40 years ago, when the Vietnam War escalated, we started to promote peace in Sievershausen. In an old barn sleeping and seminar rooms were established. The „Antikriegswerkstatt” (Anti-war factory) became the nucleus of the Peace Centre “Antikriegshaus Sievershausen”. Expansions and further reorganisations followed. Now there are several buildings, surrounded by a nice park, including a guest house and a museum with an assembly hall. The Antikriegshaus is at the verge of a village with about 2500 inhabitants. Sievershausen lies 30 kilometres east of the Lower Saxony provincial capital Hannover at the freeway to Berlin.
Work:
Volunteers will build chess figures for our Garden Chess Ground. This means carpentry, painting and crafts. Volunteers with a talent for designing are also welcome. There is a nice garden around the buildings of the centre. We will do some garden work as well as renovating parts of the buildings.
Study part:
We will visit the former concentration camp of Bergen Belsen, the World War II memorials at the city of Hanover and have lessons on the item of Child Soldiers.
Accommodation:
The accommodation of the participants is carried out in 4 bedrooms. Lodging and board are free.
Age:
18-26
Terminal:
Haemelerwald near Hannover (train from Hannover to Braunschweig).
The “press cabin” Mutlangen is a centre for active non-violence in South Germany (Baden-Würtemberg). In the 1980s Mutlangen was a symbol of the non-violence protests against the atomic missiles Pershing II. The press cabin was the starting point for several blockade actions. As the missiles were removed, the time of the civil disobedience and the lawsuits was then over. The historic press cabin became a small convention place. Solar cells on the roof are producing electricity. There are trainings to topics such as conflict management and violence prevention and there are still activities regarding the peace movement. Mostly young people use the press cabin for seminars.
Work:
Work in the garden and the house, small repair and maintenance works. Planting trees in the community of Mutlangen. What do trees have to do with peace? We want to answer this question together. Through growing consciousness about the physical processes in the earth atmosphere and the consequences for the global climate system, the aim is to raise international interest for the personal effort for the habitat of trees. Also there is the chance to talk about the conditions of the trees in the countries of the volunteers.
Study part:
We will be talking about the question: „What can I as an adolescent, do for peace?” The focus will be on the topic of nuclear disarmament and the European Youth Network for Atomic Disarmament (BANg). But also topics such as intercultural intertwining and peaceful actions in harmony with nature will also be discussed. We can pass on the results of the Workcamp-workshops in schools.
Accommodation:
You will be sleeping in sleeping backs in rooms for three people. The press cabin is the living and working space for the group. The meals will be cooked by the volunteers. The food is vegetarian.
Remarks:
Please bring sleeping bags, clothes for cold and wet weather, work clothes and sturdy shoes, swim suits and music instruments!
Leisure time:
There are lots of activities you can do in your spare time: hiking, swimming, getting to know the people of the region, concerts, trips to Stuttgart or Nördlingen.
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
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