EVS Gasthelfende
In unserer Gemeinschaft leben auch junge Menschen aus ganz Europa zwischen 18 und 30 Jahren für ein Jahr mit. Sie kommen über die Organisation EVS (European Volunteer Service) zu uns. Als Langzeit-Gasthelfende arbeiten sie ca. 30 Stunden pro Woche in verschiedenen Projekten mit.
Im Sommer sind sie hauptsächlich in unserem Garten anzutreffen, sie packen auch je nach Interesse tatkräftig bei Renovationen im Haus an, kochen mit uns, helfen in der Administration oder gestalten mit unseren Kindern und Jugendlichen Freizeitmöglichkeiten.
Sie haben ein eigenes Gästezimmer und ein gemeinsames Wohnzimmer mit Küche zur Verfügung. Die jungen Menschen bereichern unser Gemeinschaftsleben mit ihrem Elan, ihrer Lebensfreude und ihren grossen und wichtigen Fragen.
Wer sich näher für den Einsatz als EVS bei uns interessiert, findet weiter unten die englische Einsatzbeschreibung.
Hier ein paar Eindrücke von ehemaligen EVS über Sennrüti:
(Die deutschen Texte findest du hier: Newsletter Nr 18 Februar 2017)
Minttu aus Finnland schreibt
„Here I am, experiencing my first year of community living. Having heard how the biggest challenges of community life often lay in its social aspects, I was glad to find out how beautifully things were run here. During these ten months I have learned the value of coming together in number of different forms – working, eating, playing, sharing, learning, singing, celebrating. It is through these encounters that the glue and magic of community life is formed, the channels between people are opened and joy and trust created.
As a volunteer I have had the privilege to start my mornings attending the morning circle. It is particularly these kind of rituals that I have discovered here as new and learned to appreciate as a significant part of human life. A ritual can present a moment to step back, to quiet down and come together around something larger and meaningful. Through the rituals I have also found a wonderful way to relate to nature and the changing seasons and experience the rotation of the year. From my time in Sennrüti I will keep and cherish in my heart the rituals on the fire place, Friedensmantra, Sommerfest, dance nights in Bewegungssaal, Transformation Game, Aktionstage and all the other days and nights when I have had the possibility to come together with others and share the moment.“
Von Dilyan aus Bulgarien
„I’ve spent much time last year being busy in the garden- taking care of vegetables, berries, fruit trees and mushrooms or collecting herbal plants, then drying them and making herbal products. Some of this time I’ve spent with other volunteers or with community members. It was a great time of sharing the pleasure of working in the open air while speaking, listening and learning new things. Other times I spent alone – working, contemplating, observing the natural processes, often listening to music or discussions on my headphones.
What was common in all these cases was that I was outside and working around the flowering nature and the mystical ways that it develops and fades again in a never ending cycle. Whatever the situation was around me, I could always feel the presence of this mighty force of life. The outer area around Sennrueti has a beautiful and practical design, consisting of gardens, glasshouses, meadows, pond, mushroom place, tree areas and many more. They are all a part of this force of life, directed at providing a place of harmony, while bringing vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs to the table.
Working in the vegetable garden was often a very meditative experience, and a one which gave me a sense of deeper understanding of the natural processes involved in the plant growth – the soil contents, the importance of the quantity of sunshine and heat that the area gets, the level of moisture, etc. Marianne, the main community member, responsible for the garden, was usually there around, speaking with love about all these things and sharing her knowledge.
Working with the herbal plants truly made me realize how generous nature is towards us. These valuable herbs that are just growing around us, give us all their benefits, while requiring almost nothing from us. They usually don’t need watering, digging the soil, composting or any other agricultural activity to flourish – they are a true gift of nature. The only action, required from the people, is to pick them, to dry them, and maybe to pack them. This project was organized by a community member – Denise, and it was easy to see the love that she put into it. It was the first time that she organized such a project but nevertheless the results were more than great – we managed to make a lot of different herbal products, such as teas, crèmes, bathing salts, etc.
I’m happy that I was a part of all this and I’m sure that it will continue to flourish under the attentive care of the great people from the community.“
Mario aus Spanien
„Recuerdo el momento en el que leí el mensaje de: “¿te interesa hacer un voluntariado de un año en una eco-comunidad suiza?”. Coincidía en todo lo que estaba interesado: vivir una experiencia rodeado de naturaleza, aprender un idioma que desconocía, trabajar en un proyecto de reconstrucción, cocinar, aprender-jugando con niños y, lo más importante, compartir, una palabra que he redescubierto este año y creo me ha transformado y humanizado como ser, pues me ha hecho aprender a conectar conmigo mismo y con las personas que me rodean.
Lo que desconocía antes de llegar era que esta experiencia generaría una red humana que me haría conectar con las personas que aquí viven y también con el resto de voluntarios. Compartir una cocina-salón jardín y hasta un huerto (en el cuál debo reconocer que trabajé muy poco) con otros tres o cuatro voluntarios más de distintos países me hizo sentirme aún más cómodo, pues creamos una pequeña comunidad dentro de la misma. Trabajar en equipos y aprender a respetarnos son valores que destaco por encima de todos los demás, pues entre nosotros, los voluntarios (también llamados ,,Delfins’’), ha existido durante todo el año un clima de cordialidad y compañerismo como nunca lo hubiese imaginado. Hemos tejido una red cultural y humana tan fuerte que, pese a que cada uno de nosotros seguirá su proyecto vital en lugares distintos, sé que la distancia o el tiempo no hará que esa conexión desaparezca.
¿Qué puedo destacar de mi experiencia trabajando aquí? Pues que palabras como pintar, lijar madera, hacer terrazas naturales o conocer cada rincón del Werkstatt me ha hecho redescubrir nuevas técnicas profesionales y valerme por mi mismo cada día.
No puedo terminar este resumen sin destacar que, quien esté interesado en este anuncio, debe saber que también aprenderá el significado de cantar por las mañanas, compartir emociones y jugar en grupos, actividades únicas que solo se encuentran en este tipo de comunidades, pues allá afuera -como siempre pienso- la vida está llena de individualismo, estrés y rostros perdidos que se buscan a sí mismos.“
Ana aus Serbien schreibt
„The social aspect of community living was the first thing that surprised me when I came to the eco-village. The first morning circle and the first lunch, when I met more people from community were specialy interesting for me. The way of the communication was so different that I used to know. They were communicating with me on the same way. I felt much empathy, respect and understanding. For less then I week I felt very close to the people that I barely know. When I was listening their conversations I had very strong impression that they really work their best to put their ideals into the practice.
I would say that the living in a community is a perfect chance to see our own shadows and to bring all illusions about ourselves into the daylight. But also to master our communication skills and to polish our personality. From that reason I consider living in a community sometimes very intensive and demanding. It asks of us determination and courage to really see ourselves. It requests that we deal with our own emotions, but also to react properly when we realise that somebody else is emotionaly triggerd. Sometimes the learning comes from conflicts, sometimes it comes from observation and contemplation, depending what is our way of learning. Sometimes both. However the process can be tiring, it brings us to the emotional maturity, what is one of the most important steps in our personal growth. After we are emotionaly mature we can move to the next stage of evolution, from separation to unity, what is, from my point of view, community living all about. When we manage to make that step, we will realise that the vertical connection to the Universe and the horizontal connection with other beings is IN us, not OUTSIDE of us and that we do not need to live in a community to be fully connected to the Creation. Than, the new and maybe more effective ways of living will come that give us the chance to fully embrace our own uniqueness and individuality but also in the same time to be fully aware of the big picture we are part of and the role of our Soul in that picture. That is the state of mind that brings our full potential and real power to the surface and that brings the change we are hoping for.“
English description
Eco-village Sennrüti in Degersheim, Switzerland
The Eco-village in Degersheim, a holistic community project that promotes sustainable living, is offering up to 6 volunteers the possibility to participate in organic gardening, childcare, kitchen work, event management, public relations and ecological building construction or refurbishing. The volunteers will be encouraged and supported in developing their own ideas, initiatives and independent working. An aim is to learn how and where they can contribute to all aspects of community life.
The Eco-Village community area is located near a small village in the canton St.Gallen in a rural setting with beautiful nature surroundings. The area consist of several buildings with apartments, communal rooms, a library, guest rooms, dining room, art workshops, dance and yoga rooms, a garden with fire pit, sauna, children play grounds, yurts, vegetable gardens. The community is organized in several working groups with members from different cultures, ages and backgrounds. Volunteers can participate in almost all community events and meetings and get to know social aspects, conflict solution tools, group dynamics and organizational skills.
Accommodation: Shared apartment with kitchen within the eco-village.
Requirements: Participants are motivated to live and work in an ecological and open community with children, young people, adults and elders. We expect them to agree and live in accordance with our common ground.