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Enjoy the autumn flavours…
…between garden walks and culinary delights
What could be better than to savour the impressions of a glorious autumn day by candlelight? From now on, our café will be open daily until 9 p.m. so that you can round off your afternoon stroll through our colourful gardens with a delicious meal.
Our gardens: they are close to our hearts, little paradises, each with its own character and a delightful experience for all the senses throughout the seasons. When summer draws to a close and autumn stretches out its clammy fingers, our gardens once again display the entire colour spectrum. Amidst the autumn leaves in all shades of red, brown and yellow, late roses exude their charm, accompanied by the benevolent nod of grasses bathed in golden light. The dahlia garden in particular celebrates its grand finale in autumn. You are cordially invited to meet Kafka, Elvira, Jim Branigan, Rocco and Pauline.
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You will see: the ladies and gentlemen in bright, vibrant colours all have a mind of their own and don’t like to get cold feet, which is not surprising when you belong to the dahlia family. From November, when the first frost is announced, the magnificent, albeit delicate plants retreat. They are actually waiting for many helping hands to dig up the tubers and transport them to their winter quarters. However, Rocco & Co. are still in the prime of their lives and are being swarmed around by the last guests of our insect hotels. If you listen carefully, however, you can recognise the farewell melody in the humming that sounds every year when summer gives way to autumn.
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When the autumn fog allows it, the low sun sends its last rays through the leafy canopy of the beech forest, conjuring patterns of light and shadow before dusk takes over. It’s now mealtime in our stables. In joyful anticipation, there is stomping, mooing, grunting. and snorting. Puffs of breath hang in the air. Warm animal bodies crowd around the feeding places. You are welcome to watch our four-legged friends feel at home and, if they want, give them a pat or two.
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Well, autumn… You can not only see it, but also smell it, feel it and hear it. The cries of the wild geese migrating south, the scent of mushrooms and damp earth and the rustling of the leaves under our steps.
You could do with a little refreshment after so much fresh air, couldn’t you? Perhaps a nice hot tea or coffee, accompanied by a slice of cake from our own patisserie? Or a steaming soup? Or a freshly prepared dish of the day, made with ingredients from our farm? The doors of our café are open for you every day until 9 p.m. So bring on the autumn – and hopefully you too come around!
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Excursion to the Eichenhof…
…of medicinal plants and precious oils
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Do you actually know about our secret eighth garden, the ‘healing plant field’ at the other end of the village? Chamomile, lavender, mallow, calendula, angelica, valerian, thyme, sage, lemon balm, St. John’s wort… and many other medicinal plants are at home there.
Medicinal plants have actually been grown at Michaelshof since the community was founded. Since Claudia turned the residential building by the large oak tree into the beautifully named ‘Eichenhof’ medicinal plant factory in 2013, things have been moving forward in this area at a different pace. Claudia felt a great need to make maximum use of the valuable healing powers of our plants.
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After years of experimenting, and after having produced many different macerates and tinctures, the results of her work were impressive. The first wonderful, high-quality macerate oils for skin care had been created: flowers and leaves harvested early in the morning are handpicked and gently dried. They are then blended with precious, golden-yellow, delicately scented organic almond oil and a seven-day processing period begins. The macerates undergo a heating process as they are stirred and exposed to light every day, and the valuable plant ingredients, scents and colours gradually transfer to the oil. Finally, the finished oil is filtered, bottled and delivered to our farm shop at Michaelshof.
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Be sure to try our body oils! Soothing calendula oil, invigorating birch oil, relaxing arnica oil, balancing lavender oil, or harmonising rose oils? All of them are a blessing for skin and soul.
So if you are looking for special Christmas gifts, then our natural cosmetic products from the Eichenhof are just right for you. In Claudia’s factory, additives such as silicones, parabens, mineral oils or similar have no access – everything is natural and organic.
Claudia loves to recommend her rose face cream because it is so wonderfully moisturising and has a smoothing effect on the skin. And because it also brings a piece of the Sammatz rose world into your home. Of course, the next products are already being planned – we are looking forward to them, dear Claudia! Thank you very much for these fine cometics!
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Volunteer stories
…from the Blue House!
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When it gets too cold to sit outside, there’s plenty going on in the Blue House! Here is a short interview from our Volunteer XXL household… (background noise: piano, 5 different languages, cooking, running, laughing…)
Anna: ‘Hi everyone! I’m wondering what brings you here…’
Olivia: ‘I wanted to travel, to leave my home country Argentina for a while, because I just wanted to see something new and meet people who are different from me. And that’s how I found Sammatz. I think it’s really cool that you can learn something new every day here. Just seeing the whole cycle of food production, with agriculture, compost, animals, vegetables and the many people who are supplied with them, is so beautiful. Here, somehow, everything is connected and we can experience it.
Anna: ‘Let’s be honest, it’s super cold outside. Why are you here at this time of year and how do you like it?’
Natali: ‘I come from Mexico, where we don’t have any seasons at all. I’ve always been keen to learn more about it. I love the cold of winter, but I was pretty sure that spring would be my favourite season. When I arrived in Sammatz and saw the countryside, my opinion quickly changed.
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I LOVE autumn! If only because yellow and orange are my favourite colours, but also because working in the gardens teaches me so much. For me, autumn represents the fact that sometimes you just have to let go of things so that new things can grow again.
And that this process can actually be really beautiful! I have built up the image here that one’s own life is like a garden.
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There are people who don’t want to take care of their garden at all, but if you do, it’s a lot of work.
It’s normal for weeds to grow, and it’s also normal that sometimes you have to pull them out with all your might. If you then take an interest in what is growing there and why, think about what else you can do for the garden so that it can flourish perfectly, then the garden will be beautiful, balanced and able to give strength, light and love.
Anna: ‘Wow, that’s exactly what the Blue House can create in five minutes! Thank you both!’
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And for those who want to get a glimpse into the daily lives of our volunteers, here are our favourite Instagram videos from the last few months:
This is a video of all our volunteers from summer – quite a lot of friendly faces!
Click here to visit the work areas and this is what our Volunteer Festival in August looked like! And for those who still had energy left after a hard day’s work, there was an afternoon at the Power Place ☀️
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Event review
Apple Day & Farm Festival
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This year’s Apple Festival was beautiful! A bit cold, but super colourful and with a great harvest festival atmosphere!
There were plenty of historical apple varieties to marvel at in the apple exhibition by pomologist Urte Delft at the House of Nature. Some of them had whimsical, old-fashioned names, but they were convincing in themselves thanks to their incredibly vital and honest appearance.
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The felt workshop next door was a really cosy place. Lots of little hands were busy making small, colourful magic balls out of wool, water and soap. They were in good company, because a few stalls further on, numerous dwarves and gnomes, elves and fairies, mushrooms and many other felted figures were sitting for sale, looking over the kids’ shoulders as they worked…
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The bright, vibrant colours of the vegetable stand were a real feast for the eyes. Amongst autumnal pumpkins, red radishes, peppers in a variety of shapes, our striped beetroot Tondo di Chioggia and much more, our own freshly picked apple varieties were not to be missed. The colourful and cheerful Geheimrat Dr. Oldenburg, juicy and sweet-sour in flavour, was there, as was Ingrid Marie, a strong red lady, the slightly sour Boskoop, the fragrant Gravensteiner and the robust, aromatic Prinz Albrecht von Preußen. Delicious!
For all those who have now got the apple bug, here are the collected works of art made from apples by the Michaelshof:
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By the way: if you opt for old apple varieties, you can not only enjoy their full-bodied flavour, but also contribute to biodiversity and sustainability. Let’s get out and quickly plant a tree! 🍎🍏
Our autumn farm festival, held two weeks later, was also a great success! The festival took place around the Ark Farm in bright autumn weather and mild temperatures. The highlights were the many activities on offer, from grooming donkeys and riding horses to tours of the dairy and farm. Fire bowls created a rustic atmosphere, the children played on the straw bales and the Michaelshof (amateur) musicians played folk and dance music from various countries.
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The Sammatz farm festivals want to bring agriculture and interested people of all ages together, in the sense of the idea of a ‘modern village’, in which work, nature and social life are reconnected in a contemporary way.
The concept worked out wonderfully on the last weekend of October, we think.
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Lea came to Michaelshof for the first time when she was just 17 years old. She stood out with her very short punk hairstyle and was a real bundle of energy. The punk has disappeared, but she is definitely still cheeky and unconventional. Lea is a mother of four and has a huge heart for children. Everyone is welcome at her table, anytime, regardless of age, size or craziness. Lea always finds something for the kids to do discover.
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She is a spontaneous and open person, fun-loving and sociable. She cooks and bakes divinely well – as if she had definitely inherited French and Italian blood in addition to her Swiss blood. Whatever passes through her hands is, in the vast majority of cases, a big success. Even yeast dough, which is usually very sensitive to cold, can be left by Lea by an open window: it will still rise beautifully and fluffily. Just like Lea, it doesn’t believe in dogmatic rules 😉
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As a true child of nature, she grew up in the Swiss mountains and collected herbs for healing teas as a child. At the age of 16, she worked for a year and a half on a biodynamic farm in the south of France, milking cows and acquiring basic knowledge of cheese-making in the farm’s own cheese dairy, a mini fromagerie. She was responsible for the vegetable greenhouses and the drying of medicinal plants.
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No wonder that she immediately got fully involved in the garden and medicinal plant area at Michaelshof. During the first years, she helped to design our flower gardens and created the first Sammatz tea and herb mixtures, such as the herbal salt and our herbs de Provence – for a few years she was basically at home in the vegetable patch. There were also times when she ran our community canteen and cooked for around 150 people. Anyone who has ever tasted her antipasti and vegetable dishes wouldn’t want to be without her in the kitchen! But Michaelshof wouldn’t be Michaelshof if everything wasn’t always in motion, and so she soon had other tasks as well. For example, helping Magda, Emmanuel and Jakob to set up the new bakery. And a few years later, the dairy, where she brought her knowledge from France and continues to shape it with her love of good cheese.
Why did she stay in Sammatz? Because here she felt seen as a person for the first time. Because as a creative person with an eye for aesthetics, she immediately noticed the beauty of the place. And because the way people here speak from the heart touched her deeply! So she says.
We say thank you for your wonderfully direct manner, for all the delicacies you share with us and for your Swiss hospitality, which melts our hearts!
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Lea’s cheese tip:
Lea loves our sheep’s semi-hard cheese in particular. ‘It’s highly addictive,’ she says, ‘and doesn’t have that typical sheep-taste that many people don’t like. It was a hit at Bio-Nord – one of the leading organic trade fairs in Germany, which takes place annually in Hamburg! People were thrilled!’ With its high fat content, it has a special melt-in-the-mouth texture and a full-bodied, rounded flavour.
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Michaelshof Up-To-Date –
all opening hours at a glance!
Ark Farm:
Mon-Sun 9.00 – 19.00
Café:
Mon-Fri 8.00 – 11.00
14.00 – 21.00
Sat 8.00 – 21.00
Sun & holidays 9.30 – 21.00
Farm Shop:
Mon-Sat 10.00 – 19.00
Sun & holidays 10.00 – 19.00
Der WAGEN in Lüneburg:
Wed & Sat 7.00 – 13.00
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Sat., 16 November – 11.00-17.00
Discussion forum on Anthroposophy 4 – Birth, Death & Reincarnation
You only know anthroposophy from sarcastic media reports or from Demeter products? At the ‘Discussion Forum on Anthroposophy’, we would like to give you a better understanding of what living anthroposophy is really about! We look forward to your questions and will be happy to provide you with exciting input.
Today’s focus topic: ‘Birth, Death and Reincarnation’ – We talk to you about birth and death and ask what happens before and after. Is death simply the end or perhaps a new beginning? When you deal with reincarnation and karma as a reality of life, life takes on a whole new meaning.
Free admission, donations welcome! Plus lunch: €10
With Hannah, Claudia and Nadja
Registration required!
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Sat., 23 November – 11.00-17.00
Resignation and Hope – Let’s Talk 4
‘Let’s talk’ – the seminar in which we openly discuss ‘private’ topics and exchange personal experiences.
Are you already resigned or still alive? In this seminar, we want to explore the significance of hope in the human being, starting with the smallest situations in daily life and moving on to the larger events of our ‘existence’. ‘What we need in life as the most eminently invigorating forces are the forces of hope, of confidence in the future.’ (Rudolf Steiner).
Admission free, donations welcome! Plus lunch: €10
With Felix and Gisela
Registration required!
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Sat., 30 November & Sun., 1 December – 17.00-21.00
Festival of Lights for the first Sunday of Advent
In winter, when it gets cold outside and nature is wrapped in darkness early, it is a unique feeling to experience the power of light! On the first weekend of Advent, we invite you to the Festival of Lights at Michaelshof!
We offer you fascinating light installations to marvel at and participate in, as well as beautiful Advent activities for kids and adults in our café at Michaelshof – from candle making to baking cookies, a cosy weekend with lots of light and hopeful thoughts for Christmas awaits you.
Admission free, donations welcome!
With Johanna & Claudia
Just come by!
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A little note: the online congress ‘Less is more’ will take place between 1 and 20 November 2024.
What is it about?
Encouragement to focus on the essentials in life and to take your future into your own hands with a focus on the keywords ‘simple, human, natural’.
* Get to know decentralised and regional solutions and networks, as well as human economic systems and barter systems.
* Meet motivated people who look positively to the future and take action themselves.
What is it about?
- Encouragement to focus on the essentials in life and to take your future into your own hands with a focus on the keywords ‘simple, human, natural’.
- Get to know decentralised and regional solutions and networks, as well as human economic systems and barter systems.
- Meet motivated people who look positively to the future and take action themselves.
Click here to be there!
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We are looking for committed and dynamic people for our team who enjoy taking on responsibility and have a desire for country life. Is a meaningful job more important to you than a ‘9 to 5 job’? Then you’ve come to the right place!
We are looking for specialists or interns in the following areas:
Office:
Hands-on:
- Gardener ornamental plants
- Gardener trees, shrubs, lawn care
- Baker
- Skilled construction worker
- Farmer
- Pharmacist
- Picture editor
- Printer & laminator
Your qualification is not listed but you are still interested?
Just give it a try!
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+++ NEWSTICKER +++
Impressions from everyday community life…
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…today with a proud Gabriela and our seasonal vegetable box…
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…Anna and Anton in the middle of apple day marketing and wonderfully autumnal scenes in the Waldgärtlein…
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…the girls who supplied the animals with fresh grass and our visitors with homemade ice cream at the farm festival…
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…sheep and goats being taken out to pasture in the morning…
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…and delicate moments in nature…
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Grund Nr. 16: We are there for everyone!
It doesn’t matter who you are! At Michaelshof, we are there for everyone – for families and singles, for farmers and hippies, for cyclists and pensioners. With us, no one is unwelcome (as long as they don’t bring alcohol or drugs, of course). For social understanding across the board on the Ark Farm, in the gardens or table to table in the Café am Michaelshof! Do you think it’s worth supporting?
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…have you always wondered who is behind the speedy realisation of the projects at Michaelshof?
Here is some rare footage from our team of helpful spirits ☺️
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Best regards and see you next time – Anna and Andrea ❤️
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