combined team of volunteers from three branches went to the thermal baths in Nizhnekamsk. A day in an atmosphere of relaxation, warmed by saunas and an outdoor pool, was a breath of fresh air. For some it was their first experience with this kind of rest.

      “This is our investment in sustainability,” say the trip organizers. “Proper rest is not a luxury but a necessity. It allows you to return to work with renewed strength and continue doing what matters.”

      The initiative was realized thanks to the efforts of the club curator, chair of the neighborhood council “Shkolnoye” Svetlana Dolgova, and with the support of the chair of the district Veterans’ Council and the head of the Youth Center.

      The story of the Staro-Zainsk volunteers is an example that real help is built not on enthusiasm alone, but on a wise balance between giving and restoring one’s own resources.

      Photo by the author Roza Ilaltdinova

      More news about the event:

      Reboot for the “spiders”: how Zainsk volunteers fight burnout and continue weaving nets

      Volunteers of the “Macrame” club celebrated sending their thousandth camouflage net with a joint trip to the thermal baths

      The “Macrame” club at the Zainsk-2 Youth Center is marking an important milestone — 1,014 woven camouflage nets. 19:30 01.12.2025 Zainsk-Inform - Zainsk

      Reboot for the “spiders”: how Zainsk volunteers fight burnout and continue weaving nets

      Volunteers of the “Macrame” club celebrated sending their thousandth camouflage net with a joint trip to the thermal baths

      The “Macrame” club at the Zainsk-2 Youth Center is marking an important milestone — 1,014 woven camouflage nets. 18:57 01.12.2025 News of Zainsk - Zainsk

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