📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The community of Schwanfeld is the oldest village in Germany. Some years back, proof was found of a former 'Bandkeramik' (Linear Pottery Culture) settlement outside of the present village from presumably 5500 B.C. Schwanfeld is happy to show their treasures of the golden days to international volunteers and invites the group to get to know more about the south of Germany.
This is the 11th time an international Workcamp will take place in Schwanfeld – and the citizens will be very welcoming and excited to meet the new volunteers after the success of previous years. Invitations by local associations and the village youngsters have led to many cordial encounters and friendships in the past.
💼 What the programme involves
The Workcamp takes place during the school summer vacation. There will be a children's holiday program in which the children will build a 'Hüttendorf', a hut village, in the forest: Wood will be the core building material. The children become both the architect and carpenter of their own small house. They have the freedom to decide for themselves what their hut looks like and try out
whether it works. Nevertheless some support help is needed, and that will be your task.
So if you enjoy looking after and playing with children, have a bit of manual dexterity, enjoy being outdoors and are willing to communicate with hands and feet (the children speak only German, some may speak a little English), then this camp is right for you. You are welcome to pass on children's songs from your home country, play traditional games from your culture with the children or any other activities you can think of.
🏠 Accommodation on site
You will live in the community centre: A complete kitchen with all appliances is available. There are toilets in the community center as well, a shower is available in the town hall - directly opposite. We will provide partition walls in the community center so that everyone has some privacy. You will sleep on camp beds, so please bring your own sleeping bag (and a pillow if needed).
📍 About the location
Schwanfeld is situated in the north-western part of Bavaria, in between the cities of Schweinfurt and Würzburg. Only about 2,000 people live in this small community. The very motivated and active major of the village is looking forward to accompanying the volunteers, showing them around and telling them more about the historical and regional specialties of Schwanfeld.
A big highlight of Schwanfeld is the BERGAMO Festival which takes place on the weekend after the first half of your Workcamp. Aside from the village's own sights (museum, church) and events there is beautiful nature and nearby larger cities like Würzburg to discover.
⚠️ Requirements
It is not necessary to speak German in order to participate, however it is a big help for sure! The children usually don’t speak English but some of the kids have an international background so you might be able to communicate with some of them in your mother tongue. NOTE: Please attach a Motivation Letter with your application! We would like to know your motivation to work with children, if you have any experience in this field, and if you speak (a bit of) German. In addition, since you will be working with children, you will be required to provide a certificate of good conduct before the start of the camp.
