Ibg germany – Workcamps 2016 ibg 2016 Workcamps in Germany

PROJECT: Weisendorf is a small town in the Bavarian area called “Franken”. The town’s mayor, locals as well as the youth club are excited to welcome volunteers from all over the world to their community again this year. While previous workcamps helped with the construction and renovation of various playgrounds, this year’s camp will be helping at the local youth club.

WORK: You will mainly be working on renovating and redesigning the youth club which is located in a multipurpose building in Weisendorf. Tasks will include various renovation and manual work, painting, furnishing and a new design of the club. Another part of work will be outside where you will help with the planting of an area in the community.

ACCOMODATION: The volunteers will be accommodated in a part of the local school building, with sanitary facilities as well as the school’s kitchen to use. Gym mats will be provided for you to sleep on, so please bring your own sleeping bag!

LOCATION: Weisendorf is beautifully surrounded by fields, forest and meadows. It lies close to Nuremberg which is the second biggest city in Bavaria. Many possibilities to enjoy yourselves can be found in the area like hiking, sports, meeting locals and of course experiencing the Bavarian way of living! For more cultural activities like museums, arts etc. it is possible to visit the nearby cities of Nuremberg or Erlangen.

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

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Erlangen (From here a bus can be taken directly to Weisendorf)


The charity of Mariaberg needs your help to build a multi-sensory garden for seniors with disabilities. This garden will motivate them to go outside, enjoy the sun and the fresh air and stay curious.
IBG 14 Mariaberg (Baden-Wurttemberg) 10.07. – 23.07.2016 CONS / ENVI 12 vols

PROJECT: Mariaberg, a quarter of Gammertingen, is not only a village, but also a supporting organisation of the “Behindertenhilfe”, an institution offering homes, workshops, and education (kindergarten and schools) for people with learning difficulties, disabilities or illnesses. A diverse range of people – young and old – come together here to live, learn and work. We ask you to come with an open heart and mind, as you will be in close contact with the people when working in Mariaberg!

WORK: As also the workers with disabilities living in Mariaberg become older and retire the aim is this year to create a special green area for seniors with disabilities to be outside, enjoy the sun and stay curious. The workcamp will prepare the area for a multi-sensory garden for these seniors addressing all different senses (flowers for the eyes, herbs for the smell, fruits for the taste, but also different tools for other sensorial adventures as humming stones). Concrete tasks will be to prepare the ground and to build a path which can also be used with wheelchairs, to restore a historic archway which will be included in the garden, to set up raised beds for plants and the different tools, signs and a huge board. These tasks will be done under the supervision of a professional worker.

ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation will be in a gym hall in the centre of Mariaberg close to all needed facilities like showers and toilets. You will certainly have access to the swimming pool of the quarter and have the opportunity to use other facilities. You will not prepare meals for yourself since there is no kitchen close to your accommodation. Hence, you will be served in the local Café and restaurant of the “village”.

LOCATION: Gammertingen is situated 80 km south of Stuttgart, nestled in the Swabian Albes a beautiful mountain chain with spectacular nature. Without a doubt, you will find enough to do in Mariaberg itself (swimming pool, barbecue, gym halls, bowling, restaurant and café!) but the region also offers its nature, typical Swabian villages and small towns as worthy day-trips. The locals are looking forward to the cultural exchange with you and will be happy to organise trips and other activities for you.

NEXT AIRPORTS: Stuttgart, Karlsruhe (Baden-Baden) for Ryan Air flights

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Gammertingen or Reutlingen

Let the children play! Create an attractive playground with professional support within two weeks and get to know life in Germany.
IBG 15 Rottenburg-Weiler (Baden-Wurttemberg) 10.-23.07.2016 CONS 9 vols

PROJECT: Rottenburg am Neckar is a medium-sized town about 50km southwest of Stuttgart. Be aware that the project itself is going to take place in the village Weiler that belongs to Rottenburg – but it is located about 2km away from Rottenburg itself! While Weiler only has about 1000 inhabitants, Rottenburg offers a picturesque historic centre, lying on the banks of the river Neckar. This year Rottenburg will be hosting a workcamp for the second time. The project will be done in cooperation with a local kindergarten, so there will be close contact to the local people. The children’s parents are already planning to invite you for a homestay in one evening!

WORK: The playground of a local kindergarten needs to be re-done! Professionals will instruct you during the work and the aim is to finish the whole playground within the two weeks.

ACCOMMODATION: You will be accommodated in a community house. A kitchen and showers are provided.

LOCATION: Rottenburg offers various cultural as well as sport activities: museums, swimming pools, canoeing and an outdoor climbing wall. Nearby, there are hiking trails and castles which invite you to spend a relaxing day in the nature. The university town Tuebingen with plenty of cafés and bars is only 12km away and also Stuttgart can be reached in 1 hour by train. To thank you for your help, the town Rottenburg wants to organize a barbeque in the local castle, punting (boating with a punt, a small flat-bottomed boat that is pretty popular in Tuebingen) and some more free-time activities for you.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Rottenburg (Neckar)

SPECIAL REMARKS: You should be able to ride a bike!

Be a guest of the youth club of Nagold and support their activities to run a cultural festival and do environmental tasks in the black forest. You will be in close contact with the local youth!
IBG 16 Nagold (Baden-Wurttemberg) 10.07.-26.07.2016 FEST/ENVI 13 vols

PROJECT: The youth centre of Nagold is one of the oldest partners of IBG. For the past twenty years, they have been organizing very successful workcamps, inviting volunteers to help them with different renovation and cleaning tasks, making a movie about workcamps and organizing festivals.

WORK: This year the workcamp participants will be helping out at a cultural festival in Nagold. Local clubs and associations will be participating in the festival and you will be helping them out with the preparations for music, dance and international food. On other days, you will work on various environmental tasks within the community of Nagold.

ACCOMMODATION: The group will be staying in the youth centre. Two sleeping rooms with beds and a large kitchen are provided. Please bring a sleeping bag! Showers are available at the swimming pool nearby. Take a look at the youth centre here:

http://www.youznagold.de/YOUZ2012/wordpress/

LOCATION: Nagold is situated in the beautiful Black Forest and has about 22,000 inhabitants. The youth centre, located in the inner city of Nagold, is a meeting point for young people aged 14-20. Beside many other possibilities to spend time in the youth centre you will find rooms and equipment to play music, to dance and make videos and plenty of other things to spend your leisure time. Trips to Stuttgart and Tuebingen, hiking in the Black Forest, horse riding, swimming and playing beach volleyball are only some of the possible activities. Local youth will be around at almost all times, so participants can look forward to getting in touch with them!

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart (STR)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Nagold (50 km)

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 Karlstadt.
IBG 17 Karlstadt U&D (Bavaria) 16.07. - 27.07.2016 FEST 12 vols 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 – “Umsonst & Draussen” (free of charge & outdoors) – will take place outside the town of Karlstadt and run for three days, from 22^nd-24^thof July

(http://www.umsonstunddraussen.de/hauptseite.html). The town’s young people have been organising festivals for a long time now. This year will be the seventh time to invite a workcamp to help with the exciting, but also demanding tasks of setting up the festival in July. Around 26 bands are invited; 12,000-15,000 visitors are expected.

WORK: The international group will work together with many other volunteers from Karlstadt. The main tasks will be setting up of the stage and campground 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!

ACCOMMODATION: In the local youth centre for the first days. For the main part of the Camp the group will be lodging in tents on the site of the festival, where all helpers will also stay. Food will be served in the festival canteen throughout the day. Sanitary facilities are provided, but be aware of festival standards. Expect very basic amenities!

LOCATION: Karlstadt is situated in the Bavarian region called Franconia. The town is home to around 7000 inhabitants and has a historical touch. If you are interested in architecture, you will find lots of traditional German buildings in the town centre. Also, with its vast vineyards and rolling hills, the region provides an opportunity for some calm and relaxing outdoor activities as an alternative to the hectic life of the festival.

NEXT AIRPORT: Frankfurt, Nuremberg

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Karlstadt

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

In the beautiful surrounding of the Bavarian Alps the local scouts club asks you help to continue the transfer of an old tavern to a nice scouts center.
IBG 18 Grassau (Bavaria) 16.07.-30.07.2016 RENO/MANU/ENVI 15 vols

PROJECT: Our partners in this project are the scouts of the tribe “Schwarzer Mustang Achental” (Black Mustang Achental). In 2014 the community gave them the compound of a former tavern as their new club house. It is located remotely in the middle of the nature, but only a few minutes from the village centre. They have already invested hundreds of working hours into their new home, called “Foxbau”, but there is still a lot to do and they are very happy to welcome international volunteers to help them.

WORK: There are a lot of projects planned on the compound:

Rebuilding the path around the lake and constructing a small bridge over the creek that flows into the lake, Construction of terraces for a camping ground, Demolition of small sheds, Construction of a new storage for fire wood, Building an outdoor shower, Renovation works on one of the terraces, Painting the roof, Beautifying the garden and the building, some outdoor tasks along the small creek and maybe even building a pizza oven.

ACCOMMODATION: You will stay directly in the “Foxbau”. There are two rooms, which can be used as sleeping rooms, with mattresses or camp beds, toilets and a shower. You can take a look here: http://www.foxbau.eu/

LOCATION: Grassau is a village in the Achental at the foot of the Chiemgauer Alps south of the Chiemsee, which is Bavaria’s biggest lake. It’s about 100km east of Munich and only 45km to Salzburg in Austria. Lots of leisure time opportunities present themselves, like hiking, climbing, rafting and trips to the Chiemsee with its famous islands and castle of the Bavarian King Ludwig.

NEXT AIRPORT: Munich, Salzburg (Austria)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Prien am Chiemsee. From there you can take a bus to Kucheln (Grassau), Chiemgau, which is about 10 minutes’ walk from the accommodation.

The perfect project for everybody who likes nature, doesn’t mind working hard and is curious to meet German youngsters! Come to Saxony and do landscape protection work on a peak of the mountain range Erzgebirge.
IBG 19 Annaberg-Buchholz (Saxony) 17.07. - 30.07.2016 ENVI 10 vols

PROJECT: After the success of last years’ workcamps, the inhabitants of Annaberg-Buchholz are looking forward to interact with international volunteers again! This year you will do environmental work on a hill in the beautiful region of the nature park “Erzgebirge”. This project is for everybody who likes nature and is curious to meet German youngsters! From your working place you can enjoy beautiful views.

WORK: The “Poehlberg”, a hill in Annaberg-Buchholz, is shaped by lynchets. Through regular mowing the structure of the grassland and bushes is obtained. Because of its protection status, the topography and also its access, this can only be done by hand and therefore your help is needed. Please note that the work might be pretty hard, as in July it’s likely to be hot and you are going to work outside in the sun!

ACCOMMODATION: You will stay at the cultural centre „Altes Brauhaus“(http://www.altebrauerei-annaberg.de/) where you have access to a kitchen, beds and sanitary facilities. The centre will be open to the public as usual; therefore, you will have plenty of occasions to meet young people from Annaberg-Buchholz! The cultural centre is not far from the city centre.

LOCATION: Annaberg-Buchholz is a city of 21,000 inhabitants in the region of “Erzgebirge” (Ore Mountains), in the federal state of Saxony, and quite near to the Czech border. The region was important in the early stages of industrialization, as it was the centre of metallurgy and mining. Within the city and the surrounding region, you will find many traces of these former times. There are many things to do in your free time: You can go hiking in the Ore Mountains, visit a mine or take a day-trip to Chemnitz, Dresden or even to Czech Republic!

NEXT AIRPORT: Leipzig, Dresden, Nuremberg, Frankfurt

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Annaberg-Buchholz

Come to the Black Forest, live in nature and work for nature! You can enjoy three weeks of landscape protection and hiking paths maintenance in an international team.
IBG 20 Lauterbach (Baden-Wurttemberg) 17.07. – 07.08.2016 ENVI 10 vols

PROJECT: This is the eighth time that the community of Lauterbach invites a workcamp. Above all, the local host is very happy to be supported by a workcamp at different environmental and construction tasks in a nature protection area!

WORK: A variety of tasks are waiting for your help. One task will be the maintenance of a hiking trail in the forest. So-called “neophytes” (invasive non-native vegetation) need to be removed in the nature protection area. You will cut and clear those plants. Furthermore, cleaning and clearing of vegetation needs to be done in biotopes like ponds and tarns. You will, most likely, also repair fences and maintain grasslands around fruit trees. Be prepared for hard physical work! Due to working in damp and steep areas (ponds), rubber boots and/or sturdy shoes are necessary for working effectively!

ACCOMMODATION: The workcamp team will stay in a nice community house in the middle of the forest, where you can find sanitary facilities, showers and a good equipped kitchen. There are 4-bed-rooms for you. Due to the position of the house in a rural area, it is likely that there will not be access to internet and no coverage for mobile phones. Just be prepared to spend three wonderful, adventurous weeks away from your busy and usual everyday life!

LOCATION: Lauterbach is situated in the heart of the Black Forest nature park, close to Schramberg and the town Rottweil. There are many possibilities to hike and experience nature first hand. Just step out the door and find yourself surrounded by beautiful nature! On weekends, you’ll have the chance to visit Rottweil or the university town of Freiburg.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Hausach

Fitness and environmental education – these are the topics of two different paths you will take care for during your workcamp in Heilsbronn. The main project of this workcamp will be the maintenance of the so-called “Vita Parcours” fitness trail.
IBG 21 Heilsbronn (Bavaria) 23.07. – 06.08.2016 RENO/ENVI 12 vols

PROJECT: After the success of the projects in the last eight years, the town of Heilsbronn is looking forward to hosting another workcamp this year. The person in charge of the workcamp in the town hall is a big fan of workcamps and international groups and has already introduced other neighbouring cities to the workcamp idea. In this year’s project different environmental tasks await you in and around this beautiful town in Bavaria.

WORK: As in previous years you will help in the maintenance of the Vita Parcours fitness trail. Your task will mainly be to clear the trail of over-grown plants. Besides, you will set up an herb trail in the “Naturlehrgarten”, a park that includes several stations which explain environmental issues to the visitors. In this park you will plant herbs and willows as well as set up the paths. Last but not least, there will be plenty of cleaning work to do for you along the famous path way “Camino de Santiago”.

ACCOMMODATION: The group will stay in the local youth club called “JUZ”. The building includes a kitchen and all necessary facilities. Please bring a sleeping bag! The local youth who normally visit the club are looking forward to welcoming you and getting to know the international volunteers.

LOCATION: Heilsbronn with its 9300 inhabitants is located in the idyllic Bavarian region called „Franken“ (“Franconia”). The town lies along the path known as “the Way to St. James” or “Camino de Santiago”. For this reason, the town is frequently visited by tourists as well as pilgrims. Apart from the traditional, half-timbered houses the town offers a few unique sites, such as the Romanesque monastery and the local cathedral. A guided tour might be organised for you. Besides, the town arranges free entrance to the outdoor swimming pool for you. Nature-lovers can find several hiking trails in the beautiful surrounding landscape. The beautiful cities of Nuremberg, Bamberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber are not too far away either and might be visited on weekends.

NEXT AIRPORT: Stuttgart (STR), Frankfurt (FRA) or Nuremberg (NUE)

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Heilsbronn

Do you enjoy music, theatre and dance? Are you prepared for unusual working hours? Come and support the local team of volunteers to run the free of charge cultural festival.
IBG 22 Graefelfing (Bavaria) 25.07.-03.08.2016 (TBC!) FEST 10vols AGE:18-26
AGE: 18-26

PROJECT: Since 1978, the Kulturfestival Graefelfing (www.kulturfestival.de) has taken place every two years on the first weekend of the summer holidays in a big park between Graefelfing and Munich. It is run by a local non-profit organization and it is free of charge. This year, the festival itself will be from the 28th of July until the 31^st and about 15,000 visitors are expected throughout the whole event. There will be 4 different stages for the program of different types of music, theatre, dance and programs for children. In case of bad weather, the whole festival will take place inside big tents.

WORK: The Workcamp will help the organizers in all phases of the festival. The main tasks will be setting up of all facilities at the festival site 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. You will work closely with the people from the association. Volunteers should be flexible enough to work long and unusual hours and enjoy music. Speaking or understanding basic German will be a plus.

ACCOMMODATION: TBC

LOCATION: The small garden city of Graefelfing is 1,250 years old. The townscape is famous for its many villas from the beginning of the last century. Graefelfing has about 13,000 inhabitants and is situated very close to Munich (18min by S-train from Munich Central Station). Please be aware that during the duration of the workcamp there will not be much time for trips to Munich, even though it is very close. If you are interested in the touristic site of Munich, please plan some time before or after the camp.

NEXT AIRPORT: Munich

NEXT TRAIN STATION: Graefelfing

Special Requirements: We ask for a motivation letter to be sent with the application!

The international volunteers will maintain different wooden huts as shelter for hikers and will do some gardening and renovation work. You can enjoy the hospitality of the local villagers, the countryside and the nature of the region Saarland.
IBG 23 Freisen (Saarland) 25.07.-07.08.2016 RENO/ENVI 12 vols

PROJECT: The territory of Freisen has a rich nature with many opportunities for outdoor activities as hiking, walking, cycling. The local community does it best to still improve the infrastructure for nature lovers. After three successful international IBG workcamps they again invite a group of volunteers to support them in this mission. The project will be to maintain two wooden forest huts used as shelter for hikers.

WORK: There will be two different tasks for the volunteers: 1. to maintain two different wooden huts as shelter for hikers (renovation work). Work will be demanding in parts and volunteers with experience in manual work or work with wood are especially welcome. 2. to improve the surrounding of your accommodation. This will include landscape gardening and renovation work. The group of volunteers will be split up in the two different tasks every day.

ACCOMMODATION: The accommodation provided is the former centre of the sports club of Schwarzerden, one of the smaller villages (500 inhabitants) within the community of Freisen. It is now in public use for bigger events in this village. All necessary facilities are provided but there is no public internet. Attention: This place is quite isolated; the tiny village of Schwarzerden is 1km away. Next to the accommodation you can find the sports ground, you can use it whenever you want. You will have a beautiful view over the valley; you will be surrounded by forests and meadows. Just make your campfire and enjoy the nature. After three successful workcamps in this village, the local people are already looking forward to welcome again young people from all over the world.