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Volunteers from all over the world…
…vote for Michaelshof!
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In a voting on the volunteer portal “Worldpackers”, many world travellers agreed that Michaelshof deserves second place in the global ranking of hosts. Volunteering and Michaelshof are, so to speak, a dream combination. How else can you explain that every year more than 500 young people from all over the world happily bustle through our gardens, stables and fields?
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‘A second home,’ ‘a little piece of heaven,’ ‘the happiest weeks of my life’: the way our volunteers describe their time in Sammatz touches us time and again and shows that we are not the only ones who feel the magic of
this place.
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For many, staying in our community actually brings new insights into their lives. Thanks to the many different areas our volunteers get to know, some discover completely new sides to themselves, such as their heart for children, their craftsmanship, their green thumb or their creative mind.
If you ask our volunteers, they will tell you that life at Michaelshof is fun, intense, sometimes odd, exhilarating, quite loud – and inspiring. It is not uncommon for them to reconsider their future career choices after their stay, or even to change direction altogether.
Sometimes, after a while, we find out where the journey guided them and whether what they took away from here has borne fruit elsewhere.
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Of course, this international drive also shapes our community and the life together. Where else can you live in unity with people from over 20 nations every day and have time to exchange ideas about very different realities of life while working or sitting on a garden bench in the evening? Since 2016, when the first volunteer came to Sammatz, we have met an incredible number of wonderful young people from all over the world. Their music, their cuisine, their humour and their views enrich life here and make Sammatz a meeting place for the world.
The wonderful thing about it is that we never know who will be the next person to walk through the doors of the Blue House, the home of our volunteers, with a big backpack and curious eyes, and what connections will develop from there. We are certainly looking forward to finding out!
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From strawberry to pistachio…
…let’s visit our ice cream factory!
It’s warm. It’s muggy. And a visit to the ice cream factory at Michaelshof on this summer afternoon is just the thing to do. I can hardly wait to enter the organic ice cream paradise, discover the variety of flavours and be initiated into the secrets of organic ice cream production.
Behind the simple white door that leads into the small factory, there is a loud rumbling. A huge mixer is stirring together the ingredients that make good ice cream: high-quality Demeter-certified ingredients. In Johanna’s realm, everything revolves around the best organic ice cream, in the truest sense of the word. And no one here just pulls it out of thin air. It’s more of a science in itself, and a craft as well, because the quantities of the fine ingredients that go into the mixing bowl are measured precisely. Despite the temptingly beautiful panorama of the landscape that can be seen from here, I glance curiously at the piece of paper with the recipe for vanilla ice cream. The recipe was purchased from an ice cream expert in Hamburg, refined and developed here, and is not for everyone to see. The detailed instructions for the delicious organic ice cream creations at Michaelshof remain a well-kept secret. Only the high-quality ingredients are available to the public.
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That’s impressive. Meanwhile, the real vanilla pods, cream, a generous helping of sugar and other ingredients have been combined to form what will eventually become vanilla ice cream. And to ensure that not even the smallest bacterium survives, pasteurisation begins immediately after mixing. The ice cream-to-be is now getting pretty warm. Only after a while is it allowed to leave its high-temperature environment to begin cooling down in the ice cream drum. It spins and spins. It does this until layers of ice gradually form on its inner walls, which are scraped off and emerge from the machine in a voluminous mass. The ice cream forms high waves in its 5-litre stainless steel container.
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A sight that makes your mouth water. If anyone has ever wondered how these creamy icebergs are made, the secret is that St. John’s wort flour and guar gum are good stabilisers. Johanna’s delight at the fresh vanilla ice cream is also evident. She says it never ceases to amaze her that all you need to do is add air and cold to the mixture to produce delicious ice cream with the desired, pre-tested flavour nuances. I share her enthusiasm – especially as I’m holding a tasting cup in my hand that is treating me to a smooth and creamy vanilla ice cream experience.
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Now all you have to do is put it through the press, pour strawberry sauce over it, and the spaghetti ice cream is perfect. For the Sammatz blueberry and cherry sorbet, the delicious fruits are processed by hand. The peppermint leaves are also picked by hand to make refreshing mint ice cream studded with chocolate.
Johanna and her team spend five hours a day creating replenishment for the ice cream counter. At the end of the day, twelve 5-litre containers are waiting to be consumed. Johanna thinks there is still room for improvement.
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She can imagine even more ice cream flavours – not just for the café but also for external customers. I ask Johanna if she has any special ice cream dreams. Yes, she says, a Sammatz flavour that is only available at Michaelshof.
That gives us food for thought, experimentation and tasting – and hopefully that the ice cream manufacturer will soon surprise us with new cool ice cream varieties.
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Garden update…
…from roses to perennials!
Roses still reign supreme in the Sammatz gardens – with an illustrious entourage, as the perennials are now unfolding in all their glory. The trend colour of the season is colourful combined with rich green tones. Mini, midi, maxi: anything works in the flower bed – from ground cover to tall herbs. The plant community is as diverse as our community.
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Who’s mingling with the noble roses? Here and there, delphiniums peek cheekily over the other flower heads. In shades of blue, purple and white, they harmonise perfectly with the numerous pink and red tones in our gardens, but yellow also goes well with the large panicles.
The dog chamomile, telekia and golden spirea don’t need to be told twice. In the dark summer green of our gardens, sunny dispositions like to come together to add a bright accent. They shine out at passers-by in a cheerful crowd.
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On our perennial plateau, the splendour of flowers flows in gentle waves down into the valley. The lush green lawn carpet is dotted with oases for summer bloomers of all sizes and colours. Tall goat’s beard and valerian provide the backdrop for carnations in every shade – from white to pink to purple. In between stands the giant of the garden: the black onion (Allium nigrum), which is actually purple, stands tall with its imposing spherical head. One level lower, at the feet of the many upstarts, lady’s mantle has made itself at home. Its delicate greenish-yellow flowers lie like a cushion beneath the tall neighbours, flanked halfway up by motherwort, bellflowers and cranesbill.
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However, the queen of flowers, the rose, has not yet abdicated. At the edges of the arena, the last small blossoms of the Bengal and Banksian roses pour over the walkers like fragrant cascades. Bumblebees heavily loaded with pollen stagger from flower to flower, their hair covered in yellow pollen. Where a small path leads from the perennial plateau into the arena, the eye falls on a sea of Chinese silver grass (Gracillimus), in which the wooden sculptures of the Seven Liberal Arts seem to gradually sink. With their heads held high, they await visitors, who occasionally approach via the green path that has been cleared to make way for the art. A sonorous croaking mingles with the rustling of the reeds. The frogs in the small pond are also in summer mood. Just like all of us when the warm wind blows through our hair, shadows and sun dance together and the air shimmers.
A real summer’s day, a day for a visit in Sammatz.
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A new opportunity for old books –
our print-on-demand service is under construction
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What can you do when a book has long been out of print? When your thesis urgently needs to be presented in a professional format? When you need more place cards for your wedding reception? You can now find the answer to these questions at Michaelshof. We are currently setting up our own printing station, where anything from books to invitations can be digitally printed on request.
In the quiet room with skylights, huge printing, cutting and binding machines are waiting to be brought to life. Our print-responsibles are Hans Michel, Asli, Malte Behr and Leon, who are clearly at home in the complex world of paper formats and qualities, colour profiles, crop marks and printing programmes. For the past three months, the four of them have been busy setting up this special area, which will give Michaelshof completely new freedom in the production of its print products – both in terms of material selection and scheduling. At the heart of the project is a remarkably long printing line, at the end of which perfectly stapled brochures are spat out, requiring only a final trim. For this last step, a giant cutting machine is ready to go, which can only be operated when it is guaranteed that no body parts are between the blade and the cutting table that could be guillotined.
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The high-tech ensemble produces 60 print products per hour – in a quality that almost reaches offset level and exactly when print products are needed, for example, for an event, when flyers need to be replenished or when you not only want to celebrate but also want to distribute your invitations in advance.
In addition to planning the menu and the supporting programme, the new printing line will also enable us to provide all the print products you need for your private events to be a success: invitations, place cards, menu overviews, photo books, etc. Our printing team will be happy to advise you on paper quality, binding, print runs and file formats. The service also includes typesetting text and images.
Why do we still rely on traditional printing in an increasingly digitalised world? Because it simply makes us happy to turn pages, read words on paper and preserve the ancient cultural treasure that is the book. For us, reading printed works is a sensory, visual and emotional experience and the best way to anchor content in our minds and souls. Do you agree? Then perhaps we can help you with your next printing project.
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Harvest time at Michaelshof…
…our vegetables are finally ready
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The scent of freshly mown grass is in the air. And joyful anticipation. The storks are enjoying the richly laid table, our animals are waiting for fresh Demeter hay, and we are all delighted because now, in the height of summer, our field at the edge of the forest is bursting with ripe vegetables and aromatic medicinal plants.
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Lettuce, beetroot, cucumbers, red cabbage, white cabbage, carrots, courgettes, fennel, sugar peas, spring onions, lots of delicious herbs and other types of summer vegetables:
Now in July, there are hardly enough helping hands to carry home the treasures that our fields have to offer.
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Every day, community members and volunteers flock to harvest the ripe vegetables that enrich our meals when cooked, fried or eaten raw, and fill the vegetable boxes in our farm shop with colour. To ensure that the generosity of summer lasts long into winter, we preserve some of our harvest in jars to help us through the cold months.
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It’s not just the vegetable patch that’s bustling with activity at the moment, but also our medicinal plant garden. Community members and the entire Sammatz insect world have gathered here to celebrate summer. The buzzing is drowned out by the laughter of our volunteers, who have been filling their baskets with lime blossoms, St. John’s wort, nasturtium, arnica and marigold since the early hours of the morning. Everywhere in Sammatz, you can feel the hot, fragrant breath of summer.
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The hay harvest has been packed into dry fleece just in time before the big thunderstorm. Our grain fields are also bowing to the heat and have long since exchanged their delicate green for a yellow robe. The ripe ears of corn sway in the wind. A vast, golden sea, the highlight of summer and a sign for us that it is soon time to set off to fill our granaries with the gifts of summer. Yes, Sammatz is a summer fairy tale that you simply must experience. Accompanied by homemade ice cream, a piece of cake and the scent of roses, whose splendour is still to be admired. Visit us and take a piece of summer home with you.
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Speaking of summer at home: would you like some fresh strawberry jam, with a hint of rose, from the sun-drenched Sammatz fields? Then head to the Michaelshof online shop and order summer to your door!
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Michaelshof up to date – all opening hours at a glance!
Ark farm:
Mon-Sun 09.00 – 19.00
Café:
Mon-Fri 08.00 – 18.00
Sat 08.00 – 19.00
Sun & holidays 09.30 – 19.00
Farm Shop:
Weekdays, Sun & holidays
daily 10.00 – 19.00
The WAGEN in Lüneburg:
Wed & Sat 07.00 – 13.00
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Wood service on demand…
…we can cut your logs to size
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Do you have a lot of wood or are you already planning your supply for the winter months? We have the machines. And the manpower, experience and flexibility to tailor our service to your personal needs. The great thing about it: you are independent of delivery conditions and prices on the current timber market and receive your wood on time – exactly in the dimensions and quantities you need.
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Are you a forest owner? Have you purchased logs at favourable conditions and now want to have them processed? Do you need a reliable supply of firewood, even during delivery bottlenecks? Our wood service comes to you – with a chipper and splitter to cut your wood into wood chips of various sizes, ground cover, as well as logs in the desired length. Our machines can easily process logs of any type of wood up to 50 centimetres thick. If the logs are thicker than this, we can use a pre-splitter to reduce the thickness of the logs to a splittable size.
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Our machinery includes a powerful chipper that can be fed by a crane, a high-precision wood splitter with a storage table and a skidder, which you can rent if you do not have a towing vehicle.
We will assess what you really need to break down your wood during a visit to your premises. We will examine the quality of the wood, the machines available, the work site and the number of people who can help.
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We will be happy to advise you and provide you with a customised cost estimate that takes into account all the conditions at your premises, thus keeping costs manageable.
Send us an email with your enquiry to info@sammatz.de!
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Sat., 12. July – 12-14.00
Nature Walk No. 3: Dragonflies – dazzling acrobats
Wherever there is fresh water, dragonflies are never far away. They chase their prey at speeds of up to 50 km/h across the water’s surface. Here a sudden dive, there an unexpected right turn. The aerial manoeuvres of these delicate, graceful insects are as spectacular as their colourful plumage and mating behaviour. Let’s explore the realm and way of life of the banded demoiselle, blue-green mosaic dragonflies and other dragonfly species that have found a home in our gardens.
Participation: 20€, registration required!
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Sat, 19. & Sun., 20. July – 12-18.00
Family festival: A colourful spectacle for young and old
Michaelshof is a feel-good place for everyone. Surrounded by wonderful gardens, mums and dads can enjoy a little time out and chat with other parents while their children play, run around and snack to their hearts‘ content. Look forward to wild jumps in our bouncy castle, an exciting rally across the grounds, face painting, live music, other outdoor activities and much more! Two brightly coloured days especially for little ones and their families – full of conversation, games, fun and excitement!
Free admission! Donations welcome!
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Sat, 26. July – 15-18.00
Nature Walk No. 4: Ornamental plants – eye-catchers in garden design
Our gardens resemble beautiful, carefully composed pictures. Woody plants, perennials, ground cover, herbs, climbing plants, bulbous plants: they all shape the face of the Sammatzer gardens with their individual colours, heights and flowering times. We don’t leave the interplay of colours and shapes to chance, but to the experience and knowledge of our enthusiastic gardeners. During our fourth nature walk, they will be happy to explain how to design attractive flower beds, which plant species live in perfect harmony and how gardens can exude a special magic throughout the year. Look forward to lots of tips and a multitude of colourful impressions.
Participation: 20€, registration required!
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If you see a cheerful man with a headlamp on his bike riding through the village, it could be our Bruno, a real jack of all trades and therefore very popular with our community members.
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Bruno came to Sammatz in 1996. To everyone’s delight, he stayed and now keeps everything running smoothly, from the water pipes to the electrics. As an IT expert, Bruno connects us to the world and ensures that we have fast WiFi in the old village centre, the Flachsenberg settlement and the tiny houses – a must for an international meeting place like Sammatz if we want to stay connected with the rest of the world.
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Bruno is part of the construction and maintenance team and therefore knows every nook and cranny of the community inside out. With a growing community, the tasks and demands on our maintenance team are naturally increasing. Then it’s time to say: ‘With patience and ingenuity, we’ve handled almost anything so far!’
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But Bruno has another passion. He is always tinkering with new recipes for our natural cosmetics. This is no surprise, as the multi-talented Bruno studied chemistry and knows which substances can be combined to make wonderful creams, body oils and lip balms. We are currently waiting for a shower gel, and knowing Bruno, he is sure to have one in the works.
When someone is so talented, they are predestined to pass on their knowledge. That’s why Bruno decided a year ago to provide educational support at our school in Wietzetze. He does a great job, putting his heart, patience and humour into it. He has actually managed to spark an interest in chemistry in some of the schoolkids and successfully got the whole class through the school year. This is probably also because Bruno and the kids get on so well. We’re glad you’re with us, Bruno!
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We are looking for committed and dynamic people to join our team who enjoy taking on responsibility and are interested in 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 skilled professionals or talented people in the following areas:
Office:
Hands-On:
- Baker
- Confectioner
- Teacher for the Selma Lagerlöf School in Wietzetze
- Educator for our children’s and youth home “Peronnik”
- Ornamental plant gardener
- Tree, shrub and lawn care gardener
- Construction worker
- Garden and landscape designer
- Pharmacist
- Printer & laminator
Your qualification is not listed, but you are still interested? Just give it a try!
Please send your application with a photo to claudia.brady@sammatz.de – we’ll get back to you!
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+++ NEWSTICKER +++
Impressions from everyday community life…
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…with the summer party at our Selma Lagerlöf School…
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…memories of the strawberry season and community-style strollers…
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…romantic moments by the forest lake with the beautiful Mozart roses…
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…our new job: green roof happiness! Until the plants can take care of themselves, we water them regularly and with love…
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…and the volleyball tournament winners from last weekend!
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Have you met our two new horses, Lehla and Mary? Lehla (left) is already slowly approaching our Luna…
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Best wishes and see you next time – Anna & Marina ❤️
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