Workaway dans la campagne allemande

Infos

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  Description

  We are a bunch of people aged between 11 and 87 living and working together on 3 hectares of beautiful northern German countryside. Our property, which used to be a working water mill, is now a guest house for groups of up to 110 people from all over the world (mostly Germans though). We have a large garden and several animals that are really important to us, including horses, cats, ducks, chickens, a dog and a wild boar.
  
  The Mill is a convention centre open for all kinds of groups and we also organise a number of workshops ourselves, mostly centred around folk dancing and folk music. If you're interested in one of our workshops you usually can join in and experience a variety of dance and music styles. We have three pianos, an e-piano, a harp and a few working guitars that are always glad to get some love - feel free to bring your own instrument as well!
  
  We're happy to show you around the area and take you on outings with the team occasionally or play games on some nights but please be prepared to entertain yourself as well as we are often occupied by our guests, who are always interested in our helpers, so feel free to get chat with them :)
  
  Sara or Claudia will answer your emails.
  
  
  A bit about the history of the Mill:
  
  The Mill was taken over in December 1993 by three young people, Robert, Kerstin and Heike. Along with the help of their friends and families, the three of them did an amazing job of renovating, creating, building and experimenting to turn this old house into the beautiful place it is today.
  Many guests - some of them friends from their time at uni - keep returning to enjoy a break from day-to-day life.
  
  In 2007, the team bought a second guest house nearby, which Robert left to manage by himself following Kerstin's death in 2011. Heike then ran the Mill alone, supported by the best kitchen and cleaning staff you can possibly imagine as well as a rotating cast of Workawayers and friends. In 2012, Sally arrived as a helper and fell in love with the wild foster animals, the beautiful landscape, and the mill's magical atmosphere.
  
  In January 2021 - after returning as a helper since 2016 - Sara joined the team.
  
  Just after beginning to host groups again after the pandemic in 2021, with life, music and activity returning to the Mill, Heike had a fatal accident. Heike's sister Claudia left her old life as a vet behind and took the business over.
  
  In summer 2023 Konstanze joined the Mill-team and moved in with her two daughters, meanwhile Sally moved on to new adventures.
  
  The latest addition of people living at the Mill is our new colleague Torsten.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We speak fluent German and enjoy helping you improve and practise your German!
  
  You can learn new skills like sewing, repairing things, gardening, as well as making jam (although that´s depending on the season.)
  
  You are welcome to take part in our weekly Scottish dancing classes or to join in Irish music and folk dance workshops organised by the house.

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  Aide

  We do not ask for help with the business as we do have competent regular staff looking after our paying guests. Please note that, due to the nature of our business, your helping hours will be flexible and will change according to the situation.
  
  As we are very busy with the guests and office work, as well as organising courses, we can use help on the property. Tasks include gardening, fruit picking, general handyperson projects, sewing and maintaining/repairing our collection of bicycles.
  
  We are specifically looking for helpers who are experienced in working with horses so they can take over looking after them on a few days per week - mucking out, feeding and taking them to the field.
  
  A daily task at the moment is to take care of our ponds and cleaning around them. Another job would be continuing to build a wild hedge out of twigs and branches, cutting ivy and wine back around the windows and perhaps cutting trees and bushes back, removing weed in between the cobblestone paths and keep the electric fences around the horse fields free from plants growing in as well as removing leaves everyhwere around the property.
  
  At the moment our apples and pears are ripe so we are looking for help with picking them and turning them into delicious juice.
  
  Most of the time you'll work independently but at least one of us will always be around if you have any questions or need help.
  
  We're happy to hear your ideas, tips and thoughts for improvement and are always open to new perspectives.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Allemand: Courant
  Anglais: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We are a multi-lingual team with one person who can translate between German and French and one of us is able to translate between English and German. Please bring some patience along - not everyone living here can speak both English and German and it can take its time to communicate. We welcome helpers fluent in English, German, or both.
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  Hébergement

  A shared or single room with a shared bathroom.

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  Autres infos...

  We're located in a rural area - our next-door neighbours are two kilometres away! - about 2 hours drive from Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover and Magdeburg. You can also reach Berlin by train in 2.5 hours. The closest town with a small supermarket and a garage is a 15-minute bike ride away, the next slightly larger town about 30 minutes away.
  
  Due to the current situation, you will spend time on your own as there isn´t always someone around to keep you entertained.
  
  We're happy to provide lifts to different cities when one of us is heading out anyway and can occassionally give you a lift to the closest train station (5 kms away) if you want to explore the region. We also have bikes that you can borrow and the beautiful nature trails in the surrounding area invites short walks and longer hikes. Our friendly rescue dog Benni may accompany you if you want a furry companion on your walks.
  
  If you have riding experience, we have three ridable horses who are always happy to get some exercise so you´re welcome tp join Claudia when she´s going for a ride.
  
  When we have groups there´s always plenty of delicious food around. For the more quiet times we provide all the basic food, occassionally we´ll meet for cooking together but that won´t happen every day.
  
  Please note that we don´t accept helpers who are consuming any kind of drugs or drink alcohol on a daily basis.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  We have lots of space and electricity and facilities are available.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  As we have a dog and several cats, as well as the occasional visiting dog from a guest, please let us know if you´re thinking about bringing your pet along!

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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