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100 %
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5 Mar 2024
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Details
Description
I’m Amanda, a Thai-American (38) originally from California, and my husband, Daniel (37), is German. We met in Bolivia, where I created a women’s economic development project and social enterprise. It consisted of a hostel and community center and cafe that brought locals and foreigners together, as well as an entrepreneurial training space for local women. I had hundreds of workawayers there in Bolivia, so we decided to also host them here in Germany.
We’re currently working on bringing an old ruin of a country manor house back to life near Berlin to one day become another community space for things like summer camps for foster kids, live music and theater, artist residencies, etc. That’s many years away given the state of the things now. We are setting up our non-profit organization this year. We just started being able to host in 2022, given the lack of floors and a proper roof before.
It’s about 11,000sqm of truly magical, but mostly overgrown garden, parkland, and forest and about 300sqm x 2 floors of abandoned ruin. The structural stuff is in progress, but there’s so much "little" stuff to do that always takes more time. The garden is overgrown and needs care, the sheds need to be emptied, the wood needs to be thrown out, there’s a little hut on the corner that could use some love.
We have wonderful neighbors and garden club friends in the garden/park area (international Berliners) who are so friendly and helpful and we can also always practice German, if that’s preferred (you'd need at least B1 to communicate without a lot of active teaching required though).
There’s some shared and individual living space and all the basics needed for comfortable-enough living. Close by, there is a train station with a direct train to Berlin, as well as a small town with a Rewe, a Penny, and few restaurants. There are also adorable little towns with artisan shops and homemade breads and organic cheeses, etc. for the foodies. It’s a wonderful area to bike around with all the rivers and woods everywhere and the famous Spreewald is only 20 minutes away by car. Spreewald kayaking and pickles are the best. Plus, everyone is very friendly and it’s culturally quite different, even ethnically, from the typical former East German areas.
* You must be able to speak/comprehend at B1 level in one of our languages to be able to understand directions.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Learning and practicing English, German, or Spanish. Exploring the culture of Spreewald and typical country life in Germany. Chatting with our friendly neighbors can really teach you a lot about real life in Germany. Daniel and I have both traveled extensively around the world, so we can always give ideas and tips. When I have time to cook, I cook international foods and, if you like to eat, you will be spoiled with food. Berlin is only about an hour train ride away for an easy day trip or weekend trip for people who want to explore the city. For those who like to stay in nature, there’s so much in the area to explore, including an artisan glass-blowing village or local factories and farms that give tours. You'll also learn about how to fix up a house, construction basics, and DIY projects. Depending on how long you stay, you'll likely learn a lot about yourself and new ways of seeing and living in the world by being around us and our very diverse friends that come here to help.
Help
General handymxn help would be amazing. Restoring old wooden doors and windows, tiling floors and walls, working with drywall, sanding and fixing up wooden floors, installing flooring, fixing old furniture, etc. This year we'll need to lay cables, prep walls to be redone, install flooring, etc.
The garden has an overgrown stinging nettle and thistle problem that needs to be managed. There are branches everywhere from a decade of neglect. Making living hedges, shredding, or burning them would be excellent. Planting or maintaining the existing plant life there? Maybe reviving an old pond, trimming trees, burning old wood, chopping wood to store, etc.?
There's also just a constant accumulation of dust and piles of things left from workers and construction. It would be great to also have help managing the mess so we can still keep working without it getting in the way.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Thai: Intermediate
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Happy to teach and/or practice a bit of English, German, Spanish, or Thai! If you have your own self-study materials, we can discuss and I can explain or teach what I can.
Accommodation
Individual or shared room. Living room and office now too. There’s a kitchen and a bathroom -- all functional, but provisional. It's still a ruin after all.
There’s WiFi and a cuddly dog that always loves to play outside with new people.
In terms of food, I can prepare the main evening meal or we can switch off, if you like to cook. It’s pretty flexible. There would be at least one big hot meal a day and whoever doesn't help cook should help clean.
I am asthmatic and allergic to cigarette smoke, so non-smokers please!
What else ...
We really can’t manage people with emotional regulation issues or people who have many particular needs or are very new to the practicalities of the real world. It would be ideal to have someone who is responsible, competent, easygoing, communicative, mature, curious, proactive, and a self-starter that can see that something needs to be done and doesn’t have a problem just starting it. It can be overwhelming to think of such a project and all it requires, but it just takes a determined and diligent chipping away at the tasks to keep it all from getting daunting. There’s so much to do and there’s so much good energy there. We would love to have someone who can feel that and wants to be part of this story of finding something that was neglected and abandoned and contributing our knowledge and experience to leaving it better than we found it.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have wifi and can also set it up in the garden in summer.
Space for parking camper vans
We share our garden with friends in yurts, mini trailers, and vans on the weekend. There’s a compost toilet in the garden and a camper shower and provisional sink for those looking to sleep in a camper van in the middle of nature!
Can possibly accept pets
We love dogs, but are allergic to cats. Depending on if it’s indoors or outdoors, we can discuss!
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (12)
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The work was challenging as it involved the restoration of… read more
We spent most of the time in the garden, often in company of their funny farting dog Rocky (we miss him).
We really liked to have dinner together because it was a great way to have a social exchange.
We… read more
Workies are encouraged to… read more
The castle itself as well as the whole property is just a beautiful place to experience. You can definitely feel the magic and history of it. There is so much to do and accomplish, but you will see the… read more
Amanda and Daniel are incredible people with their hand on their heart. It was my first experience and I loved it. Everything in the description is correct. There is so much to do in this incredible project, whatever your skills, there is bound to be something you can do. Rocky is an electric battery that never runs out, so if… read more
I love Amanda, Daniel and Rocky (the dog😊) I stayed there for about 2 weeks at the end of December 2022! Everyone was very welcoming and comforting to be around.
The work is exactly as described in the listing and you can usually pick from various tasks available depending on what best suits the Workawayers strength.
We had… read more
I stayed at Danial and Amanda's beautiful Castle for twenty days and i wish i could stayed longer. I had so much fun and experienced one of the best days.
We enjoyed talking about so many topics and tried so many new things, also it was a great opportunity to refresh my English.
I had the chance to meet new… read more
