Carpentry - Restoration of the roof of the Youth Accommodation HouseThe roofing of Rathewalde Youth Accommodation Houses is by now fifty years old and has to be renewed. Under the professional guidance of a carpenter the participants of the Building Weeks will remove the old roofing, repair the roof construction and afterwards reroof the house. Although the roofing is not a traditional one the works will be very interesting because the combination of the different roof constructions of the different parts of the house dating back to different times will generate the need to find intelligent detail solutions. Because it will be sometimes not possible that the whole group will work on the roof at the same time the other volunteers will in these times carry out renovation works at the house as well as at a former rectory in a neighbour village dating back to the 18th century that is restored and managed by Open Houses, too.
Accomodation & food:
Shared rooms with 4-6 beds, limited warm shower and toilets, no washing machines,The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that everybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very nice if you could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world.
Location & leisure:
Rathewalde Youth Accommodation House is situated at the traditional health resort Rathewalde in Saxony. The building is located at the end of the village, directly at the border of the National Park Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland). The mountains are famous for their typical formations of sandstone with lots of small caves and overwhelming views from the tops of the mountains. The National Park offers various possibilities of hiking and climbing tours of different levels. The house was originally built around 1880, in the following decades it had been extended step by step. When Open Houses overtook the responsibility for the house it was partly in a really bad condition; during the past years countless volunteers restored and renovated the building. The house is surrounded by a beautiful garden with old rhododendrons. From the garden there is a fascinating view into the neighbouring valley and on rock formations.
Requirements:
Motivation letter related to the project and CV + photo required
Age:
18-70
Location:
Rathewalde
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
DRS: Dresden (Dresden, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
The Western part of the ground is characterised by a historical wall from natural field stones. Because of long-time lack of maintenance the upper part of the wall is damaged. Under the guidance of an experiences bricklayer the volunteers will restore the wall. Since the manor's park was long time out of use it is partly still abandoned. The volunteers will continue the renaturation works that had been started during Workcamps in the previous years – they will cut bushes, level the ground, repair fences and construct new paths. At Gantikow Manor stove heating is used for the cold seasons. Therefore another task for the volunteers will be to cut, split and store fire wood for winter time. Finally, the participants will support the restoration works of the manor by transporting materials where they are needed - as for example to transport bricks to the roof level to repair chimneys.
Accomodation & food:
shared rooms with beds, warm shower and toilets, no washing machines available,The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that everybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very nice if you could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world.
Location & leisure:
Gantikow Manor is situated 100 kilometres north of Berlin. The house is surrounded by a nice village with a medieval church and a lake. The manor is a picturing example of a former baroque building, changed in the late 19th century in neo-baroque style. Over centuries, the houses belonged to the Earls von Platen, which sold it in 1872 to a civil family which started soon, in 1877, with the modernisation of the house and kept it in their ownership till 1945. After World War II, the house was first used as a refugee shelter and after that the community used the house as a village centre, hosting the community office, the local store, the school, the kindergarten, the doctor's room, the kitchen of the agricultural cooperative and several apartments. With its many rooms the large building is perfect to be used as a Youth Accommodation House. The house is surrounded by a beautiful park with old trees which reached originally up to the lake. Around the Manor house in Gantikow, in the beautiful garden, with its old trees, there is much space for outside activities and leisure time. A small lake is situated nearby the old building, where it is possible to go swimming. And also the surrounding area with its many lakes and unique small towns invites for trips.
Age:
18-30
Location:
Gantikow
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
BER: Berlin - Metropolencode (Berlin, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
This camp addresses young people, who enjoy physical work, arts and crafts and theatre. The adventure play park in Gelsenkirchen Ückendorf is a popular meeting place for children and youth. An old villa and a huge outside area are part of the facilities. The program of the facility concentrates on arts and crafts and close to nature activities. With the support of the work camp, something new will take shape in the outside area: The plan is to create an open air theatre, together with young people from Gelsenkirchen. At the same time, a drama piece will be developed under supervision, which will be performed at the end of the work camp, as part of the opening ceremonies of the new open air stage. No previous knowledge needed.
Accomodation & food:
Communal areas, sanitary facilities, kitchen with dining area, lounge, nice outside area with barbecue all on the premise of the Bauspielplatz (adventure plat park). You will cook together.
Location & leisure:
There are both, open-air swimming pools and indoor swimming pools in Gelsenkirchen, as well as museums and bars. Its central location makes Gelsenkirchen an ideal starting point for trips to Dortmund, Bochum, Cologne and Hamburg or even the Netherlands.
Requirements:
Being interested, having fun and being of the mindset, that culture can build bridges between people from all over the world. Young people from Gelsenkirchen will be part of the project for most of the time.
In the new farm, volunteer can support Laakenhof community in a wide range of manual work like building fences for the cows, working in the greenhouse, repairing a wooden barn, in the reconstruction of a stable and other farm duties.
Study part:
According to their interest, volunteers can learn about essence of organic farming and about how community live works: How does it work to make decisions in the spirit of consensus and how does a shard economy work? It is also possible to learn how cheese is produced.
Accomodation & food:
There are different options, where volunteers can stay overnight: Four rooms will be offered with four camp beds each and if weather is fine, you can sleep in tents. In addition, there is a living room to stay, a big kitchen and a nice place in the garden under beautiful old trees. Sleeping bags are needed. Volunteers will prepare food with fresh and organic products of the farm: vegetable, milk and cheese.
Location & leisure:
Laakenhof is situated in the region Muensterland, which is a flat area dominated by agriculture. Forests, hedges and wide farmland are the characteristic attributes of this old cultivated landscape. There is always a broad view under big skies. In one hour you can reach Muenster a famous historical town. In next big towns, Beckum and Ahlen, there will be offered open air festivals in the market places. If weather is fine, we can go swimming in a lake nearby. All together we can spend evenings at camp fire with starry sky above us. Muensterland is known as region where people often use bicycles. Laakenhof will offer a nice bicycle tour to the volunteers.
This summer we would like to offer projects around all our animals of the farm. We would like to renew the fencing of some of the grazing fields. Another project will be creating a new open hut for the goats in their field. Our chicken houses will need more space and we will build a connection. And the sheeps stable also needs some tender loving care. If it is very hot a short walk to our wood stream Lohbach or a longer walk to the River Wupper will offer some cooling. A wonderful bathing lake is within a short car drive and perfect for an evening swim on those hot summer nights. Volunteers are invited to contribute peace signs in their language to our peace column. It also has become a tradition that some of you paint our benches and tables with sceneries from your countries. We love them all.
Study:
Participants will be part of the community on a day to day basis and especially some evenings when the summer evenings invite to BBQ gatherings. Organic Farm live and especially day to day animal care will be integral part of the project. Additionally, the participants will have the opportunity to see therapeutic riding and are invited to share their knowledge from their countries.
Accomodation & food:
Accommodation of the participants will be in bigger and smaller tents. In case of extended bad weather a big barn will also be available. A community kitchen with 2 showers and toilettes is close by. Please bring your own sleeping bags, sleeping mats (if possible) and towels. Please be aware that nights in this region can be quite fresh!
Location & leisure:
The farm village Kotthausen is 295 m above the sea level. Kotthausen has been mentioned first in medieval times around 1350. The region "Bergisches Land" is famous for its wet weather but has an amazing beautiful nature with stunning skies.Kotthausen is at the end of a small road tucked away from any big roads. The Jacobs pilgrim way passes through our lands. The nearest town is more than 6 km, but there is a small shopping centre a 15 minute walk away. And the best ice cream café is just a 30 minute walk away and worth the while. Close by is a beautiful castle, "Schloss Burg", and Wuppertal with its cable railway is also a visit worth. Stunning big lakes invite for swimming break if the weather allows it.
Requirements:
After registration, we require a self-declaration concerning the children and youth protection.
Age:
18-26
Location:
Kotthausen
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
CGN: Koln Bonn (Cologne, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
The foundation"Sozialpädagogisches Institut" Niederlassung Brandenburg Süd-Ost runs the multigenerational centre "Bergschlösschen" in the town of Spremberg and a hostel in Felixsee (15 km from Spremberg). It is located in the idyllic forest landscape close to the Felix lake and has a viewing tower. The property has to be converted and modified. The work camp is meant as a preparation for this endeavour (rebuilding, removing, helping to demolishing bungalows etc.). Your help is needed! In addition you can be creative in the natural surrounding. You also have the opportunity to get involved in intercultural work with refugee children, teenagers and families in Spremberg and get to know people who you can support with your ideas.
Accomodation & food:
You will stay in wooden bungalows. You will cook together.
Location & leisure:
You can swim in the Felix lake, play beach volleyball, beach football and table tennis, but also use the open air bowling alley and the barbecue area. There is internet access, too. The surrounding area has a good cycling track and a horse ranch and farm nearby. You can also skate (please bring your own skates). Bicycles are at your disposal for the duration of your stay.
Requirements:
Under 18-year-olds have to bring a bathing permit signed by their parents (unsupervised natural lake).
The inclusive instituion for environmental education Interforum e.V. is a place of encounter and activity centre for people from different backgrounds, located in an old brickyard. As participants of the international work camps you can take part in the following projects: ecological vegetable and herb cultivation in permaculture, composting of organic waste products, construction of raised gardening beds and shelters built in traditional straw and clay construction, cultivating green roofs, planting protective hedges, designing a garden of ruins, harvesting, collecting seeds for cultivation, garden and landscape art (LandArt with natural, retro and recycled material), upgrading camper vans and offering harvest produce for self-catering during the open meetings of the youth work and projects of "die Tafel".
Accomodation & food:
You will sleep in tents and site trailers. You will cook together.
Location & leisure:
During your stay in the camp, you will spend a lot of time outside on the premise, which you will be able to co-design. You are more than welcome to try out what you can do outside: swimming in the lake, cycling, playing football and sitting by the fire in the evenings, looking at the stars. The lake is only a short distance by bike and of course you can also cycle into the small towns of Calau or Gahlen radeln and on the weekends even to Berlin or Dresden.
Join the German Life Saving Association in Taufkirchen(Vils) and help build a new vehicle hall for three cars/trucks and two boats. The vehicle hall will also be used for further deployment and training material later on. Together with the volunteers of the DLRG you will help finish the construction work on the hall.
Accomodation & food:
Volunteers will be accommodated in the DLRG club's house directly on the grounds of the local swimming pool. Camp beds and separate bedrooms are provided; please bring your own sleeping bag! There is a kitchen for the group to use, as well as barbecue facilities, showers, and all sanitary facilities of the swimming pool for you to use as well. Take a look at the swimming pool here: www.waldbad-taufkirchen.de
Location & leisure:
Taufkirchen(Vils) is a town of around 10,000 inhabitants in Bavaria, about one hour north-east from Munich. Although not very big, Taufkirchen(Vils) has everything you need for daily life and some very pretty sights like the water castle (Wasserschloss) Taufkirchen(Vils), a moated castle that is over 700 years old. The local swimming pool has a large outdoor area, so that in your free time you can play miniature golf, climb or go swimming directly next to your accommodation. The surrounding area also makes for nice day trips to go hiking or see near-by cities like Munich.
« The most beautiful thing about volunteering obviously is the people you meet… the helpfulness the understanding…there is always someone who puts a plate of food in front of you if you say you are not hungry and not in the mood, or gives you a pep talk or simply a hug. »
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