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What is it like to be a volunteer at Solawi Oberellenbach?
As a volunteer, it is always important to recognize the details of the work arrangements and to be aware of the social situations. This is all in order to ensure happiness, enjoyment, and overall educational fulfillment; depending on your intentions; during your stay on the farm.
Generally, we ask that volunteers stay for at LEAST two weeks, and we are more than happy to accept volunteers willing to stay for a month or more! Longer stays are appreciated
and it not only benefits us, but you! As a volunteer, you will get to experience more of the farm, animals and social life.
We appreciate volunteers at any time of year! Spring, summer, fall, winter! There is always something exciting going on on the fields, in the stable, and in the storage!
It can really start to feel like a home, what with the wonderful people; Hufmanns and the gardening team; and the good housing situation! As a volunteer, you will be staying in a
house that is shared by the employees (the gardening team) and of course the many volunteers that
come throughout the year.
In the shared house, called Fischer house, there are 6 bedrooms. 4 of these are already inhabited by the employees. But don’t worry! There are 2 lovely rooms with windows, beds, mattresses and even shelving to use as storage space! There is also a garden hut that, in the summertime, can be stayed in. We provide bed sheets, blankets and pillows, however, if you would like to bring your own, that is okay too.
Similar to the bed clothing, we provide towels for all those living in Fischer house. In addition to towels, things like soap, toilet paper and general cleaning supplies are also located in the house and are provided by us.
What is done with the cleaning supplies you might ask? Cleaning, of course. Every individual living in Fischer house, takes a turn cleaning bathrooms, floors, cellar, and
kitchen. As a volunteer, we only ask that you be aware of your personal belongings and of the mess you may
be leaving behind. In essence, pick up after yourself and if you wish, lend a helping hand to the individual doing the cleaning that day.
Those living in Fischer house take turns stocking up on essential food items weekly. We provide all the necessary food stuffs, such as; rice, noodles, bread, spreads, müsli,
flour, sugar, spices, nuts, fruits, etc. However, if there is a special wish or request, we may be able to supply it. Just ask! Let’s not forget the vegetables!! As a volunteer, you will be able
to eat your fill of fresh veggies from the farm! There is always plenty and we think it is extremely important that the vegetables we grow, we get to eat as well.
When we’re not eating veggies, we’re planting, weeding, or harvesting them! Generally, the daily activities include; time in the storage, time on the fields, and time with the
animals. More specifically; sorting, cleaning and packing veggies in the storage on delivery days; driving out to one of the three fields to plant new plants, harvest for delivery, and weed the
weeds; and feeding, cleaning and general caring for the horses, sheep and chickens.
Depending upon the season, these daily activities may change. However, you can always expect to wake up Monday-Friday at 7:30am for breakfast, begin work at 8:30am and then break
for lunch at 13:00pm. After a warm meal all together as a team and a short period of rest,
the work begins again at 2:30pm. Your afternoon as a volunteer ends at 5:00pm. Saturdays are optional (Hrs: 7:30am-1:00pm) however the extra help is always appreciated!
Breakfast always takes place in our family house, where we eat Monday-Friday Müsli, fruit and nuts. Before the meal begins we sing a song together, sometimes comical, sometimes
serious to really bring out and appreciate the power of community and doing things together with other people. Saturdays are special: bread roll days! We eat the traditional german bread roll
(Brötchen) with spreads as we reflect on our achievements of the week.
Lunch always takes place in Fischer house and is cooked either by Dörte Hufmann or by one of the employees on the team. If you enjoy cooking, you are more than welcome to show
your talent in the kitchen and cook lunch for the team! What’s better than getting to cook a meal with fresh veggies?
Dinner is as you like it to be. Your choice. After the work day is over, you may do what you wish. Generally, the team spends evenings together, cooking a meal or eating
leftovers, playing games, singing and more!
The kitchen, bathrooms, dining room and cellar are all “shared” rooms, meaning there will generally always be other people using them. For “alone time,” you can retreat to your room or find a
shady tree outside!
It is true, we do spend the majority of our time amongst vegetables however there IS time for creativity and social events. For example, we have a piano and guitars located in
Fischer house, and there is a pub within the village that is open friday nights!
Sure, we hope that the free time is fun, but we also hope that the work is fun too! As said before, there is always something exciting going on, there’s always new people to meet and new
experiences to have. We are overjoyed when people come to volunteer. It is a wonderful
experience for both parties! We hope to see you soon!
Zur veganen Ernährung: Wir sind kein "veganer Betrieb", sondern ein bio-dynamischer Betrieb, d.h. gute Nutztierhaltung ist Teil unserer Betriebsphilosophie. Wir haben auch Hafermilch und Margarine und vegane Brotaufstriche, aber wir kochen mittags nicht vegan, aber vegetarisch. Unsere verwendeten Milchprodukte kommen fast ausschließlich in Mehrwegglas von einem befreundeten Demeter- Milchviehbetrieb bei uns im Dorf, der gute Arbeit leistet! Nachhaltiger geht´s nicht. Die meisten eher städtischen Veganer, die zu uns gekommen sind, konnten damit gut leben. Du mußt sehen, wie Du es dann für Dich handhaben willst. Nur extra vegan kochen kann ich nicht leisten, denn ich koche gerade meistens. Wenn jemand einen Tag kochen übernehmen will und dann lecker-vegan kocht, habe ich nichts dagegen...
Was Du mitbringen solltest: Gummistiefel, wenn Du hast, Hausschuhe, warme Sachen, lange Unterhosen, Mütze, Instrument, wenn Du eins spielst, ist ganz schön
Hier vorhanden sind: Handtücher, Bettzeug, Regensachen, Arbeitshandschuhe, Gummistiefel (nicht alle Größen)
Schreibe uns bitte, wann Du ankommst, damit Dich jemand in Empfang nehmen kann. Wir holen Dich vom Bahnhof Alheim-Heinebach ab. Oder Du machst eine kleine Wanderung (45Min)
