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100 %
Last replied
15 Feb 2024
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Details
Description
Hello,
This is Henning writing.
Here is what we do:
Gardening and fruittrees
Ecobuilding projects and renovation of old house
Animal Care, sheep, chicken, guinea pigs
Creating a humane place
Veggie and vegan cooking
Firewoodmaking, the whole process until the feet are warm in front of the stove
Bonfires and solar/fire hot tub under the sky
Solarcooking (in progress, help us!)
Tiny house building
Housecare
Field stone wall restoration
Bouldering, treeclimbing
Solar electric stuff
We live in some kind of a patchwork family. My girlfriend has a daughter, I have a daughter. We live in a guest house with a big garden. We also have six sheep living in our orchard, and seven chicken. We eat the chickens eggs, apart from that we let the animals live their lifes. We got three guinea pigs, too.
Did I mention our bouldering room?
I observe the night sky, as well as the sun from my micro observatory in the garden. Of course, I am more than happy to show you sky things, if you are interested.
I am almost 42 years old and despite good experiences with younger helpers we prefer helpers between 24 and our age.
We started this project in the end of 2011 and there is always a lot to do. Any help is welcome with the garden, fruit trees, further renovate the house and workshop, all kinds of jobs around the buildings. Help in house and kitchen will also be welcome.
We live in a quiet and remote area in the North of Germany, between Berlin and the Baltic Sea in beautiful countryside full of hills and lakes.
Languages spoken are English and German. We can help you learn German, as far as this can be involved into the other activities. And we love to meet new people from all over the world.
You can also learn treeclimbing, go kayaking on one of the endless number of lakes around, learn rolling, do cycling trips or just sit at the firepit in the evenings under a nice starfield far away from any city lights. Berlin is only a one hour bus and train ride away.
We would be happy to hear from you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will learn various tasks in building stuff, maintaining an old house, installing new eco technologies,
making economic decisions.
You will live in a family like situation, but we also often have friends at our house or holiday guests.
There is a lot of space on our property and much more nature around, so you can experience solitude as well.
I am afraid to say that you won`t see much typical german stuff here, besides our six different garbage bins, that is.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
UPDATE:
2023, June
-Gardening, beekeeping, house renovation, daily help with our six chickens, sometimes watering trees etc., setting up our solar roof, help in the house, and more..
Summer 2023 seems to have arrived, Lots of gardening to do, we plan to install a new woodstove upstairs. Thankfully it is already "up". We are making hay by hand, the six sheep need shearing. The woodpile "melted" away into firewood, thanks to our great last helper!
Still more solar panels await installation. When it gets warm enough, join us at/on/in the lake for swimming, kayaking and kayak rolling.
------------------------------------------
Finally spring is here again, or lets say it gets here more and more every day.
The trees are blooming and we spent a lot of the day outside.
Time to enjoy the galaxies in the spring sky, as well as the first bonfire evenings
after fun garden projects.
-----------------------------------
Quick Update to all the woodworms out there: We have a medium sized pile of wood that needs to be chewed into firewood. All worms welcome!
August 2022 (well, almost at the time I write this).
The summer is meandering along here and we could get the solar-panels onto the roof a few weeks ago.
Our hot water is almost enirely heated by the sun now, and in turn we let the sun bite a big chunk out of our electricity bills. The whole system is a work-in-progress, however, so help there (no skills needed) and better yet interest in the topic are appreciated. I believe we take an interesting approach to renewables at our place.
The garden needs some attention, too. There are many small things to do to get your hands busy, and in the afternoons we can go swimming or snorkeling.
April 2022
Almost Easter, and there is some stuff to do in the garden, as well as the things mentioned below.
So you just missed working on our rainwater collecting system, but there is still a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge to share (+a few finishing touches). Also we will dive into solar electricity just now. All longdreamed projects, finally seeing realisation.
From January 2022 onwards:
Depending on the Covid-situation we will decide whether it is possible to invite you or not.
Apart from that, we are looking forward to finally meet someone new again and have fun
and work on fun projects together!
We are currently working on installing a kitchen upstairs.
This means we will look into plastering, painting, electrical and plumbing installations,
and other odd jobs.
Outdoor projects and jobs are possible, too, depending on the wheather etc.
Our few animals need daily care, which includes feeding, watering, maybe walking the dog.
You will most likely reside in one of our two holiday apartments, but we most often like
spending time together, cook vegetarian or vegan meals together and hang out, drinking
coffee or tea.
Feel free to ask for a stay!
August 2021
With a careful look at the rising number of covid infections,
it currently seems safe and legal to open our house for volunteers again, while performing the actual health safety manners.
2021
-No workawayers so far this year, due to various reasons, but mainly the ongoing pandemic.
Support in basically every field would be needed, much has been waiting to get done or started.
2020
-Covid apocalypse. Despite that quite a few things got done and we had good times with a few wonderful people.
09/2019
-Beautiful fall season is at the front door, the startrailer tiny house thing is finally set up
and needs a lot more love, we enjoy the last rays of sunlight and the fresh morning dew.
The house calms down, smaller renovation jobs to do.
06/2019
-We got HONEY BEES! Summer is there again, guests fill the house, we are at the lakes every evening,
I do my everamazing stargazing and inbetween some nice projects for the house.
09/2018
-The summer is finally over, I need help doing firewood and there are wood construction projects to start and finish.
The leaves turn colourful, a beautiful season!
08/2018
-A great summer, the lakes are warm, some smaller projects only, mainly maintainance, it is simply
too hot to do serious stuff.
04/2018
-Spring is here, days and nights are much warmer now and sunny. It is time for outside work. We already planted an orphant apple tree, got the hot tub running at the bonfire, so the garden is the living room again.
03/2018
-Last months build of three beautiful firewood sheds boosted our firewood storing capacities and we are very
happy to now have to fill all that space by spending hours in the beautiful local forests chopping logs, bringing them to our place for splitting with our hydraulic wood splitter and stacking them into the sheds for drying.
As always: Everyday life needs a responsible person who takes care for the community apartment, the animals
and so on. We now also have three rabbits, they keep melting my heart.
As for the sky, it`s galaxy season coming, so lets hope for clear skies.
12/2017
-Xmas is at the horizon, as well as the years end.
Some minor inside renovations need to get done, and whoever is interested in my firewood shed concept,
help is apprechiated here. We will build at least three of them in the next two months.
In general, our seven sheep and two chicken (sadly only two right now) need daily attention, the community apartment needs to be fillled with life, warmth and laughter.
We will celebrate new years in a small group of friends, rather calm. So, whoever needs a place away from
the big city rumble, here it is.
Perhaps we will also go to the forests nearby to harvest and process firewood for the coming winters.
09/2017
-Summer slowly comes to an end, we are well prepared for a colourful autumn with sunny days,
but also the first light frosty mornings.
Because we got a micro HOT TUB! Two people, two buckets of wood and two hours at the fire pit provide for a relaxing hot bath, ideally, how can it be otherwise, under the stars.
My tiny garden room has yet to be started, at least the platform is there.
My workshop needs shelfs, which I want to build from wood, so there are, together with renovation tasks, minor projects going on.
Everyday life needs some responsible person who takes care for the community apartment, the animals and so on.
04/2017
-Finally, it is warm again!
Leaves spring out of the plants (a.o. our seven new fruit trees!) and the birds go crazy.
I got a hay trailer and will start building my garden room on it soon. Call it tiny house, if you wish,
but since I will heavily rely on the main houses infrastructure, for me it is more like a single room
with loads of windows in all directions, including up, for stargazing.
Also I managed to kind of complete my backyard observatory, with focus on showing all the interested
people how relaxing and aesthecically fullfilling it can be to watch the stars.
Well, that being said, the kitchen still needs some work to be done, although it also greatly leaped forward
in the meantime.
Garden work as well, helping shear the sheep in a few weeks, oh, did I mention our new woodsplitter?
11/2016
-Time to write something.
The calm time of the year has begun, the woodstoves are burning and the winter sky hovers above us.
Vegan cookies are appreciated.
Some carpentry is necessary for the apartments kitchen, as well as gas bottle storage boxes. Holes need to be dug for our new fruit trees, then they (the trees) need to get planted into them (the holes).
Fences need to be built around the trees.
There always is firewood to be split, the pottery waits to get a clay plastering,
02/2016
-Wow, thanks to our last helpers the apartment is going along, but we had to take a break due to letting the oil/wax varnish of the floors harden. We now need help with the electric installations.
-Firewood season! Whoever wants to be in the forest with us and learn how to process firewood from tree to warmth is welcome!
-Winter is almost over (hopefully) and we start preparing the garden.
10/2015:
Things going on at the moment are:
-We need help renovating an apartment of our house, mainly wallpaper removing, painting.
-Building of a climbing wall in the towns former mill, so whoever can climb/use a drill is welcome to help
me set the first climbing routes and install lighting, wall panels, and so on.
-Our bathroom upstairs needs a new floor and we are setting up a rainwater-storage system for the
watering of the garden. We also want to change our fence system for the sheep, because our neighbour
set up a solid fence between his and ours property. Will make our meadow-management much easier.
2/2014: A wolf has killed five sheep in the next village, so being present in the garden is always welcome. Be it for garden work at daytime or at night at the bonfire. Wolves are very shy to humans and won´t show up!
We are setting up a long natural hedge with different sections for different animals and plants. This is gonna be our biggest single ecoproject so far and we need helpers who are interested in learning about that.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Accommodation
We have a vegetarian kitchen, vegan food welcome!
We have a newly renovated helpers-room with historic woodstove now!
Often one of our holiday apartments is available, too.
Also more seperate rooms and for those who want a big garden
for setting up a camp under the trees or at the firepit.
Sleeping in a tree (hammock) would also be an option in summer.
What else ...
Since we started this project we have made constantly good experiences with everyone who came here and helped us.
Also we always tried to arrange things most comfortably for everybody who had any kind of wish.
We are happy for having this kind of exchange and love when volunteers leave their own signs in their work so we can remember them.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We got an ok WIFI connection in our house, and there are calm rooms to work in.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
(max 25 hours/week) always depends on current projects, you should be motivated and active!
Feedback (31)
He was super kind all of the time and it was hard to get him away from the tasks.
He was eager to finish our firewood job and succeded (by working on a sunday in the blazing heat!).
Also we tidied the bouldering room up a bit and made it a bit better. I think he was the best climber in there yet.… read more
Henning is super responsive on communication, and felt sure from the get-go that if I needed anything, or had any questions, I had only to ask. He's also very experienced as a host, which definitely smooths the process. He's clear about what Workaway is and what it's not… read more
Henning is such an open and intelligent person who knows so much about astrology and has great DIY skills!
Thanks a lot and maybe next time we can make a kajak trip together!… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.8)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
He was super kind all of the time and it was hard to get him away from the tasks.
He was eager to finish our firewood job and succeded (by working on a sunday in the blazing heat!).
Also we tidied the bouldering room up a bit and made it a bit better. I think he was the best climber in there yet.… read more
Henning is super responsive on communication, and felt sure from the get-go that if I needed anything, or had any questions, I had only to ask. He's also very experienced as a host, which definitely smooths the process. He's clear about what Workaway is and what it's not… read more
Henning is such an open and intelligent person who knows so much about astrology and has great DIY skills!
Thanks a lot and maybe next time we can make a kajak trip together!… read more
The work was satisfying (my favourite task was splitting logs for firewood, though I also painted a room) and Henning seemed happy for me to get on with things at my own pace, with plenty of… read more
It was never a transactional nature, I was given trust,… read more
Besides performing daily tasks both in the house and with our animals, he participated in various building projects. We did concrete work on our rainwater cistern, woodworking on our star trailer, sewage pipe digging and many other tasks, which he enthusiastically jumped onto.
I can clearly recommend… read more
Henning is highly intelligent, funny and all round nice guy. His projects are always interesting during my stay we fixed 4 water storage tanks, built a stargazing trailer, fixed some sewage pipes and some smaller tasks. Its not all work and no play though, in the evenings we would cook some… read more
The work is very relaxed and fun. Then after work there's is the big beautiful garden to chill. You can hang out in the hammock, practice… read more
He integrated well, my mother and sister visited at the time, and it was amazing working with him on our stargazing trailer.
The precision we managed to put into it would have been hard to achieve with someone else.
That was woodworking mainly.
Also we did some renovation work in one of the… read more
We did some tough stuff like sheering our sheep and it all worked out perfectly.
They remained calm, concentrated and tough, so we could get it done in record time.
I can recommend them to all the other hosts out there, it is great fun having them around.
All the best to you two, I… read more
He is a joy to have around, very polite and willing to help. Whenever I asked him to
take over a task, I could just trustfully forget about it and he took the best care of it.
That was a big support every time and I could do other things that needed my attention.… read more
We had nice conversation while sharing meals and working together in new fun project, and I learned a bit about wood works.
We couldn't watch the stars, but Henning is always ready to tell you something about stars and give explanation about it or about the surrounding lakes (that are… read more
She is a very responsible person, taking the greatest attention to her chosen tasks and bringing in her own useful recommendations. She greatly helped painting the floor boards in our big guest apartment as well… read more
She mastered every task she was ask to do like taking daily and responsoble care of our animals, keeping the community apartment very tidy and always well stacked with firewood, the stove fire pretty much never died out and she cooked often. That was a… read more
I spent just over two weeks at this beautiful house helping Henning out with.. whatever we felt like doing for the day! There is no shortage of projects and so, depending on the weather or the mood or the pressures... we would do what needed to be done! I'm not sure how long per day we worked because it never really felt… read more
who helped and lived with us in summer.
He fit in quite well and took best care of the community apartment, the chicken and our sheep.
And we always had deep conversations about practically everything there is and this is a rare thing
with such a young fella. So my positive impression… read more
The people:
You won't be ready for great conversations and debates with Henning during the morning coffee, he will show you his unique… read more
Let us settle your decision once and for all.
Write to Henning, now. Now! Write to him, quick!… read more
She is also quite independent and whatever tasks she had would be done reliably by her.
Of course it would be nice and appreciated if she came back in summer or whenever she likes!
Living with Henning is a pretty inspiring thing for he's always up to some fantastic building-project or at least planning the next. Also the discussions you can have with him about everything from politics over life attitudes… read more
If you like the countryside, go to their place. Discover nearby villages and come to the conclusion that almost every… read more
He stayed a little over three weeks with us and we got quite a few things done involving planting apple trees, splitting firewood and helping wherever it was needed.
Jaco was enthusiastic and motivated to do stuff and he was always smiling and fun to have him around. Definitely let him cook, he likes… read more
He is a very nice guy to have around and absolutely HAS to come back when he is back in germany (This as a little warning in case you think otherwise :-)).
Besides,… read more
During my stay there was always something to do (even if they encouraged me to take a day off) on their large property, everything from chopping wood to playing with Freya to tending to the sheep and chickens.
The sleeping accommodations were… read more
We had many… read more
Fabienne is a charm to be with, she is an active, openminded young woman with great plans for the future. Always trying to learn new useful things, she doesn´t fear getting her hands dirty with clay nor getting her muscles sore from helping with the firewoodmaking.
Hope she will come back to us, soon!
I did a lot of different things (in the workshop, the garden or the house) and I never get bored.
Rike and Henning are very nice and they make me feel welcome. Freya is really a funny and happy child, it was a pleasure to play with her.
The countryside is beautiful with a lots of lakes and… read more
A great buzz! Very enjoyable lot of things to do and people to meet. I walked through your forest saw german countryside parts i never knew existed. work was invigorating too, plastering, painting, choping wood, henning really knows his stuff. Rike is an expert pottery individual hope to see her creations again.… read more
We had an amazing time getting to know this… read more
a friendly couple who were very hard workers while fighting the blackthorn and concrete blocks. Also helped a lot in renovating clay walls. We really enjoyed talking about and walking in nature, Joe is a wildlife addict! Sarah is very funny whenever Joe is silent for a moment, ha ha! Great people, definitly missing something,… read more
Definitly place him next to the… read more
I'm only sorry I could stay for just two weeks - but the time i was there was wonderfull. The work was fun, relaxed and often also creative, so I learned a lot and worked happily. Always Homey feeling, interesting conversations and laid-back atmosphere.
I'll already miss you guys(-: especially… read more
Amy was a full month with us? Never felt like that. She integrated very well and is an interesting and happy person, who never made trouble. She helped a lot with our daughter and whatever was to be done, mainly doing housework and decorating our place with her arts.
and thanks for all, Amy!
They sherd with me theyr visions about sustainability, and thoghts about ecologicl life style, we had intersting conversetions, and I got to see the unconventional cool life of that young family.
I helpd henning with instaling a foundetion for rain water colecting system, and got… read more
took his profession as a chef very serious, and was a great help with digging trenches around our house:)
he is a very friendly and calm, but also funny person and we really enjoyed having him with us. hope, to see him one day. thanks again, man!
rike and henning
