Ibg germany – Workcamps 2016 ibg 2016 Workcamps in Germany

LOCATION: The workcamp will take place in Freisen, a community in the German region Saarland. The community consists of 8 different villages with 9.000 inhabitants in total. Freisen is situated in the north of Saarland in a rural area. You can find many interesting places in Freisen: a historical railway, cultural and natural sights, a small zoo, a spa bath. The local villagers are already looking forward to get to know you and to welcome you at one of the many local village festivals. As the public transport system during the weekend ar rather poor, the number of excursions will be very limited. The project is perfect for volunteers who enjoy being outside and in the nature.

Please make sure to arrive in St. Wendel before 20.25 p.m. to reach the last bus of the day to Schwarzerden.

NEXT AIRPORTS: Saarbruecken (SCN), Frankfurt (FRA)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: St.Wendel

NEXT BUS STOP: Schwarzerden Bahnhof

Help organize two weeks of holiday programme for children: You can expect lots of fun, many new experiences, sometimes long working hours, and of course learning some German from many curious kids.
IBG 24 Weissach (Baden-Wurttemberg) 27.07. – 13.08.2016 KIDS 8 vols AGE: 18-30

AGE: 18 – 30 years old

PROJECT: Every year during the school holidays, the community of Weissach organises a summer camp for children aged 6 - 14. After last year’s success and great cooperation, they are looking forward to interacting with international volunteers for the 6th time. There will be German professional educators and 8 international volunteers as leaders of the summer camp.

WORK: Specific tasks will be attending to and looking after the kids and youngsters during different activities, such as: excursions, games and campfire - a typical summer camp! In the beginning of the camp, all leaders will help set up the camp site and plan activities. Two leaders (one international, one German) will be in charge of a group of 15 kids. The centre of the camp will be a big circus tent which will host different activities. So, if you like spending time with an international group and children, if you like to be asked a lot of (German) questions, and if you love to provide an outlet for the curiosity of children – you are the perfect participant for this camp! Welcome to Weissach! Working hours will be long but very rewarding and you will spend your free time mostly together with the kids (going on a trip with the kids on the weekend for example)! Some knowledge of the German language would be helpful but isn´t obligatory! Your days off will not be during weekends. The host will organise free time activities!

ACTIVITIES: In the beginning, the group will be introduced to the project and have the chance to experience some major team-building activities so that all leaders can smoothly work together and make the stay worthwhile.

ACCOMMODATION & FOOD: The first few days, while the camp is being set up, the international group will stay in a school building, where all sanitary facilities are provided. During the summer camp, all leaders and kids will stay in tents on the camp site. Although the workcamp will take place during summer months, be aware that the nights can be very cold. Please bring a warm sleeping bag, a thick sleeping mat and rainwear! All facilities will be available. Food will be served.

LOCATION: Weissach is a village with around 7000 inhabitants who are very active and dedicated to the project. It is located close to Stuttgart, the state-capital of Baden-Wurttemberg, but also has a lot of nature to experience and enjoy after work or on the weekends. The international group will have the chance to meet local people, interact with German youth and exchange cultural nuances.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart (STR, 30 km)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Stuttgart, Leonberg

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: The local host requires a motivation letter. Please also be aware that in this workcamp, only volunteers between 18 and 30 years will be accepted!

A village in the Black Forest waits for your support to improve the hiking trails on the Castle Hill.
IBG 25 Unterkirnach (Baden-Wurttemberg) 30.07.-13.8.2016 ENVI/RENO 15 vols

PROJECT: For the second time, the municipality of Unterkirnach invites an international workcamp! The village offers a variety of activities, among others sport facilities and miniature golf. There is also a petting zoo with farm animals that was renovated by volunteers last year. The community of Unterkirnach is very happy to get the help of an international workcamp to improve this area and make it an attraction for families.

WORK: Close to your accommodation is the “Schlossberg” (“Castle hill”) where you can also find the small petting zoo as well as lots of hiking trails. Those are partly in a bad condition, so they need to be renovated by you!

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in the gym of Unterkirnach with all necessary facilities provided. On the first floor of the hall, usually used for various events, camp beds will be set up for you. On the ground floor is the gym which you can use any time to play football or do any other kind of sports. In the basement there is a swimming pool which sometimes can be opened for you.

LOCATION: Unterkirnach is a small town in the German region Baden-Wurttemberg with around 2500 inhabitants. It is situated in the eastern part of the Black Forest and thus offers the perfect surrounding for anyone who loves nature and outdoor activities. Hiking, cycling or swimming in the lake…you will find many things to do to enjoy the summer in Germany. To explore the region on your own, bicycles will be provided for you. If you want to spend the weekends in a bigger town, you can visit the lively university town Freiburg which is only 40km away.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart, Basel

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Villingen-Schwenningen

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Volunteers need to be able to ride a bike.

Come to the German-French-Swiss border area for river protection work and other tasks to ensure the species richness in the region.
IBG 26 Bahlingen (Baden-Wurttemberg) 31.07.-13.08.2016 ENVI 12 vols

PROJECT: For the third time Bahlingen is looking forward to welcoming an international workcamp. Various interesting tasks in water and nature conservation await you this year. While working and also in your free time you can enjoy the beautiful nature in the region, but you will also have the possibility to visit nearby towns in Germany, France and Switzerland.

WORK: Volunteers will support the local workers in the renaturation and maintenance of the rivers as well as in the removal of invasive plants. Besides, you will help to protect the so called “Loesshohlwege“(loess hollow ways), which are very typical in the region and important habitats for plants and animals. If you are technically interested, you can work together with the workers of the building yard and do, among others, machine work. All tasks in this project will have professional instruction.

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in the local gym: So lots of space, a kitchen and showers are available.

LOCATION: Bahlingen is a small town in the south-west of Germany. It is located at the foot of “Kaiserstuhl”, a well-known German mountain range. Bahlingen itself and the surrounding area are famous for the vineyards. Not far away, the university town Freiburg is worth seeing. Besides, you can visit Strasbourg, the Alsatian capital in France (70km) and Basel, the 3rd biggest city in Switzerland (80km).

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Bahlingen

This workcamp supports the remembrance of the Nazi crimes against Jewish people in Germany. You can help to improve a memorial and to extend a commemorative path especially made for younger people.
IBG 27 H./T. Memorial (Baden-Wurttemberg) 31.07.-14.08.2016 ARCH/RENO/ART 12 vols

PROJECT: The Memorial Hailfingen/Tailfingen is located close to Gaeufelden, a community that hosted already several workcamps. This year our host is the association, which is in charge of this memorial site for a former subcamp of the concentration camp Natzweiler. In winter 1944/45, 601 Jewish prisoners were forced to expand a military airfield here. Because of the inhumane conditions almost one third of the prisoners died during the short time of three months in which this subcamp existed.

Today the memorial consists of a documentation centre in the town hall of Gaeufelden, the memorial site and a commemorative path. Pedagogical conducted tours are offered, e.g. for school classes, by special Youth Guides. Maybe some kind of artistic action will be realized in cooperation with a local artist.

WORK: Part of the work will be archaeological: to excavate relicts of the subcamp of the former concentration camp, a former airfield. Relicts like pillars of the airplane hangar shall get stabilized and preserved and thus made accessible for the public. You will also cut hedges & bushes on the site and work on the expanding of the commemorative path. Those who are interested can join a film workshop by a local filmmaker, in order to document the work of the group.

ACCOMMODATION: The group will be accommodated in a youth centre. It includes a kitchen, sanitary facilities and is situated in a smaller part of Gaeufelden.

LOCATION: Gaeufelden is a village in the county of Boeblingen and in about 30 km distance to the city of Stuttgart. Hiking trips in the nearby Black Forest are possible as well as excursions to bigger cities.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Gaeufelden.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: The workcamp will most probably get bicycles for their time in the camp, so they should be able to ride a bike! We ask for a motivation letter to be sent with the application!

Be a part of experimental archaeology: Build a copy of an ancient Celtic housing complex to demonstrate Celtic living style in the Iron Age in Bopfingen.
IBG 28 Bopfingen (Baden-Wurttemberg) 31.07. – 14.08.2016 CONS 15 vols

PROJECT: The town of Bopfingen invites an international workcamp for the first time this year! In the past, researchers have found archaeological evidence from the Celtic people that used to live here thousands of years ago in the Iron Age. The project for the next years is going to rebuild some of the houses in Celtic style to demonstrate to tourists how the Celts may have lived in this area.

WORK: Last year, various volunteers in the community of Bopfingen already started building the main house of the celtic housing complex. Your task will be to finish the walls and ground of the house. The working place is set on the top of the hill “Ipf”, so you will be working outside with a wonderful view over the region. All the material you work with is natural materials like clay, wood, stone and concrete.

ACCOMMODATION: The group will be staying at the local sport club’s house equipped with all necessary facilities and a kitchen which you can use, too. Please bring your own sleeping bag!

LOCATION: Bopfingen is a small town in southern Germany. It has a beautiful centre with a lot of houses in old German style. What makes Bopfingen special is the mountain next to the town which is called “Ipf”. It is surrounded by beautiful nature where you can go for a walk or hike. You can see it already from far away with its flat plateau on the top. The “Ipf” has an important historical meaning in this area. In former times the Celts lived there and until today a lot of archaeologists and historians come to explore the region. Around Bopfingen you will find various museums, the romantic historic city of Noerdlingen, the Ries (a large circular meteor impact crater with a diameter of 24 km), and if you would like to visit a bigger city, Ulm is not far away with its famous cathedral and the highest church tower in the world.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart (STR), Munich (MUC)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Bopfingen

Help the community of Kappelrodeck build a public graffiti wall and a “Bike Park” in which kids, teenagers and adults will be able to test their mountain biking skills.
IBG 29 Kappelrodeck (Baden-Wurttemberg) 31.07. - 14.08.2016 CONS 10 vols

PROJECT: For the fifth time, an international workcamp is invited to Kappelrodeck! This year, you are asked to build a public graffiti wall as well as a “Bike Park”: Here, everybody is invited to practice their skills on two wheels: There will be various tracks and obstacles, so visitors can choose the level of difficulty according to their needs. In one part of the area, an easier track for kids is planned.

WORK: You will set up the Bike Park with its obstacles and various tracks. On the same area, you are supposed to build a wall that can be used by local graffiti sprayers and artists. It will be repainted from time to time and offers a legal place to practice graffiti art for the local teens.

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in a local school. Camp beds, a kitchen and sanitary facilities are provided. Showers are located in a sport hall just around the corner (it’s a walk of 3 minutes). Please bring your own sleeping bag!

LOCATION: Kappelrodeck is a small community situated in the popular “Black Forest” and has a total of around 5700 inhabitants. The region attracts many tourists who find recreation in the beautiful landscape. Besides, the area is famous for its delicious red wine. The local people are interested in getting in contact with you and show you the beauty of this area. Hiking as well as excursions to cities like Strasbourg or Freiburg are possible.

NEXT AIRPORT: Strasbourg (France), Karlsruhe

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Kappelrodeck

The public park of Schorndorf needs help to be maintained: Take care of lawns, flower beds and its lake! This will be a first step towards the huge Horticultural Show there in 2019.
IBG 30 Schorndorf (Baden-Wurttemberg) 31.07.-20.08.2016 ENVI 12vols

PROJECT: The town of Schorndorf, located very close to Stuttgart, is going to be part of the “Remstal Gartenschau” (a horticultural show in the Rems-Area) that will take place in 2019. This event needs lots of preparation – so we will start in 2016 already!

WORK: The local park with its lake needs to be maintained. This involves weeding, removing reed, edging flowerbeds, planting and so on. Basically, make the park look great again! In addition to that the group might also work on other green areas in the city

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in a municipal building that is directly in the center of the town. There is one big room that you may split up in two smaller ones if you prefer. A kitchen is also available; showers are not in the same flat, but directly next door. The accommodation is only 200 meters away from your work side and also pretty close to shopping facilities and the train station.

LOCATION: Schorndorf is a medium-sized town with almost 40 000 inhabitants. The center is very beautiful with lots of old renovated half-timbered houses (typical for this area), where you can find shops and cafés. You can go hiking in the close-by forests, go swimming in the local outdoor swimming pool or go to Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg that you can reach within 45minutes by train.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Schorndorf

Do you enjoy music? Are you prepared for unusual working hours? Come and support the local team of volunteers to run the free of charge music festival Umsonst & Draussen Stuttgart.
IBG 31 Stuttgart U&D (Baden-Wurttemberg) 01.08. – 09.08.2016 FEST 12vols AGE: 18-26

Basic conditions!!!

AGE: 18-26 years old!

PROJECT: In the summer months, Germany is host to a variety of music festivals and events. One of those festivals – called “Umsonst & Draussen” (free of charge & outdoors) – will take place close to the campus of the University of Stuttgart outside the city centre, running for three days, from 5^th – 7^th of August (www.ud-stuttgart.de). The association which is running the whole thing has been organising this festival for 37 years now! Since 2013 they are hosting Workcamps and the international volunteers have become an important part in the whole festival organisation.

WORK: The international group will work together with many other volunteers from the association. The main tasks will be setting up of the stage, stalls and tents on the site of the festival, as well as the disassembly at the end. While the festival is running, the volunteers will assist in different areas: bar, stage, organisation, catering etc. Volunteers should be flexible enough to work long and unusual hours – and enjoy music! Speaking or understanding basic German will be a plus! The group might be asked to give a short presentation of their workcamp on stage!

ACCOMMODATION: In the first two days, the group will be hosted in a cultural centre in Stuttgart, where you have a kitchen, sanitary facilities and the group will be sleeping in the hall, where the stage is. We advise sightseeing in these first days. On the third day, you will move to the site of the festival. There you will be camping in a big tent. You will need a camping mat and a sleeping bag. We encourage you to bring your own tent, if possible! Food will available through the food stands. Sanitary facilities are given, but be aware of festival standards: only cold, outdoor showers available and limited privacy compared to “regular” accommodations!

LOCATION: With 600,000 inhabitants, Stuttgart is the state-capital of Baden-Wurttemberg. From museums, to castles and parks, to an afternoon spent shopping, this city offers something for everyone to see! In addition, take a short train ride and enjoy the variety of nature around Stuttgart. Take a visit to some of the other interesting towns in the area, like Tuebingen (approximately 1 hour away) and Ludwigsburg (approximately 30 minutes away).

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart, Frankfurt

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Stuttgart

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: We ask for a motivation letter to be sent with the application!

Come to support a special holiday camp for Ukrainian youngsters in Germany. Unforgettable experiences, long working hours and helping with exciting excursion days await you!
IBG 32 Irschenberg (Bavaria) 04.08. – 23.08.2016 KIDS/SOCI 10 vols

PROJECT: The Caritas Children’s Village in Irschenberg was founded in 1972 and is home to about 100 children and teenagers. This summer, the village organizes a two week summer camp for 40 children and teenagers (ages 12 – 14) who had to flee the Ukrainian areas of Donezk und Lugansk. The organizers of the summer camp are very happy to get the help of an international workcamp to make the two weeks a carefree time and an unforgettable memory for all the kids.

WORK: A variety of tasks await your help: With the group’s two leaders, you will organize the kids’ leisure activities and games at the village. On excursion days, you will accompany them on their outings and field trips (including a three day stay at the Rabenmoos Alp in the mountains, tours to nearby cities like Munich or Rosenheim, to an amusement park, or to a salt mine). You will also be in charge of cooking and preparing meals with the kitchen chef and the help of some of the kids, as well as help out with organizing the summer camp’s accommodation. Some knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian could be helpful but isn´t obligatory!

ACCOMMODATION: Your home in the children’s village will be a community house, equipped with sanitary facilities and a kitchen. Accommodation is in two shared rooms on sleeping mats. Please bring your own sleeping bag!

LOCATION: Irschenberg is a municipality in the German state of Bavaria, about 46 km southeast of Munich. The region with its alpine landscape attracts many tourists all over the year. Enjoy the beautiful nature and be active with various outdoor activities. You can also visit Munich and Rosenheim or relax at one of the lakes in the region.

NEXT AIRPORT: Munich (MUC)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Miesbach

This year’s workcamp in Scheinfeld will help improve the local infrastructure: You will be working on sites for leisure activities, an adventure playground and a path leading from the senior citizen’s home to a vineyard.
IBG 33 Scheinfeld (Bavaria) 06.08.-20.08.2016 CONS/RENO 15 vols

PROJECT: The town of Scheinfeld invites an international workcamp for the first time this year. Both the town’s mayor, as well as locals, are happy to have your support with a variety of tasks in the community. You will mainly be working outside on various sites in the town and help with construction work and renovation tasks.

WORK: Various projects await the help of international volunteers in Scheinfeld this summer. You will build sites for activities like Pétanque/boules or table tennis next to the local outdoor swimming pool, and help with the maintenance of a footpath leading from the senior citizens’ home to a vineyard. Also, there is an adventure playground which kids and locals have started building themselves. They will be happy if you support them with some of the construction work, especially the building of a wooden hut on the playground.

ACCOMMODATION: The group will be staying at the local school building which has a gymnasium equipped with all necessary sanitary facilities. There is a huge kitchen which the group is free to use as well as a nice outside area that is all yours during the summer holidays. You will also get free access to the warm outdoor swimming pool next to one of your working sites. Please bring a sleeping bag!

LOCATION: Scheinfeld is a small town of 4.500 inhabitants situated 14 km northwest of Neustadt (Aisch), and 40 km east of Wuerzburg in the Bavarian region called Franconia. The area is covered by the Steigerwald and Frankenhoehe nature parks, both comprising large forested and hilly areas. Adjacent to the town is the medieval castle Schloss Schwarzenberg, home to one of the town’s secondary schools and partly a boarding school nowadays. The cities of Nuremberg, Wuerzburg, Bamberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber are all nearby.

NEXT AIRPORT: Nuremberg (NUE), Frankfurt (FRA)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Markt Bibart (10 mins from Scheinfeld by bus)

A new forest kindergarten will be built! With the help of professional instructors, there are plenty of tasks to do: Build a yurt, create the playground!
IBG 34 Ruppertshofen (Baden-Wurttemberg) 06.08.-20.08.2016 CONS 15 vols

PROJECT: Ruppertshofen is a small community in the South of Germany; it is located in a rather rural area. Here, a local association is about to build a “forest kindergarten” – an outdoor kindergarten that allows kids to stay in touch with nature. The concept behind it is anthroposophical.