Transforming an old farmhouse into an oasis of peace in Odenwald, Germany

Details

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  Description

  Heyhey! I'm Yannick,
  The past 5 years I was mostly doing van life around Europe and travel life was kindly showing me the beauty of living in a community, with van people in a forest, hippies in caves or simply on a permaculture finca.
  
  The Vision.
  That gave me the vision to create a lovely and open community space with like-minded people in an old farmhouse which I was allowed to inherited a few years back.
  The ideas I have and with what I am looking for help is
  - converting the old barn into a peaceful, high-ceiling community space to hold non-commercial retreats, events and ceremonies
  - giving love to the garden
  - setting up the workshop for converting vans and all kinds of DIY and creative (upcycling) art
  - converting the old chicken house into a healthy sauna
  - building a winter garden in another part of the old barn
  
  About the house.
  The house itself contains a barn, a garden, a little chicken house and backyard and is located in the little village I grew up in. It's a valley surrounded by forests. Right in the middle of nature. You can walk outside the front door in almost any direction and find green meadows, creeks and beautiful forests in 5mins. It's calm and peaceful here, basically no traffic, fresh air and amazing tap water :)
  Still the public transport is good and there is a direct connection to close cities like Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main. The house is also inhabitated by two initially shy but then cozy & cuddly cats, Amelie & Amora, mom & daughter, who have their own whole story of how they got here.
  
  About myself.
  For many years I did the big city life with an office job until I chose to quit and get rid of everything and buy and live in a small van. That's now 5 years ago and I love what life showed me since then. I changed completely and feel more home within myself than ever before. :)
  I'm a positive person and I like to find my own way in doing things. I try to be as kind and open minded as possible and live in a conscious way.
  I'm into:
  - making natural medicine
  - spirituality
  - vanlife / DIY / van conversion
  - making music (I have several instruments, would be amazing to jam together :))
  
  Thank you.
  Love & Light,
  Yannick

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  I'm an autodidact and depending on the level of passion I can go really deep into the rabbit holes of some topics and I'd love to share my knowledge and skills in these, some of them are:
  - growing (medicinal) plants & fungi
  - making natural medicine
  - music theory
  - beginner guitar
  - electrics
  - wood working
  - metal working
  - car repairing
  - van conversion & van life itself.
  - programming (Professionally, I work as a software engineer)

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  Help

  So the things I would love to have help with these days:
  - Firstly I'm looking for help for emptying and organizing the barn. It was used as storage and we need to get it empty to continue with planning the further steps of converting it to a livable space.
  - Also the workshop needs to be organized and improved. There is an old tractor which needs to be made workable again to be able to move it out of the way when needed.
  - Around the little garden are plants (Roses and Wisteria) which would be very happy to have been taken care of :) also it would be amazing to give some more outdoor plants the chance to thrive and flourish. :)
  - My good ol' van got some rusty parts which need to be treated. If you feel like doing metal tasks, very welcome as well
  - I want to host non-commercial cacao and natural medicine ceremonies. Any help there, in creating the space or organizing the event, is also highly welcome
  - And depending on how we split up tasks there is always some general help around the house needed.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  I'm native in German, fluent in English and happy to share. I'd love to expand my Spanish skills.
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  Accommodation

  You're gonna have a private room with a double bed and closet. The bathroom has a shower and bathtub and is shared among everyone. There are bicycles you can use to get around.
  Regarding food, I'm vegan and if cooking/eating vegan is fine for you we can take care of groceries and meals together. Otherwise we just take care of our own. Let's see. :)
  Feel free to store in the fridge and eat whatever feels right for your diet. :)

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  What else ...

  The house is meant as its own artistic project. So there is possibilities to paint, make music, build or any other kind of creating.
  Around the house you find endless trails for walks and hikes through forests along creeks and ponds to other valleys and villages or castles. Nature is very wet and abundant here for foraging.
  The town is 10min by bus or 20min by bike and offers groceries, organic shops, cafés and what else a town usually offers :)
  With the train or bus you reach the next city within 30-40min.
  Also it's always possible to jump into the van and drive somewhere quickly.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  I'm a digital nomad myself. The internet connection is fast and stable, same for the wifi. There are spots to hang and work with a laptop and enough power plugs and extension cables :)

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There's a parking spot right in front of the garage. Feel free to use the workshop for building, converting or repairing your camper. I'm happy to help. For a calm place to sleep by the edge of the forest there is a beautiful park4night spot with fresh water source from a spring. Not a stable internet connection there though. Last time I checked it had a park4night rating of 4,8.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  The house is the territory of two cats. I'm open for pets, cats and dogs, if they are not territorial or used to be around cats and calm. I have friends over with dogs and I lived in the past with an Iguana, so things are possible. :) Let's just have a talk.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 4-5 days a week

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