ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
I’m always happy to see other people. Of course, I mean first of all my friends. When I meet a friend there’s a special feeling: joy that the other soul is there. Everyday, I feel this anew: the experience of trust, the closeness to the other, which includes understanding and feeling seen. Friendship exists among equals, it develops between people who see each other eye to eye. Where friendship lives, there is no superiority.
What is important, however, is mutual respect, the willingness to forgive each other – a “good” friendship does not easily break up through quarrels, but it can go through trials. All of a sudden a friend will show you another side and you think, I have never experienced them like this before! Do I now pull away, or do I remain faithful? For a friend, I feel “responsible”. I try to care for them from my inner self, I ask them how far they can go, or Why they don’t listen to their heart. I can see a friend’s soul close to me through turmoil, or through their protective walls.
Friendship is characterized by the fact that it is only there for me when I experience it myself. Only then can the space open up in which I can act. So I ask the other for his opinion on a problem that is unpleasant to me and listen to the answer, calmly weighing it up. If I do not enter the friendship space, such a gesture does not occur to me in my dreams.
Trust and reliability are the two cornerstones of friendship. But trust is not that simple, it does not come about by itself. I have to actively work on it. The fear of being disappointed still weighs heavier than the gesture of friendship. The liberation from being a ‹lone warrior›, where I have to struggle alone in order not to fall short, can be exhausting. But it is worth it.
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KalliEco – latest news
It’s been 2 months since the election. We look back on many conversations, some public meetings and our first mayoral election.
In the district council and in the joint municipality Elbtalaue, the legislative session began a few weeks ago. Thanks to an introductory event explaining bits and pieces for newcomers, we already know a bit about how the process works. In any case, the interactions are everything between unusually official and surprisingly direct.
Last week, the mayoral election in Neu Darchau was on the agenda. Due to the new way the seats are distributed, the result was unclear until the very end. KalliEco was new in the round, but after mostly very constructive discussions and a lot of getting to know each other, a good compromise emerged. We now form a group with the local SPD and congratulate the incumbent and future mayor Klaus-Peter Dehde on his re-election.
We are looking forward to the next meetings, to the committee work and to the first actions. You will hear from us!
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Good things from Sammatz
Come on over, it’s preserving-time!
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Stories from Christian’s
canning-kitchen
Autumn time is canning time. By now, a whole team is helping to put large quantities of fruit and vegetables into the ‹Weck-jars› as storage for our community kitchen.
This was also the original impulse when our preserving chef Christian started to preserve the surplus of our own products – beans, beet, sauerkraut – and thus enrich the menu in winter.
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And with that, we are even entering a niche market: the distribution of regional organic products. Our organic preserved products are now available in the assortment of our farm store and in other organic food stores, in our food truck at the market, and in the future will be available at Famila and Edeka.
Christian comes from Baden by birth and is a remedial nurse. As a child, he discovered his love for preserving with Grandma Auguste, who ‹got her loved ones through the harsh winters with lots of vitamins›, with delicious jams and other delicacies.
But Christian now far surpasses his grandma in the range of goods he offers, including strawberry spread, plum jam, black currant jam, quince jelly, quince jam, the delicious classic applesauce, all kinds of preserved vegetables like sour cucumbers, beetroot and beans, hot bell pepper and paprika sauces, etc. His team’s next step will be the preparation of chutneys.
Christian: ‹The good thing about canning is that the yummy stuff isn’t gone right away, like it is with lunch.› Let’s see how long the preserves last on the shelves…
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Beetroot – we preserve the secret favourite vegetable of many community members as a salad to enjoy it all year long! The perfect mix of wonderful colour and healthy treat, delicious for young and old. The red beet not only tastes great but is also a real power food with its many vitamins and minerals! Feeling hungry? Just head over to the onlineshop!
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At Michaelshof you won’t only find good stuff for the jaws but also balm for the palm!
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Hand cream – The days are getting rougher, the hands too! The search for a good hand cream sometimes drives you to despair. Try Claudia’s intensive cream! Natural ingredients, mixed with love and easy to dose. Absorbs quickly and makes the skin simply smooth. You can find it in our farm store and soon online as well.
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Michaelshof up to date – at a glance!
Opening hours:
Arche-Hof:
Mo-Su 9.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Hofladen:
Mo-Fr 9.30 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
2.00 p.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Sa 10.00 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Su & holidays 10.00 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Café am Michaelshof:
The café is on winter break!
Der WAGEN:
Wochenmarkt, Lüneburg:
Mi & Sa 7.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.
Please follow the Covid 19-regulations of Lower Saxony.
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He who sows the bulbs will reap the tulips
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Spring is still far away, it’s difficult to remember the singing birds, the fresh air and the wonderful bright colours. So when you stick tulip bulbs into the ground with clammy fingers in the cold, wet grey of November, a lot of imagination is required of you. One hundred and sixty thousand tulip bulbs – and they all want to be planted. But then I dream of April, when the tulips begin to bloom. When the colourful blossoms open and I realize that all winter I didn’t notice that they were secretly taking root, growing and getting ready, while I was still busy with my own wintry, melancholy worries and problems … philosophical minds say that’s exactly how our own development happens, often secretly and out of sight, whilst we think that nothing is happening.
Well, out here in the beds, the mood of the tulip planters continues to be good, or, to be more precise, it fluctuates between despair and wild activism. As we all know, the best feeling in the world is the feeling when a job is done! We’ll be over the moon when the bulbs are all sunk into the ground, together with the good memories of exhausting days and beautiful conversations. Those who happily sow the bulbs will happily reap the beautiful tulips. |
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Hello everybody!
I’m Cina, originally from Italy, but currently…a little bit from everywhere! I am in fact a passionate traveller, and right now I just arrived in Portugal after a train trip from Southern Italy. I decided to come here to explore the country, visit some agricultural projects and see whether I want to start working in one of them. However, even though in these last years I have been moving around a lot, I still consider Sammatz home #1. Why?
Let me explain to you. All during my adolescence I felt a bit ‹different›, not really fitting into the environment around me. Then, in 2016, I came here for the first time, and in this moment, I was literally born again. The people of Sammatz welcomed me with such an open heart and curious minds. I met so many wonderful people during that time, who showed me that everybody is unique and for this reason very special and loved. I adored being in contact with nature and having such authentic relationships with the others around me. In Sammatz I discovered who I wanted to be. In fact, after graduating from university in 2018, I decided to follow my passions and travel around Europe, to participate in different volunteers’ projects on farms, and then decided to finish my studies with a Masters in Environmental Sciences and Sustainability.
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Nevertheless, despite really liking the places that I visited and the people that I met in these last years, I always (always!) come back to Sammatz every year. (There is actually a joke about this: every time I’m back, I plan on staying for just a week or two, and end up staying for 2 months ). What can I say? No place is like here!
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It is so rare, in fact, to find somewhere where everyone is welcome, just as they are, integrated into the community and valued for what they can do. Nowhere there is such a freedom to show yourself, to connect with others and propose new ideas, still being within a regulated structure that lets the community work smoothly. I am so amazed by this organism!
The focus on beauty in Sammatz is quite innovative, too you can’t be angry or spiteful when everything around you is treated with care and looks beautiful! There’s lots to learn from this approach! So… it will soon be time for me to come back to Sammatz, for a couple of weeks (or maybe months!).
Big hugs!
Cina
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WE LOVE TO ENTERTAIN YOU
Things we’ve found on the web & ️…
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About elective affinity – spotting community topics in the media for a change is fun and thought-provoking. ‹Those who have friends live longer (and healthier). Those who have friends are less afraid.› Jo Schück explains why friendships are the true web of life on Spiegel.de (paywall) and in his book. This is a topical subject: ‹Among younger people, loneliness is spreading like a virus. To blame only the digital networks for this falls short.› (Interview with loneliness researcher Diana Kinnert in brandeins.)
What is agriculture worth to us? The new Demeter Journal is here! The topic: respect. ‹While consistently fair pricing would only mean for many people in our affluent society to set their priorities differently – for example, shopping in a more planned way – there are many who have to watch every penny. This social imbalance urgently needs to be solved, but under no circumstances should this be done on the backs of the farmers, the environment and the animals.› You can find many exciting thoughts on the literal value of food in the article or in the Demeter Journal (available in many organic farm stores)
“Beautiful boy, I see the sun shining on you. It warms me and makes the wheat grow. As the grains fall from the ears, I fall from your embrace. Beautiful boy, you see the moon shining on me, but you only get into its yard. Even though you attract me, you know I belong to another.”
A love song by our favorite Luca Foltanyi – unplugged on YouTube.
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HELLO YVETTE – Country life is full of surprises – one of them is Yvette, who lives in the tiny neighbouring village and not only brings years of print design experience, but also fits wonderfully into our team. Welcome – flyer on!
BIRDMAN – Finn has been documenting the bird species found in Sammatz and the surrounding area almost daily for almost 3 years. He drags a 600mm lens around the landscape for this purpose, among other things. When he tells of bird encounters through his pictures, everyone’s heart swells.
WELCOME SAMFOOD – Our social media family has a new member! On the new Instagram channel we will post food-info & aesthetics in all facets. Feeling hungry? Check out ‹SamFood Michaelshof›.
FARM-NEWS – The nights are getting colder, the fur coats are getting thicker. Frieda has given birth to 9 little piglets and the supply of roots for the dairy animals is well filled.
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