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100 %
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Séjour min. souhaité : Au moins deux semaines
Infos
Description
We are a team of 7 people aged between 27 and 85, though not everyone is always here, living and working 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 120 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, but 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 four pianos, an e-piano, an accordion, and a few working guitars that are always glad to get some love - feel free to bring your 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 :)
Sally, Sara or Claudia will answer your emails.
A bit about the history:
The mill was taken over in December 1993 by three young people, Robbi, 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 Robbi left to manage by himself following Kerstin's death in 2011. Heike then ran the
place 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.
A few years later, Heike and Sally invited Sara as a helper, and during her first stay in 2016 she already knew that she'd come back for good one day - which she did in the second lockdown-winter of 2021.
Just after beginning to host groups again in 2021, with life and music and activity coming back 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. Since then we have formed a strong team, supported by all the loving friends and guests who contribute to the lively atmosphere.Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
Pratique d’une langue
Jardinage
Bricolage et projets de construction
S’occuper des animaux
Aide à la maison
Entretien général
Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
We speak fluent German and English and enjoy helping you improve and practise your German!
You can learn new skills like sewing, repairing things, gardening, animal care, as well as cooking and making jam.
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.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 and/or antique furniture. If you feel comfortable around our animals and get along with them, feeding and mucking them out can be one of your tasks.
Currently (due to the season) there are many leaves that need to be removed over and over again.
Due to vacation time we´re looking for helpers who are experienced in working with horses so they can take over looking after them on days where the usualy care taker is off.
A daily task at the moment is to take care of our ponds and cleaning around them. Another job would be starting to build a wild hedge out of twigs and branches, cutting ivy back around the windows and perhaps cutting trees and bushes back.
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 for improvement and thoughts and are always open to new perspectives.
We have a weekly work meeting with the whole mill team where we discuss plans and projects for the upcoming week, what help is needed where, and plans for days off. Almost everyone has a project that is particularly important for them and we occasionally gather for a 'project day' where we focus on completing one task together.Langues
Langues parlées
Allemand: Courant
Anglais: CourantCet hôte propose un échange linguistique
We are a bilingual team, three of us English-mothertongued and the others German. Two of us are able to translate between the two languages. (One of them currently being on vacation until March 2023) Please bring some patience along - not everyone living here can speak both English and German and it can sometimes take some time to communicate. We welcome helpers fluent in English, German, or both.Hébergement
A shared or single room with a shared bathroom.
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 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 and some people being on vacation, 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!
When we have groups there´s always plenty of delcicious food around. For the more quiet times we provide all the basic food and you can cook for yourself, occassionally we´ll meet for cooking together but that won´t happen every day.Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Espace pour garer des vans
We have lots of space and electricity and facilities are available.
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!
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Deux
Nombre d'heures attendues
4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (49)
He came in with his pragmatism, hands-on-attitude and solution-orientated way of thinking. We barely remember a minute where he just sat around (unless soccer was on ;)) as he kept himself busy the whole time,… read more
Jeritza´s and Daniela´s warm smiles lightened up the grey autumn days and their easy-going approach towards any (even rather boring) task made hosting the two a real pleasant experience.
Jeritza and Daniela removed all the leaves over and over again… read more
All the staff is very nice and we felt very much welcomed.
The volunteer work is very dynamic, fun and interesting, our mean job was to help around with the animals, chicken, ducks, cats and horses. And how can we forget about the leafs picking hahah
We recommeded it 100%!… read more
Feedback
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Exactitude du profil:
(5.0)
Échange culturel:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
He came in with his pragmatism, hands-on-attitude and solution-orientated way of thinking. We barely remember a minute where he just sat around (unless soccer was on ;)) as he kept himself busy the whole time,… read more
Jeritza´s and Daniela´s warm smiles lightened up the grey autumn days and their easy-going approach towards any (even rather boring) task made hosting the two a real pleasant experience.
Jeritza and Daniela removed all the leaves over and over again… read more
All the staff is very nice and we felt very much welcomed.
The volunteer work is very dynamic, fun and interesting, our mean job was to help around with the animals, chicken, ducks, cats and horses. And how can we forget about the leafs picking hahah
We recommeded it 100%!… read more
He is an independent worker who completes his tasks… read more
The food was top notch and I had a very cosy room.
Heike is one of those few hosts that take the concept of Workaway very seriously.
She took us to many interesting places like the small traditional villages in the surroundings.
Her project is pretty unique and remote, perfect for people that… read more
He eagerly embraced every task and completed it responsibly and well. He worked hard even in hot weather, on his own or in company, in the house or outside; like attacking the nettles with a a scythe, clearing the dramatically encroaching brambles, unloading and stacking hay, renewing our… read more
All the animals were adorable even you Maggie ;)
And i loved to work with them everyday my routine with the animals to take care of and after that some other small tasks like gardening (weeding, planting, wateringue, etc...)
It Was not difficult and i enjoyed doing it .
The family was very welcoming and super… read more
Heike always cared about how much we worked and how much free time we had. We had quite some free time, so we were… read more
The surroundings, sounds and human beings...wonderful. The birds, the cats and horses curious and funny all day long.
The work was a pleasure, even in kitchen and laundry..because of such a nice welcoming and enthusiastic staff, people from… read more
The host, Heike, is a wonderful and kind woman. She helped us with our German, always made sure we had enough to eat, and was just a great person to spend time with. The work was fair and enjoyable including apple picking and taking care of the adorable furry friends. We also were lucky… read more
Thanks a lot to Heike and her mum.
Thank you for such a wonderful couple of weeks. The place was so friendly and welcoming from the start and made me comfortable practising my (limited!) german. Although I didn't say much it certainly helped my confidence a lot and I really enjoyed reading aloud about snow white and the seven dwarfs.
The work was really varied and I… read more
They were always friendly and cheerful and good company, with many a joke cracked and ready to put a hand in. They got along well with everybody in the mill, guests and helpers alike, and I can recommend them as helpers to any host.
Thank you and a lot of great… read more
He tackled every task with a good mood which was infectious, saw what needed doing and did very diverse things as repairing my bikes or carrying the heavy shopping or tirelessly weeding my driveway under the hot sun without glancing at the… read more
This was my first Workaway. Despite my lack of experience and limited availability, Heike was happy to accept me. She was also very encouraging and thankful for every task I did, which ranged from gardening to… read more
We really enjoyed our time here, we did some walks and bike… read more
I am very sorry somehow I did not write the review for you earlier - shame on me!
Maike came to the mill in January, when only a few days after her arrival I had an accident which forced me to stay in hospital. She was all of a sudden left on her own in the house, having to replace me in taking care of all the animals and helping… read more
Sara is a wonderful person and proved to be the perfect addition to our team. She immersed herself immediately into everything and undertook very efficiently every task that was mentioned, and many she noticed herself. She is very responsible, understanding the priorities and was an invaluable help in all… read more
I stayed for three weeks with Heike, Sally, the most welcoming crew I´ve ever met and the funny bunch of animals- and I miss all of them!
The mill felt like home from the first day on and all welcomed me with a warm smile. The help is (in my opinion) quite easy- some gardening, dishwashing, mucking out stables and a bit of… read more
He got along well with all our animals, the staff… read more
Having spent the month of July here, I can safely say that the entire staff are genuinely some of the niciest people I have ever met. As someone who… read more
I felt welcome and appreciated from day one. Heike always thanked me for my work no matter how the… read more
She helped in the garden with weeding or picking fruit as well as in the house, with doing the dishes or cleaning the rooms, always ready… read more
She was always ready to help without regard to the hours she had already… read more
I was thoroughly fulfilled in my time with this host- mentally, physically and spiritually. The location is very serene and silent. Heike, Sally and Jutta were very warm, down-to-earth, and helped me feel like… read more
Her mosaics are just great and it is fun watching her doing them; but she was always ready to give a hand in… read more
We enjoyed having Jillian and Des as helpers so much that we almost did not let them leave! At least that was the serious suggestion of the rest of the staff ...
They enthusiastically involved themselves with everything around here, always asked what needed to be done and proceeded with it.… read more
They enthusiastically involved themselves with everything around here, saw what needed to be done and proceeded with it.
Their tasks included harvesting and processing of garden… read more
If you choose this destination you will never, I mean never, regret the choice you made!
This was my first Workaway experience and I can honestly describe it as being truly amazing! I really enjoyed my stay at the Seminar House!
Accomodation: I have decided to stay in the gipsy caravan even though I was offered from the… read more
Her keen… read more
Accommodation was outstanding, the food incredible, and Heike, Jutta and Sally were such good company! I mainly… read more
Her English is perfect and her already good German improved very fast during her stay… read more
She always cheerfully put in a helping hand, no matter what job needed to be done.
I hope she will find the way back here some time!
In the meantime I wish her good hosts and a great time.
Hours didn´t count and all the while she was busy improving and making use of her very proficient German - impressing everybody with her zeal.
She was alwas open for new experiences, like riding… read more
I have just come back from a wonderful week in Schnega, and would like to say a huge thank you for what was easily one of the best Help X experiences I have ever… read more
He was very willing to give everything a go, be it work or or pastime.
The staff were always curious to taste the great healthy food he used to cook for himself and the others!
I wish you will find for yourself the perfectly… read more
I stayed for 5 weeks and it was a really beautiful staying. Heike and the staff of the Muehle are all warm and nice people, always ready to help and take care of you. I did various works, mainly in the garden and about the care of the houses; there's usually guests, events and other volonteer as well. the areas around… read more
He was never to good for any job, always willing and motivated and working much more hours than we asked him to! It was fun teaching him speak… read more
I was fortunate to come at a time when I was able to assist Heike and the kitchen brigade for the feeding of a massive party of around 2/300 guests for one of the 2 weekends I was there. The buzz of such a busy kitchen with the very friendly team was thoroughly enjoyable, it was a joy to… read more