This article furthers research on heritage volunteering by focusing on the relationship between the volunteers and the heritage they produce and perform. It explores how volunteers engage with specific aspects of the past. Through an ethnographic study of contemporary heritage volunteers in Norway, we found a deeply personal connection between volunteers and their heritage. To better grasp the heritage produced by volunteers, we propose a conceptual framework for this heritage, reflecting that it derives from a characteristic personal engagement. We argue that volunteers’ heritage is a ‘heritage from within’, closely connected to the volunteers’ personal history and bodies. Accordingly, we frame and discuss volunteer heritage production as ‘care’ to emphasise the emotional and ethical commitment that affects how volunteers preserve and produce heritage. This concept of care is inspired by heritage and STS scholars who approach heritage as a ‘matter of care’ and care as an ethically and politically charged practice.
