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Introducing the new ‘Sammatz sponsorship’ scheme
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At Michaelshof we’re trying to bring a dream to reality: a dream of beauty, lively coexistence, sharing and sustainability. We want our beautiful village to be open to as many people as possible. For this we need your support! Instead of ‘selling’ the Michaelshof visit and charging an admission price, we would like to ‘do’ the place with you. That’s why our guests and friends now have the chance to take part in the Michaelshof project by sponsoring their area of heart.
What excites you when you visit? Is it the animals or the gardens? Is it ecology or school? The cheese or the construction site? The vegetables or the culture? The beauty or the colourful, international atmosphere? There are many reasons to take on a sponsorship at Michaelshof! Which are yours?
For more information and to apply for a sponsorship, click here!
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Festival season à la Michaelshof
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In the beginning of May we had our Tulip Festival. In the bright May weather, there were many enthusiastic guests, beautiful music and a stimulating ‘Tulip Path’ taking visitors through the vibrant colours. There was our new ‘Market of Possibilities’ where our guests can join us as sponsors; there was delicious food from waffles to burgers; and above all, there were thousands and thousands of tulips in the most beautiful colours and shapes. The tulips really deserved their party, simply because this year they were so beautiful. In the Arena they formed seas of colour, and if you got up close, every day you could discover a different combination of shape, growth, gesture or colour.
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Tulips have been grown in Europe for centuries, first in the parks of the aristocracy and then also on every beautiful farm. They simply cannot be missing in a spring garden. This year we had the very delicate lily flowers to admire, the twin tulips in orange, the strong double tulips in the brightest colours or the parrot tulips with their funny curled leaves – you just have to love them! The insects, who like to buzz around the early bloomers, think so too. Overall, it was a successful event that will be remembered into next year!
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A few days ago our first Festival of animals took place, a very different event but still beautiful. Despite North Cape weather of 13 degrees and sporadic rain showers, neither we nor our guests let our mood spoil. Our old breeds of domestic animals looked magnificent, and children could get very close to them in an extra kid petting zoo. The queue for the petting zoo was just as big at the face painting stall, where some real artists were at work.
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We were happy to be spoiled by bratwurst roasters and at the cake stand. As always, everything was organic and delicious, and the meat for the sausages and meatloaf was sourced from our own farm. Food quality is an important topic – you could see that at the well-attended tasting of our cheeses. The celebrated Michaelshof band played lively folk music from all over the world, making many guest relax at the beer tables despite the raindrops… children, gourmets and Arche-Hof friends got their money’s worth and will do so sure to be there again next time!
Speaking of the festival season: We’re just really getting going. The next festival is just around the corner. The first roses have arrived and we want to host a magnificent celebration in honour of the Queen of Flowers soon. Stay tuned for the…
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SAMMATZ ROSE FESTIVAL
Saturday, JUNI 18, 2022, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Dive with us into the wonderful world of roses! Our favourites are already opening their buds and will be in full bloom in mid-June. You will meet these royal beauties with unusual names all over the Michaelshof grounds – in the campus garden, in the arena and on the terraces of the forest lake. An entire garden area is dedicated to them: the rose garden, located on the way from the café to the Arche courtyard. Allow yourself to be enveloped by the wonderful scents of hundreds of rose bushes and enchanted by the delicate yet powerful flowers of this special plant species. There are definitely some varieties that you have never seen before!
Look forward to:
- Expert guided tours through the world of roses
- Sale of old and new varieties of roses
- Music in the gardens, exciting activities for adults
- Performance with dancer and choreographer Bobby Briscoe
- Colorful children’s program
- Fine dining and much more
See you soon at the Rose Festival!
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Foil tunnel meets Sammatz vegetables
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Early summer makes everything new! With the move to our new vegetable field, the long-standing wish of our vegetable gardener Daniel and his friends for more space for vegetables was granted. This year we are growing twice as many plants in two polytunnels, which need the protected, warming atmosphere to develop and mature. You can look forward to the delicious Ruthje tomatoes, the cucumbers, good aubergines and much more from the new foil tunnels.
We hope for fertile ground and prosperity! From the field to the table: Come by in summer to enjoy the results together with us!
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Here we plant our super delicious Demeter tomato plants
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Canning at Michaelshof – a success story
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After long planning, another dream of every vegetable fan came true last week: the wonderfully equipped canning room at Michaelshof! There isn’t much room for dancing in 12 square metres, but it’s all about the nitty gritty here!
There’s the potato peeler and the vegetable slicer (a real labour saver for the community food service). The vegetables are prepared for the long journey in the convection oven, i.e. the steam cooker – the delicious chutney is also made here. The autoclave ensures that the products are germ-free and permanently durable through the right heating.
We are really looking forward to this year’s harvest and to long evenings spent together slicing beans, beets and cucumbers. We’re over the moon about Christian’s canning creations and will leave him to his new playground. Happy canning time!
In Sammatz we use two canning processes to ensure long-term preservation. For products with a stronger acidity, we use a gentle pasteurisation method. Other products are briefly heated to up to 120°C under 2 atmospheres of pressure in order to retain their aroma for months without cooling.
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Peronnik P6 – An interview with a statement
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A Michaelshof Newsletter writer was recently guest of Lorenzo (15), Noema (17) and Johanna (19) in a very special living group from our Peronnik children’s home. Not without reason – they’ve got a bone to pick with us…
NL: Hello Noema, hello Johanna, hello Lorenzo! We heard that you were not amused by the last newsletter. Can you tell us why?
N: Oh, I didn’t notice anything?
J: No, we were not! because we’re the new group, not just a new house…
N: That’s right, yes, that’s it!
J – and there was all this talk about the new Peronnik house – ‘P7’, but we’re really the big story. We’re a group that didn’t exist before. The others just got a new house. And we weren’t even mentioned!
NL: Ah, we see! – how embarrassing for us, we sincerely apologize! So what’s new about your group?
J: We are the independent residential group, which means we are the first group with less care …
N: …that has to cope with more personal responsibility.
J: Learning to get by with less help in life.
NL: And why were you selected for this?
N: Actually, I would say that the issues we face are no longer the same as the younger Peronnik residences. It’s not just that you can take our cell phone away because we’re gaming too much or something…
NL: And how is life here now? Is it really different from the other groups?
J: Yes, absolutely!
N: There are fewer people, which I find very pleasant. And it’s more spontaneous, we don’t have to follow all these rules, which didn’t feel necessary to me. We can choose a lot for ourselves, sometimes cook together in the evening, more freedom to do what we want.
NL: And are you already really scruffy? (everybody is laughing)
N: No, well we have our own pace, I would say. It is not my need that a dirty pot necessarily has to be cleaned immediately. When I’m tired, I go to sleep and do it the next day.
NL: At least your kitchen looks very tidy.
J: Yes, a supervisor was there today. (laughs)
N: Psst! Yes, sometimes there are mothering supervisors who just do everything, but often they don’t, and then we just have to do it ourselves.
NL: All right. At least I’ve never come across a run-down house here when I’ve passed by.
J, N: No, you didn’t either!
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NL: And are there any negative points?
J: Yes, that you don’t often have someone there to talk to or to help.
N: I am generally no longer reminded of medication, laundry, cleaning up the room, I now do everything myself. And then the laundry waits a little longer…
NL: I’ve heard that it’s supposed to be the same for other people your age.
N: Yes, I’m not completely handicapped. Did you record that? Noema, 17, is not completely disabled! (laughs)
NL: And Lorenzo, how did you manage to get in here at 13? (everybody is laughing)
– Excuse me, I meant slipping in here at 15? Did the big ones even let you in?
N: He’s the squatter.
L: The supervisors simply asked me. I haven’t been here that much, and my sister did that when she was 15. When I’m with her, I notice that I can’t do it all like that, pay attention to meals and stuff like that. And she demands it.
NL: And do you like it here? Do the big ones behave?
L: Well, Noema is always a bit noisy – no, kidding!
NL: You’re a really good team, there are actually four of you, Marvin isn’t here at the moment.
N: I think it’s good that it’s easier for me to invite friends over here, because you don’t have to worry about someone freaking out or standing in your room at night. That’s a lot more relaxed.
NL: And is there anything you would like to change?
L: Yes, I want a different house job! (everybody is laughing)
N: What kind of job do I have?
J: Um… something involving vacuuming, I think!
N: Oh I totally missed that, I’ll make a reminder! (laughter)
NL: And is something still missing?
N: Yes, I would like to find a small community-appropriate cat! And now I’m out, my visitor is here!
NL: Let’s see! Why don’t you ask if a group for becoming independent isn’t also suitable for cats? So you are all in favour of this new more independent style of living?
N, L: Yes!
J: Well, yes…
NL: Anyway, we wish you all the best!
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Good things available in Sammatz
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Sheep’s cheese
A mild and soft sheep’s cheese with an addiction factor. Sheep’s cheese is probably the most valuable cheese, as the milk production is the most complex. It’s also excellent for gratinating!
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Ziegentaler
When the kids (the goats, not humans) are jumping around the stable, the time has finally come again: our Ziegentaler are on sale! What would you like? The natural one with the light goat flavour? The soft Ziegentaler marinated in ash or in herbs?
Go to the farm shop and try it!
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Beautiful oils
Our medicinal herb manufactory offers all kinds of good things for body and soul. For example our range of healing oils for the skin. Available in lavender, rose, wild rose, arnica, birch and marigold scents, they would be perfect for a gift basket!
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By the way: The manufactory at Michaelshof has been processing medicinal plants and natural substances into teas, oils and cosmetics since 2016. Many ingredients come from the farm’s own Demeter cultivation; the medicinal plant field is located within walking distance of the modern laboratory, which is housed in a former farm building surrounded by flowers in the middle of the Sammatz gardens.
A lot of mindfulness and quiet, concentrated work goes into the products. Early in the morning, the quiet clinking of beakers filling with ingredients can be heard in the laboratory. The scales indicate with a discreet beep that they are ready for the next substance. The scent of essential oils is in the air. It is warm and quiet. According to strict specifications, an artful process takes place that finally creates compositions from plant oils, butters, waxes, plant extracts, floral waters and essential oils that care for and strengthen the skin. Manufacture means: all products are handmade and of the best organic quality or ecocert-compliant raw materials.
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Fri, June 10. to Sun, June 12
Community weekend
Are you interested in alternatives to family, partnership or single life as an exclusive way of life? We will show you for one weekend what it means to live with different people in a colourful, international community.
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Find the value that only you have
– give yourself to the world!
Dear people, we have a new motto! And not just any motto, no, the best motto you can imagine! It affects you and me and actually everyone! Here it is… ‘The value only you have’. The first thing to do is to really understand that every human being has this special value. In theory we may know this, but in practice it is all too often not even present to us. What can I do? Oh that? But that’s not important!
Every person has very specific character traits and abilities that in this way only he or she has. It may be the way people perceive other people, the ability to love, the talent to forge gold or develop life-changing apps. It may be the ability to think really new things, or to be able to look at things objectively and at the same time be aware of how your own feelings are. One person has a good grasp of things, another is a team player straight out of a picture book and a third has the gift of putting things into practice in a dignified manner. There are thousands of qualities that some people excel at, while others have more to learn in the same field.
Finding this individual strength is exactly the task, mine and yours! Don’t do what someone once told you or what makes the most money, but do what you are asked to do – because you have something to give. A little tip: It is not uncommon for the individual value to be exactly where you are not looking for it at first. Where it goes away from social constraints and towards passion, passion and enthusiasm.
Then when you find that value that only you have, it’s important to think of the world. Why would we be here if we had nothing to give to the world? She’s waiting for us. So go out there and give yourself to the world! Make it a little bit better every day by combining your very own quality with the world.
We think that is super important and that is exactly what it has always been about for us: to create a place where many people can find their individual value and then pass it on to nature, their fellow human beings, society and the spiritual world. At Michaelshof, as many people as possible should have the space to find this out for themselves and put it into practice.
I find that quite beautiful! What is your value?
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Inés – Montpellier, France
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Helloooo everyone !!
It’s Ines from France, and it has been a while since I took the time to reflect on my experience in Sammatz.
It strangely feels so far away in time, yet so close to my heart still.
I first came to Sammatz in July 2019 to improve my German for one month. I ended up staying two, not really improving in German but coming back anyway for another two months the same year.
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I didn’t expect to fall in love that badly with this community…
But the kindness and generosity of the Sammatzians melt my heart, the beautiful soul connections, heart to heart made me feel so much in so little time. I felt ecstatic, thrilled, in a state of complete happiness, joy, and love.
I’ll never forget the warm august nights full of shooting stars, the never ending talks at night, the guitar and singing evenings, and the crazy but beautiful souls I met all over the place…
It changed me as a person. I’ve grown so much in those few months. Because in sammatz you just get the chance to connect with people from all over the world, to learn languages, to exchange your thoughts, ideas, feelings, and to create all together an amazing community life.
The only thing is, it’s way too hard to leave this little paradise on earth. I felt so safe and happy in this little bubble filled with flowers, colors, opportunities, and wonderful human beings!
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For the past three months I’ve been volunteering giving English classes in a cafe in Korea. It has been another life changing experience, because of all the beautiful memories we made. We met friends from all over the world, stayed all night playing guitar and singing at the beach, going to the mountains at night to see the lanterns for bouddhas birthday, visiting small islands but most of all laughing so much at nonsense, completely lost in the present moment. It was all really intense, colorful, passionate and lively.
Now I’m back to France to work a little, before going back on another adventure, in Italy, Latin America, Japan, I’m not sure yet!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Sammatz.
« Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, pas un adieu ».
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WE LOVE TO ENTERTAIN YOU
Internet finds we want to share …
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The days are getting warmer, so it’s time for beats from warm countries. We are big fans of Calle 13 from Puerto Rico and recommend their all-time-best Latinoamerica or, for example, Atrévete-Te-Te. And if you are looking for maximum emotion in 5:02 minutes, Barro tal vez is just right!
Slow Food Germany has beautiful portraits of our Angler Rotvieh cattle and the Angler saddle pigs on their website, also pointing out the special ‘cheese gene’ of our cattle. “Angler cattle have tender meat with a low connective tissue content and good juiciness. It deposits a relatively large amount of fat between the muscles. This makes the meat extra tasty. Cheese made only from the milk of Angler cattle is hardly available at present.” So, if you are in the mood for good meat and exclusive cheese – we are the address!
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+++ NEWS TICKER +++
ON BIRDS AND BUMBLEBEES – Our outdoor enthusiasts went all out for us and prepared presentations. As always, it was a dream to dive into the world of hummers and singers. Thank you to both of you! We are richer now! To the readers: if you want to join us next time, please see the date in the above events section!
PIG BABES – Our dear mother sow has given birth again. The little ones are incredibly cute, check them out!
SPONSORSHIPS – the first applications for Michaelshof sponsorships have been received, for the gardens, Peronnik holiday trips and our library. Thank you very much! May it become a large circle and a new way of getting involved with us!
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Job
of the
month:
Young talent
needed for
Team
BAU
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Do you have experience with tiling, roofing or drywalling? Or two useful hands and a desire to learn a lot of new things on the most beautiful building site in the world? We need both, professionals and motivated tacklers – get in touch if you are interested!
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For our team, we are looking for committed and dynamic people who like to take on responsibility and enjoy country life. Is a meaningful activity more important to you than a “9 to 5 job”? Then you’ve come to the right place!
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We are looking for skilled workers in the field of:
Office:
Hands-on:
- Agriculture
- Horticulture/gardening
- Construction worker
- Caretaker
Produktion
- Market cart manager
- Café Service help
- Farm shop
Menschen & Heilung
- Doctor/physician
- Pharmacy
- Pedagogy/Care giving
Your qualification is not listed, but you are still interested?
interested? Just give it a try!
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Lovely spring weather, garden outside the office and no desk to hand? No problem for Janet! Managing simply works much better when the sun is shining and makes you feel butterflies, bumblebees and pleasant tingles on your skin.
Try it out, get on your stool, pull out your smartphone and get organised!
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