A community, saving and repairing stuff, coding open-source software and having a great time in Wurzen, Germany

  • Favourited 374 times
  • Last activity: 21 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    This is a place for people to work on transformative projects. It is inhabited by a dynamically changing group of changemakers who choose to live together in a sharing community. That means we aim to using as little money as possible and rather go out and save the quality things that are wasted in our abundant consumer society. It also means that we try to share a lot - be it food, clothes, tools, time, space or thoughts.

    We base our actions on our values instead of what is seen as normal, we try to think and live independently and authentically. Self-determination, equality and acceptance are our main values and we would love them to be lived and spread over the world. Our main areas of work are to save and share resources, to support movements for social justice, sustainability and climate action, to develop free, libre and open source software, to provide and connect public and common pool resources and to be authentic in our needs and capacities. Let's come together, inspire each other and save the world while having a good time! ;)

    There are enough resources, they only need to be distributed more fairly.
    Reduce Waste. Promote Sharing

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    DIY and building projects
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • 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

    We are not your classic workaway host: We will not give you a task and expect you to do it - instead we want you to find out what you want to do yourself. Of course we can give you options, but the choice ultimately is up to you. We are super happy when people are proactive, attentive and can empower themselves to take action instead of waiting for someone to tell them what to do. This could be your chance to awaken that skill! :)

    We live together as a close community and practice a culture of sharing. Everybody here spends their time on some area of social change, so you can possibly get some new perspectives here. You can learn about alternative ways of consuming and living. Hitch-hiking, dumpster diving, building awesome things out of "trash", organizing events for people to spread ideas, coding free software, living alternative forms of relationships and possibly more. We're happy for you to jump in! :)

  • Help

    Help

    In non-building-week-times we are mostly looking for help with childcare. We have two small children (born October 2019 and January 2021) who need a lot of attention. The parents are super relaxed and always happy about people who help to take care of them. We would be delighted if someone would want to come specifically to do childcare!

    In a big community like ours there is always a lot of reproductive work to do - you might also call it housework: cleaning dishes, doing laundry, saving food, emptying bins, tidying up, you name it. Every Monday we do 1-2 hours of communal cleaning, but there is something to be done everyday really.

    And of course there are all the projects the people of the house work on. If you are interested in a project specifically please tell us in advance how you plan on joining in.

  • Languages spoken

    German: Fluent
    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Japanese: Beginner
    Korean: Beginner

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    There are no personal rooms, all sleeping spaces are shared between residents, guests of the house, workawayers and so on. Private rooms (where you can be alone) are available to sleep in on a night-by-night basis, but nobody has "their own room". If you want your very own space, you can put up one of our tents in our garden.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    There usually is an abundance of food and you are obliged to do your part seeing that it reaches people's stomachs ;)
    But seriously: we try to not buy lots food. Most food is either dumpster-dived, comes from cooperations with local food stores or is saved at festivals. Only vegan staples like oil, oats or legumes are bought occasionally. We usually cook communal meals vegan but dairy, eggs, fish and meat is also consumed by some, when there are dead animals in the bin...
    If you do not feel comfortable with eating food that has once been in the trash, maybe this project is not the right one for you. In case it has still not been clarified for you: Workaway volunteers will receive 3 meals a day/ingredients that can be used for cooking for free (from the above-mentioned sources).

    Mostly there are around 10-15 people. There can be times when there is only 5 people here and there can be times when we are more than 20 people (at hackathons, meetups, or meetings of external groups).

    As we are an international community, English is our default language. It might be really difficult for you if you don't speak and understand the language. Also, if you would like to learn or improve your German you might get less opportunities than in other projects in Germany.

    For fun activities we like doing yoga and acroyoga, go swimming in the nearby lake, play games of all kinds (cards, boards, video, pen&paper, impro), play music together or for each other (we have a variety of instruments including a piano and some guitars), and simply talk and cuddle in the evening.

    There is not sooo much to do in Wurzen outside of our project, but some options are: going to the Mulde river (about 15 mins.) which is also good for swimming. Taking a walk to the "Spitzberg" a very nice area with lakes, forests and meadows. There is a group doing self-organized self-defense as well as a feminist group, and some of us participate there as well.
    We also are good friends with a housing project on the outskirts of Wurzen, the "Villa Klug". They have a big garden, a sauna and are very nice. Helping in the garden there can also be arranged.

    Wurzen is very close to Leipzig, the train runs several times an hour and takes you to Leipzig central station in 18 or 40 mins. (depending on whether it's a small or fast train). Leipzig is a modern and pretty "hip" city with plenty to do and explore. It has been called 'the new Berlin' some years ago already and it becomes truer every day.

  • 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

    Our internet connection is excellent, but we wouldn't want to provide it to someone who does a job that does not fit our values. If it does - be welcome to work on your project in our space!

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

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

Host ref number: 367874778735

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