Help with building and live with an International family in the Black Forest, Germany

Detalles

• 

  Descripción

  Hello! I am Johannes a 43-year-old kindergarten educator with two young daughters and a black cat.
  
  First of all - I have tried to press all possibly needed information into this page - please read it all to the end and read it carefully before you contact me for further questions.
  That being said here are a few key notes about our place before you dive in to the main part of the profile:
  • Any people who have any skills with their hands will be invaluable and will be hugely appreciated. Likewise is the ability to teach such skills. If you say you have any skill, I will take you seriously on that, so please only mention skills if you are confident with them.
  • If you do not come with any experience in practical skills, you are very welcome but you need to be aware that we will need to have a reality check about whether you can learn the needed skills and if you can be helpful here. In that case I would require a longer term stay. You will need time to learn a new skill, and to use it fruitfully and helpfully. If you come with a strong interest and determination to learn specific skills, you are sure to fit in here because that normally always leads to experience in the skills.
  • I am currently trying to improve my vibrato violin and master the physiologicaly correct way of handling the instrument. Till now, after playing more than 30 minutes I will get crampy hands. Therefore, if you have experience in teaching violin, I would love to hear from you.
  • We do not require or wish for help with the kids. I understand there are many au pair profiles: this is not one. The time the kids and workawayers spend together will be minimal. Therefore it is of no interest if you like or dislike kids.
  • This is not the best place for language exchange, unless there is more than one workawayer and you wish to practice in your free time. Because it is most effective, our working language is English, and the host does not have time to practice German with workawayers.
  
  I try to live a sustainable lifestyle which means a crazy amount of work but also enables me to have a lot of time outdoors around my two girls and be an example for them about caring about this planet.
  We live in a very, very big, ca. 250 years old farm house. We have a big garden with a natural brook running through and some chickens. The house is located right on the famous St. James's Path/ the Road to Santiago at the edge of the beautiful Black Forest Natural Park, in a village called Leinstetten situated between Horb am Neckar and Freudenstadt in the south of Germany.
  I have this enormous house (about 900m²) yet at the moment only less than one quarter of it can be used for living. My dream is to renovate it – using natural and traditional techniques – and to step-by-step create a place for the exchange and living of people who are into, anthroposophy, music, art, and traditional building as well as for cultural and international exchange. The aim is to create a place of nurturing and healing. Whether it will be a living community, a kindergarten, a centre for seminars and cultural exchange, or a mixture of many ideas, is not decided yet. This is my dream for the future, but first the house needs to be repaired. That means that the time here at the moment is very little about art and more about hard work.
  I'm grateful for any help here. Very often people help in the household or garden and assist me with the building projects in the house.

• 

  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Jardinería

  Construcción y bricolaje

  Ayuda en una granja

  Ayuda doméstica

  Mantenimiento general
• 

  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  The region we live in is beautiful and peaceful. It is a place for quiet country life, for returning back to the nature, for being true to yourself and enjoying each peaceful moment. The famous "Road to Santiago" (Jacobsway or St. James' Way) is right at our door step. We enjoy greeting pilgrims from our balcony now and then.
  
  I purposefully live a mindful, traditional Black Forest lifestyle and I only recently became aware of the renewed interest for this kind of lifestyle. Your stay here is a big chance for you to live a life that the “Fridays of future- youngsters” would likely urge for. Living with me means always asking yourself how to leave a positive footprint in your environment
  
  I loved unconventional traveling, and I have traveled extensively by bicycle and donkey around Asia before my children were born. I will have many interesting stories to share with you.
  I usually talk with workawayers in English. If your German is good enough for having a good conversation, we can also talk in German. As the kids are half Chinese and half German they also understand a little bit Mandarin :). Through past experience I have to say that the stay with us is not very efficient for practicing German, if you are not already very good at it. Our German has a strong swabian accent and the working language is English.
  
  I only work half days at the Kindergarten. This way I try my best to have time for my kids and my many ongoing projects. I do my best to get my food from my garden and my chickens but also from food donations and food sharing places and I buy as few products as possible. Therefore I mostly eat local and seasonal food or the food depends on what we get. Mostly we do not get many products with animal proteins, apart from the big amounts of fresh milk, which we get from a farm close by. If you are fixated on a protein based diet we are probably not the right host.
  I try my best to keep IT-things and screens away from my kids as long they are with me and at my place. In general, I try to live as analogue as possible and appreciate workawars who get behind this. That means that you will only be able to use your mobile phone or Computer inside your own room and I’m strict about this.
  
  What you could learn here:
  - How to use old, often already forgotten handyman skills (carpenter skills, making clay walls etc.)
  - If you stay for very long you can also get introduced to working with different kinds of power tools
  - How to process firewood for the winter
  - How to prune fruit trees
  - How to care for the vegetable garden (I try to follow the principles of bio-dynamic gardening)
  - How to do landscaping
  - How to get close to a no waste-lifestyle
  - How to save money
  - How to get aware about what your real needs are (realising addictive-consumption- behavior)
  - How to connect with /get conscious in your hands and body
  - How to create a whole workout. By doing different physical jobs in a well planed row you can systematically train different muscles of your body.
  - How to enjoy physical work as a meditative dance.
  - How to live a life with the aim of following the principal of leaving a positive footprint by rethinking behavior-, thinking- and consuming patterns
  - Reconnect with nature
  - Having quiet time alone
  - How to breed chicken and ducks
  - How to slaughter animals (this is rare)
  - How to preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter
  - How to use traditional herbal medicine (collecting the herbs in nature and processing them)
  - How to reduce drastically the consumption of water and energy
  - How to live a life with nearly no screens (mobile, computer, TV etc.)
  - If there are other workawayers here (I can host up to 5), you’ll have great chances to meet people for cultural exchange
  - Get to know the traditional mindset of the swabian, regional culture
  - How to live a steady lifestyle in following the rhythm of the nature
  
  All in all, I believe that the right helper will come to us at the right time, so that we can share a part of our life journey together. I am thankful that this workaway platform makes this possible. So write to us and we will always reply (within two days), and hopefully greet you at our beloved countryside home! ^_^

• 

  Proyectos con niños

  En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.

• 

  Ayuda

  I dream of finding people who are used to working with their hands efficiently (producing fast and good results) and love physical activity. People do not need to be physically very strong or specifically trained, but practically minded, able to learn fast new manual skills, and are willing to get things finished in a reasonable time. They also would need to be able to keep on a task with endurance and concentration. Last but not least they would need to be aware to take care not to create any damage while they work, be it damaging property and equipment or improperly carrying out a task, resulting in further work later.
  In my experience I need to say that the most important thing for a good fit is that there is, through sharing the daily life here, a natural feeling of a good fit between host and workawayer. This sounds perhaps strange but sometimes there are workawayers who, by their self description, don't fit into our conscious needs and ideas at all, but after they arrived here, it turns out that they have any number of hidden skills or emotional fits which go beyond what we could have dreamed of. These unexpected fits are often the ones which the most benefit for both host and workawayer.
  The other very essential requirement is that workawayers can identify with the place, the rules, and the projects, as we, as a family, are not very flexible and also not willing to adjust much towards the needs of the workawayers.
  I realise that both of these factors can't be planned or known in advance. Online pre-meetings on skype and so on often only increase expectations which then turn out later to be illusions. Thus, I do not offer any video or call based interviews on Skype, Whatsapp or the like (to which I am not subscribed regardless).
  With these things in mind, I need to say: I want to invite everyone who wants to come and with whom I could imagine, at any possibility, that it could be a good fit, and give me, him or her a chance and a try. On the other hand I have no hesitations in ending a stay as soon it turns out to not be of benefit. I take you on your word: if you join us on the premise of possessing X skill or craft, then I will expect you to live up to this and treat it as the truth.
  
  Most workawayers are from cities and we of course welcome them here, but we want them to be aware that the first 3 weeks can be very challenging being confronted with a completely unknown “museum-like” simple lifestyle and world. Here they have the opportunity to learn about and take part in the traditional country life of the region with things such as stripped back cooking practices, heating the whole house with firewood, or having one hot shower per week.
  People who are used to working with their hands and are exposed to daily farm life despite coming from completely different cultures find it extremely easy to adjust to our daily way of life.
  
  Reflecting on experience, after 3 weeks of their stay, people either leave or get used to the place and feel mostly that it has a great and peaceful impact on their soul. People who stay longer than one or two months often leave as a different person to when they arrived and describe that they had reached an inner development or self awareness here.
  
  In general, I need support on various aspects of my busy life in and outside the house. 
Here are some examples: preserving vegetables or fruits for the winter; landscaping and gardening (both for vegetables and for beauty); repairing the very old sandstone walls of the house; sanding old furniture; stacking fire wood, moving building materials. As I don't have many animals, the care for them is only a little job. Some of the tasks are only seasonal or dependent on weather conditions or on their urgency.
  
  In the winter, I would also be happy to have people who are good at needlework. Mending old clothes could be also a possible task to do. Also artists who know how to paint with acrylic in a naturalistic style are welcomed.
  
  
  Musicians would also be very much welcomed as I do not have a TV, so after working time, I would love to enjoy live music. I play the violin and sometimes like to sing. If wished for and joyful to all, I offer to free the musicians from other works for their time of playing music for all.

• 

  Idiomas hablados

  Alemán: Fluido
  Inglés: Fluido

• 

  Alojamiento

  We have one double and one single room for guests in a separate part of the house. This area is nicely renovated with exposed timbers, which are filled with natural clay. The rooms have washbasins.
  In addition, there is space in the not yet fully finished rooms, in the attic, or in the barn (but all come with heating). Sometimes, workawayer groups decide to share the big workawayer living room all together like a dormitory. Finally, if you bring a tent you of course are welcome to camp in the garden.
  If there is no worldwide corona crisis, mostly in the summer, I sometimes host up to 5 workawayers at the same time.
  I try to provide a single room to every workawayer who has the need for that privacy, but I cannot guarantee that you would not sometimes have to share room with other workawayers. It is very rare, that there is not a solution acceptable for all.
  If you need to work on your computer you have WIFI in your room.
  As I and my kids try to live as much as possible an analogue life, your digital tools and toys (mobile, smart watch, laptop etc.) are restricted to be only located and used in your rooms and the workawayer area. It would be nice if you could use that as a chance to reconnect to the real world and yourself.

• 

  Algo más...

  There is a lot to do and to see in our region. There are many hiking paths that go through a number of middle age towns. A ruined castle can be seen from our house. Nearby are many small farms and a bio buffalo farm, an outdoor swimming pool, a barefoot park, a number of museums presenting the traditional lifestyle of the region and its rich historical past, various sized gardens, beautiful forests. The low light pollution allows for good star gazing.
  I also have a nice German library, a solid collection of English literature, and a number of music instruments waiting for you to play them, including a piano.
  
  If you want to dive into city life, the nearby little cities are Horb am Neckar and Freudenstadt, both about 20 minutes away by car. Other nice places to visit are Alpirsbach, Tübingen and Hohenzollern-castle. From Horb, there are direct express trains and the highway (A81) to Stuttgart. There are local buses from our little town to the nearby big towns, i.e. Sulz and Freudenstadt but unfortunately they are not that frequent, especially during the holiday time as in every other remote region. You can always borrow a bicycle from me, if you are really fit, as it is a really hilly region. The challenge for fitness and nice views on the way, however, are for sure guaranteed! ^_^
  
  Think of the often rather cold temperatures and bring warm clothes. Additionally, for working you will need suitable shoes.
  Please take seriously that you need a valid health insurance.
  I am an ex-smoker, and if I am honest, I still enjoy to have smokers around me if only to catch a scent of fresh tobacco smoke. Smokers are welcome. You must smoke outside, but we do have a lovely balcony for this.
  
  I am very committed to being a good host and I am searching for similarly committed workawayers. Please only apply if you:
  - are willing to challenge yourself by experiencing a life that may be tough and tiring at first. We do ask the workawayers to share the same lifestyle as us. What ever we have we share, but we do not offer any extras for the workawayer.
  
  - take responsibility of your own words, e.g., if you say: "I will come!" then you really do come. So, please NO LAST MINUTES CANCELLATIONS.
  
  - be ok to share a room with an other workawayer.
  
  - are open minded and willing to adjust to our family and house rules and the regional culture and mindset.
  
  - accept that as soon as someone feels uncomfortable with the stay, then the stay can be ended by the host or workawayers. (this would anyway be the case with all workaway-stays at any place, but I still want to stress this point. As a family we decided that we have no capacity for pushing on with something that clearly isn’t working. In the case that the stay does not fit or does not feel good we end it immediately).
  
  Other information is:
  1. For all vegetarian, vegans, or people who do a protein based diet - we do eat meat in small amounts about once a week (mostly pork from the bio -farm close by).
  I cannot afford to buy any extra diet. I always provide the same food to workawayers like I eat myself. Until now vegans, vegetarians, Muslims or Inuits always managed to pick out the food acceptable for them, but of course in winter it is much more difficult than in summer and fall when the garden is full of crops.
  
  2. I offer food but I do not necessarily prepare it for you. When the kids are visiting their mum you will likely cook for yourself but I will have more time to spend with you. If the kids are with me the family will spend most of our time in the separate flat in a different part of the house but for the most part I do cook for all.
  That means you need to be independent as you often need to spend your time alone and cook and eat your food for yourself.
  
  3. I do not write invitation letters and will not be part of a visa run.
  
  4. If you arrive by train in Freudenstadt, pay attention to the station at which you get off (Stadtbahnhof Freudenstadt or Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) Freudenstadt) so that I know where to go for picking you up. If you come from Stuttgart the station of Horb is the better choice. Please tell me a few days in advance when you would arrive. Because of the unreliable trains in Germany I insist, that you call me on my landline phone only after you arrived in Horb or Freudenstadt. Only once you have called will I leave my home for collecting you. Remember I do not have a mobile phone.
  
  5. If you are not very, very familiar or even professional with building and gardening you need to speak and understand English or German very well in order to understand the explanations about the work. You need to be a fast learner and determined to learn new skills.
  
  6. Most of the tasks will be done in very dusty conditions (I provide face masks for the dust) and the house can also be quite dusty in the winter because we heat with wood, so if you have any problems/allergies with dust it may not be the best fit.
  
  7. I cannot afford to pay money for your work. Your help is only in exchange for food, accommodation and to get to know regional skills, culture, lifestyle, and knowledge.
  
  Thank you for your understanding and I am looking forward to welcoming you to my home!

• 

  Un poco más de información

  • 

    Acceso a Internet

  • 

    Acceso a Internet limitado

  • 

    Tenemos animales

  • 

    Somos fumadores

  • 

    Puede alojar familias

• 

  Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

  Este anfitrión ha indicado que le encanta acoger a nómadas digitales.

• 

  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Más de dos

• 

  Horas esperadas

  25 hours per week

Comentarios (57)