📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The Reifenmill, a running, power generating, watermill, is located in a steep valley of the hilly Hunsrueck region in south-western Germany. Surrounded by forests the next rural village is 3 km away, another little town about 10 km. The Mill is off-grid, water is sourced from a small spring, electricity is produced with the waterwheel, food is coming mostly from the garden and there are chicken, rabbits, honey-bees and a fishpond.
The remote and historic place is looked after by two brothers, experimenting in ways and techniques of modern and old sustainable living.
💼 What the programme involves
The aim is to practice holistic living, establish a permaculture garden; above all maintain and preserve the historical waterpower-system, raise small stock animals, sustain the woodland and meadow with scattered fruit trees.
- Management and maintenance of the green valley, the millers-creek, fish pond, meadows and woodland, especially repair of the creeks embankments (manual labor with rocks and boulders in the water!)
- General garden/farm work, building raised beds, fencing, planting
- Looking after the animals, fishing
- Wood Work, Handicrafts, constructing small shelters, repair paddocks
- Mapping out the local ecosystems, characterizing different plants and animals.
🏠 Accommodation on site
In medium sized tents or bring your own. Simple sanitary conditions with solar heated outdoor shower and compost toilet. Cooking is done in a covered open air kitchen and open fire cooking on rocket stove/smoker/bonfire. Organic veggies from the garden, some eggs from the chicken, carp from the pond, little to no other meat. Please bring outdoor clothes, good shoes/boots, a warm sleeping bag and thick ground pad and be prepared for cold nights in the valley.
📍 About the location
Mörz, the little village on the ridge above the Miller's valley, is 10 km to the north west of Kastellaun. Latest from there you will have to walk, but the project will try to organize collective pick-ups from Kastellaun.
⚠️ Requirements
Readiness to do physical work 6 hours daily, ability to adapt to very basic conditions (bucket toilet, outside showers). Enjoying farming work with all its many and varied challenges and possibilities. Curiosity to learn, try and develop new skills. Mindfulness, team-spirit and self-initiative desired.
ℹ️ Additional information
Trips to the rivers Mosel and Rhine are possible within an hour from Kastellaun, lot's of history, castles, the biggest wine growing region in Germany. The next real city is Koblenz (1,5 hours by bus). The longest rope-suspension bridge north of the alps is just a 3 hour hike. From the 07/31 to 08/02 the biggest outdoor Techno/Rave Festival in Europe is celebrated in Kastellaun (https://www.nature-one.de/en/). At the same time another open air music festival is held nearby, this one features more Blues/Rock/Folk, the location is close to Hahn airport (https://www.lott-festival.de/).