The Manor Oosterhouw

Name: The Manor Oosterhouw
Start: 2023-07-22
End: 2023-08-05
Location: Leens, Netherlands

Netherlands Social work Environment Social work Environment Fixed dates

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

The mansion Oosterhouw in Leens is located in the north of the Netherlands in the province of Groningen. The estate is surrounded by a flat agricultural landscape approximately 10 km from the Wadden Sea UNESCO heritage. Oosterhouw was built in 1868. The last time the building was renovated was in 1912-1913. After that, there weren\'t any significant developments. The former owners of the mansion were C.o Jellema and Klaas Noordhuis. Co. Jellema is a semi-known poet in the Netherlands, and his current library is still in the house. Klaas Noordhuis was a garden architect and has added essential aspects to the garden. The current owners bought the house a few years ago and want to open the house more to the public. The house, the garden and the surrounding landscape are unique in this area and must be protected and taken care of.

💼 What the programme involves

The work will take place at Oosterhouw in Leens (province Groningen). It is a beautiful monumental manor house surrounded by a garden divided into four different styles. Many parts of these gardens have been neglected over the past decades. Volunteers will be cleaning up and helping restore the gardens to their former glory. Activities range from groundwork like digging and levelling to gardening such as weeding and pruning to wood shredding and splitting. The volunteers will work in the gardens five days a week. This excludes the weekends.

🏠 Accommodation on site

During the two weeks, the volunteers will be staying at Wongema. It’s a working café located in the small village of Hornhuizen. The whole group will be staying in the residential barn besides the main building. There’s a dorm where everybody will be staying. Clean towels will be provided. Sheets for the beds won’t be provided. (Make sure you bring a sleeping bag or your own sheets!) Downstairs is a kitchen which we can use. Bicycles will be provided for transportation between the accommodation and the gardens of Oosterhouw. The bike ride from and to the accommodation is approximately 15 minutes. You will cook together in teams, taking turns and having the opportunity to cook meals from your home countries. You have a kitchen at your disposal. Self-organisation is also a vital point during your daily camp routines. Cooking and cleaning are planned and done independently within the group. Each participant is expected to take part in the CCC (cooking-cleaning-crew).

📍 About the location

You will have leisure time after work (work ends at 4 p.m.). The Oosterhouw area mainly consists of small villages with Leens as the main village. You will have bikes at your disposal to explore the surrounding area. During the weekend you can enjoy your free time. There are plenty of nice places to visit, for example the beautiful and vibrant city of Groningen or take a ferry boat and visit the peninsula of Schiermonnikoog.

⚠️ Requirements

In The Netherlands the weather is unpredictable. So it’s really important to bring clothes for different types of weather (a rain jacket, hat or sun lotion). We will be working primarily outside in the gardens, where it’s essential to have a safe and secure work environment. Safety glasses and hearing protection will be provided. But there are other important things to think about such as: Strong safety shoes, good fitting working gloves. Make sure you bring a sleeping bag or your own sheets! Take the following documents with you: Passport, Health Insurance Card, Student ID (might be useful in your free time), Debit/Credit card. Especially if you’re from outside Europe, check with your bank if debit or credit card actually works in The Netherlands.(Note: We do not insure your personal items! So please avoid bringing unnecessary expensive electronic items!! Also, make sure to get yourself valid travel insurance!!)

Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.