Childcare collective in Berlin, Germany

  • Favourited 511 times
  • Last activity: 13 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    TASKS UPDATE:
    In addition to what's below, I could also use some help with:
    1) light renovations
    2) uncluttering my electronic devices.
    Please let me know if you have any experience with this!

    I COVID UPDATE
    I would expect you to provide a negative test on entering our home, and to be vaccinated. You should practice social distancing while staying with us. This means that you should wear masks while spending time indoors with other people. Please address the measures you are currently taking, and the ones you are willing to adopt, in your message of application.

    I work from my home office and we're both vaxed. Kiddo is in a small daycare nearby, unless there's a case at the daycare in which case she stays home. We are looking for a pod that is otherwise as “droplet bonded” as possible.

    For a useful basis for our discussion please google the documents below. Let me know if you have any questions!

    *************************
    II WHO WE ARE
    We're a single parent and a 5 year old building intentional community. We live in a quieter corner of Berlin-Schoeneberg/Wilmersdorf, an area in west Berlin that gives you easy access to cultural spots as well as parks and urban nature. Grunewald and Wannsee are relatively close, and we live right by the U7, which takes you directly to Hermannplatz and other stops in Neukoelln. We live on our own right now but have a large network of chosen family and friends who meet with us regularly to help out with the baby and form part of our lives. Most of us are people of colour and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or transgender, and involved in arts or activism of some kind. Due to Covid-19 and being abroad, we're socially distancing but stay in regular contact with the fam via zoom and occasional hangs in the park, playground or in our backyard. With us, you have the best of both worlds - quiet times and privacy and community.

    Your tasks vary according to what is needed right now. If we're not currently at the daycare, your main task will be to watch Jade. You will play with her at home or in the park or playground. You might clothe her, feed her, make her lunchbox, or pack her bag as required.

    Things kiddo is learning right now:
    Putting on & taking off clothes. Tidying up. ABC and number songs and puzzles in English and German (other languages welcome!). Dancing, singing and making music.

    Other tasks that are always helpful:
    Driving - we regularly visit Jade's grandparents, who live 5h away from Berlin in West Germany.
    Tech help - e.g. helping me figure out storage on my devices or teaching me how to use a new gadget or software (analogue generation!).
    Painting walls in our new place.

    In addition to your workaway duties, you will help out around the house as fully as any adult flatmate would. Shared tasks include cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and other errands. These tasks are not included in your reciprocity hours.

    *************************
    III PREFERRED APPLICANTS
    The child is raised multilingually in German, English, Thai and Patois. Please state any skills you have in these languages. Please also state any experience you've had looking after kids this age and living communally with others as a flatmate.

    Applicants with backgrounds in the African and Caribbean diasporas or Thailand, as well as applicants with lived experience in the LGBT, queer and trans of colour communities that make up the care collective (as described above) are preferred.

    *************************
    We usually live in Toronto (Canada) but are staying in Berlin until late summer 2025. If you are planning to visit Toronto in the future we'd also love to hear from you!

    *************************
    You can google the following articles as a good basis for our COVID safety discussion:

    How to form a pandemic pod
    greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_form_a_pandemic_pod?fbclid=IwAR3BJyBpXFJeT_vFoGgzuWHuHkop-5MI4i_V1LMKNbUm-pC-zp_MbavOquo

    COVID CARE: A way forward to opening up social circles
    medium.com/@evelindacker/covid-care-e2ede67428d4

    Community COVID pod agreements
    bit.ly/covidpodagreements

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Language practice
    DIY and building projects
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You would experience being part of something bigger. Care collectives bring us closer to social justice: to a world where parents stay in community, where adults and children are in community with each other, where children have abundant access to people of many generations and experiences. They provide support and practise interdependence in a context where there is often a significant lack of support for parents (family not in the country, no partner etc.). And they let folks who may not otherwise have this opportunity experience and gain skills for hanging out with babies.

    You would experience living in one of the amazing world cities out there. The place has all the culture, art and scenes you could wish for. Its social movements - from queer and trans politics to Black Lives Matter - are inspiring.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    You would help out with the kid and/or other tasks for a maximum of 25 h a week. In addition, you would be expected to chip in with the chores independently and self-directedly as a leading member of the household.

    THINGS FOR HELPERS OF NEW PARENTS TO KNOW
    - Small kids & new parents are fragile creatures. Please respect our attempts at domestic hygiene and do what you can to stay healthy. Bring weather-appropriate clothes, especially in winter (it can get way below 0 degreed). Please wash your hands first thing when you walk in, before touching the baby.
    - On any given date you might spend your time feeding the kid, playing with the kid while I'm cooking, stretching, bathing or getting some work or life admin done. You might take the kid to the park, or you might play with them at home while I'm running some errands outside.
    - Do things that need doing (but be mindful of your own boundaries and capacity): If there is a stack of dirty dishes, load them into the dishwasher, if you're the last person up in the evening and you've had a late-night snack, wipe down the surfaces and take out the rubbish, if it’s lunch time, heat up food, if there’s laundry, take it downstairs, take out the recycling when you go out. The point is, just dig in and help out, don’t wait to be directed. I'll pay for food, rent and bills but you'll be expected to chip in with shopping, cooking and cleaning as an independently motivated helper and flatmate.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    German: Fluent
    English: Fluent
    Thai: Fluent
    French: Beginner

    This host offers a language exchange
    Interested in: Patois, Creole, Thai, Ojibwe, Spanish, French. Can offer: German, English.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We live in a 2 room apartment with a separate kitchen at the centre of the City, walking distance to many great places to check out. The apartment is in a friendly old-school Berlin apartment building.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Allergy advice: I don't have pets and am a non-smoker. There's carpet so it's not ideal for dust allergy sufferers. We try to be scent free, so please don't bring any soap, hair or body products that have perfume or chemicals in them.

    Close to the subway and buses that connect you instantly to the downtown. Lots of groceries and shops nearby. Walkable to cafes, libraries, community centres, public swimming pools and parks. Forests and lakes are within cycling distance.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    Decent wifi connection.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 488632737511

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