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The Trackside Haven in Zehdenick, Germany

The experience

Join our friendly, budding community just an hour north of Berlin! Our shared home—a collection of repurposed railway buildings surrounded by a large natural garden—offers a peaceful retreat from urban life while maintaining easy city access. Join us in further developing a unique community home, while you enjoy the surrounding cycle routes, trails, lakes, forests, and cultural attractions.

What you offer

12 hours of help per week

Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Basic Internet Access: Basic speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate German

Between 20 and 51 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are in the early phase of creating a community centered around cooperation and simple living in a pleasant, relaxing, nature-rich area of Germany.

This shared home is a group of old railway buildings surrounded by a large, pleasant natural garden. Our goal is to make it into a unique, beautiful shared living space which captures the genuine essence of the buildings.

We are situated in a small town just over an hour's journey from Berlin by train, direction north.

This social exchange can be combined with studying or working in Berlin, as a stop on your trips as a traveler in Europe, or with any other activity in this area. The train to Berlin-Ostkreuz or Gesundbrunnen takes just over 1 hour. A Deutschlandticket Rail Pass is recommended if you commute, and costs 58€ per month.

There is a train station a few minutes away, and there are large supermarkets around. There are lakes, woods, and hiking trails, and there is a superb long-distance cycling route (with smooth asphalt) which passes right by the place.

The area is suitable for scenic bike-rides (we have bikes), inline skating, kayaking/canoeing, hiking, birdwatching, trail-running, and visiting the nearby historical sites. These sites include ruins of a medieval monastery/nunnery with old gardens, a castle, a pottery museum, and occasional cultural events/markets. There are local paths linking the town to neighbouring villages. There is a brickworks museum with a nature and adventure park theme, with wildlife such as beavers + great bitterns.

For nature lovers:

Not very far away is a biosphere reserve with forests and wetlands, superb for birdwatching (cranes, storks, waterfowl) and foraging (berries, mushrooms). There are dozens of signposted walking and running trails, pine forests, and streams.

Activities & Shift

We ask for 3 hours per day of your contributions, 5 days per week, but with lots of flexibility. Work times and days off can be suited to your schedule.

Your tasks as a community member will depend on your skills and interests, and can include:

- basic painting, plastering, preparing floors, carpentry, and more (we will teach you what is needed, it's simple stuff)
- cleaning and clearing inside and outside areas
- different gardening tasks
- gathering and procuring free, second-hand building materials, and anything else useful you can find
- gathering, preparing, and stacking firewood
- general beautification of our surroundings
- your creative input and ideas

We offer accommodation only, but cooking together is always a good option. We occasionally have surpluses of rescued food.

NOTE: The place is next to an active railway (hourly passing trains), but this is surprisingly not much of an issue, and many of the bedrooms/dorms are on the opposite sides of the buildings any way.

Rules

Excessive drinking/other does not align well with our community.