Brohltal – castle and community

Name: Brohltal – castle and community
Start: 2023-08-27
End: 2023-09-16
Location: Germany

Germany Renovation Environment Manual work Renovation Environment +1 Fixed dates

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

The aim of the project is to make the Brohltal (Brohl valley) international. The villages of Oberzissen and Niederdürenbach and the local heritage association in Hain are asking for the support of international volunteers for the first time together. This cooperation will be an important step towards more inter-municipal cooperation. The people living in the villages are already excited to meet you and to get to know the different cultures of all volunteers. In this way, as many inhabitants of the Brohl valley as possible - young and old - should experience international commitment, European citizenship and solidarity together with yourselves. Various events as the annual village party in Oberzissen (Aug 27th-29th) and a rock music festival on Sep 9th will ensure together with other joint activities that the exchange is as intensive as possible and exciting for you as volunteer as well.

💼 What the programme involves

A huge variety of tasks is waiting for your active help: Put your hands on history at Olbrück castle, improve hiking trails in the Brohl valley (Brohltal in German) and support the local communities of the three villages Oberzissen, Niederdürenbach and Hain in different small projects. • Olbrück castle – put your hands on history: Much of Olbrück Castle is in ruins; only the large tower has been reconstructed. The castle grounds are a magical place where you feel transported back in time. It is located in the middle of nature, but the view extends into the Rhine valley and to the city of Bonn. Today, the castle grounds are used as a kind of open-air museum and to host cultural events. Unfortunately, in the last years access had to be restricted for safety reasons. In several places, remains of the walls are no longer safe. That's why the local association that cares for the preservation of the castle is asking for your help. Together with a group of former craftsmen (who are now retired), you will continue securing the masonry. In concrete terms, mortar joints are being renewed; stones that have fallen out of the walls are reinserted and fixed. You will help to clear the walls from vegetation and to refasten the wall crowns (the top of the wall). Additional tasks in the historic herb garden and other areas of the castle complex are also possible. • Hiking paths in the Brohl Valley: In the past years the inhabitants of the villages have already improved and partly newly signposted the local hiking paths. But there is still some work to be done: Paths need to be maintained and cut free of vegetation, benches, rest areas and information boards need to be completed and maintained. • Community work in the villages: The local village councils of Niederdürenbach and Oberzissen asked their citizens, the local associations and initiatives where they see a need for improvements and want to get help from international volunteers. They found plenty of different small projects! Due to this particular project structure, a wide range of tasks awaits you. There will be different activities in the field of improving playgrounds and public places, maintaining local infrastructure and much more. This part has not yet been planned in all details; much will be developed and concretised with the villagers in the coming few months

🏠 Accommodation on site

You will stay in the community centre of the small village Hain, at the foot of the castle Olbrück. The house offers a big hall with enough space for the group. It is fully equipped with kitchen and sanitary facilities including showers. Outside there is a covered space that can be used as a dining area when it is warm enough. Otherwise, the hall must be divided into a dining area and a sleeping area. In any case, the amount of privacy will be very limited. The outdoor area surrounding the house also invites you to enjoy the outdoor table football and provides other free time possibilities. Please bring your own sleeping bag. Your group of volunteers will be responsible for grocery shopping and cooking together. The food will be bought with the camp budget and everybody will take turns for cooking, tidying up and cleaning. In order to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet, we encourage volunteers to reduce meat and try more sustainable dishes.

📍 About the location

The Brohl valley with Oberzissen and Niederdürenbach is situated in a hilly landscape not far from the Rhine River and the city of Bonn. The Olbrück castle and the neighbouring village Hain where you will stay are overlooking the valley. Oberzissen and Niederdürenbach have about 1.000 inhabitants each. There, you can find some very active associations, pubs, some interesting sights and – most importantly – many friendly people. A historic railway leads through the village with a real steam engine running on weekends. The villages are surrounded by a beautiful landscape, so in your free time you can go hiking, discover nature, have barbecues, and get to know the local inhabitants during different activities together. You will spend most of your time with the people in the three villages, but you will enjoy a few excursions on your days off - maybe to the Rhine valley or to Bonn or Cologne.

⚠️ Requirements

We ask for a motivation letter to be sent with the application! There will be an online preparation meeting for the international volunteers, to already get to know part of the local team and get introduced to their methods and approach on youth work. This project is a Volunteering Team within the European Solidarity Corps program. Volunteers have to have legal residency in an EU country, there is a strict age limit of 18 to 30 years and there are a few important steps to take before and after the project: • Registering in the ESC portal • signing a Volunteering agreement • handing in a personal report and travel tickets In return, participation is free of charge, as well as food and accommodation. Volunteers need to stay the full duration of the project in order to get their pocket money (5 euros per day) and travel cost reimbursed (the maximum reimbursement amount is defined by the ESC program depending on distance and it provides higher amounts for green travel)