The volunteers are welcome to help the association with revitalizing a piece of abandoned land and make it viable for sustainable gardening. Together you will create garden beds and afterwards plant herbs, vegetables, shrubs and trees. Later on, this area will also be used for social purposes and as a meeting place.There will be all kinds of gardening work to do, sometimes physically demanding (for the ones who like to use their personal strength!). During your volunteering, you can learn a lot about "Perma-Culture", a concept where selected plants are cultivated together in a way that only needs a minimal amount of energy and fertilizer. The inventor of this cultivation method won the Alternative Nobel Prize!You will learn gardening work by practicing it. It is a great chance to get experience in the agricultural area, learn about permaculture and sustainable use of nature. At the same time, you can see the association as a good example of an alternative and very social way of producing and consuming food. As there will be close contact with German native speakers, this workcamp is a good possibility to improve your German language skills.
Accomodation & food:
You will live on the Eschenhof farmland. We will build up a small campground. You can choose between camping in big tents and sleeping in single or double tents. Therefore, it is a simple but good life. There is a shelter with tables and benches, where you can eat and play together, a bar and a fireplace, as well as many beautiful areas for relaxation. We will do the cooking in a rather professional kitchen. It would be great if you could bring some musical instrument you can play. There will be plenty of time in the evening to sing and dance all together.There is a supermarket nearby where you can buy all the essential things, or you just harvest it freshly from the garden.
Location & leisure:
Groß Ruenz is a small village located in the Northwest-Mecklenburg region, which is famous for its beautiful alleys and lakes. In about 5 km distance, you can find a beautiful place for swimming. The medieval town of Luebeck, with its numerous sights, is about 23 kilometers away. The Baltic Sea with its nice beaches and coves is not far either. A visit to selected places of the nature reserve is also planned.There will be a joint decision regarding which places the group will visit.
Age:
18-26
Location:
Groß ruenz
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
HAM: Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
There is a wide range of different tasks where you can help the community. You can work on our organic fields (seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting...) or our reforestation project (weeding and clearing of scrub) and thereby learn a lot about organic agriculture and self-sufficiency. There will also be handicraft activities, like fence or stable repair and maintenance as well as creative jobs like building with willow branches, painting or creating art works. You will also be involved in the everyday cooking for the workcamp group (mainly vegetarian food) and in preparing a festivity for yourselves and the community. Work is mostly outdoors and can be physically demanding.
Accomodation & food:
The accommodation of the participants will be in "family tents" (these are tents with a high roof, which offer private space for 5 people in "inner tents"). In case of extended bad weather, a big barn will also be available. A community kitchen with two showers and toilets is nearby. Please bring your own sleeping bags, sleeping mats, towels and warm clothing. Please be aware that nights in this region can be quite cold with temperatures down to ten degrees even during summer!
Location & leisure:
The farm village Kotthausen is 295m above sea level and was first mentioned during medieval times. Therefore, it is quite a special and historic place with a long history of community life and youth work. The region "Bergisches Land" is famous for its wet weather, but has amazingly beautiful nature with stunning skies, beautiful fresh water lakes and many green forests.Kotthausen is at the end of a small road, quite remote from any big roads or cities. The nearest towns are about 5 km away. There are no shopping facilities nearby, but the region's best ice cream café is only a 30-minute walk away! The famous and beautiful castle "Schloss Burg" is in 30 minutes driving distance, the city of Wuppertal can be reached by public transport in about 45 minutes.Camp participants will be part of the farm community for the duration of their stay. Almost all jobs will be performed together with inhabitants of our farm community. There will be lots of exchange, encounter and contact with German native speakers. Therefore, this workcamp is a good possibility to improve your German language skills. Most community members also speak English quite well.
Requirements:
After registration, we require a self-declaration concerning the child and youth protection. We ask for a respectful behavior towards all farm members, especially our inhabitants with various handicaps and we would like you to treat our animals in a respectful manner.
« I can say that the best things about the workcamp and this whole experience were the chance of making a real difference to the lives of very needy children. This is an extremely valuable project where volunteers can have a massive impact. Also the possibility of learning a huge amount about a country so different from our own. I learnt ten times as much by carrying out a workcamp than I would ever do backpacking. »
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