From the 13th to the-20th of August 2022 we were in Mutzschen near Grimma and helped the association Stadt und Schloß Mutzschen e. V. to make progress on the project “former industrial kitchen”.
Dear Wörkis,
do you still have the screeching of the circular saw, the whining at the manhole cover, the yelp of the blender, the clacking of the ceiling leaf or the “shit, I touched glass wool again” cursing, the constant tinkling of the piano and the nibbling of the food plates, do you still have that … in your head?
2 months after the end of the WorkCamp the WorkCamp-Orga Team manages to write a little summary, in a cozy tea and cooking round. This year’s 19th WorkCamp was the first camp we organized on our own. How often we despaired and wanted to give up you can see in the following text which was written on the occasion of the final evening.
“Of slamming toilet doors, piano clattering and people revealing themselves in their sleep – a subjective camp review.
Chapter 1: All beginnings are difficult.
It was after WorkCamp 2021 when André shouted: “No, no, I’m not going to be a camp leader from now on. At the after party, a new generation of camp leaders was finally found, 8 people to be exact (10 today). In contrast to the camp management team, the new camp location was not brand new, but already well known. In 2022, the camp was to go to Mutzschen again. In autumn 2021 Jasmin called for the first meeting. Thereupon the work camp leadership divided into smaller teams. And as it is, the system did not work at all at first. Then the leadership team decided to take a break from planning until the end of April 2022 due to many final exams. In addition, it became apparent that the old camp management could not completely withdraw from the leadership. But no one has ever learned to walk without a helping hand. However, it should be remembered that everyone eventually finds their balance and can walk without the helping hand.
Chapter 2: The camp approaches and panic breaks out.
In May 2022, an insane number of tasks suddenly arose. Creating and printing flyers, informing the press, attracting more participants, updating the website, making arrangements with the camp location and planning leisure time.
Chapter 3: Light at the end of the tunnel.
Many stories end well and this is one of them. The camp leadership around Jasmin got together once again and completed most of the tasks. So the camp can take place.
Chapter 4: Hope is also just an illusion.
In June 2022, the preparation phase was racing towards its end. The planning meetings became more and more frequent and more urgent to-dos had to be dealt with.
Chapter 5: Logistics is not so easy after all!
Shortly before the start of the camp, Jasmin and the camp management got really excited again. Let’s be honest: You generally assume that you don’t have that much and that what you need will somehow get from A to B. But somehow a mountain range of material is very difficult to transport. Somehow, however, a mountain range of material is very difficult to transport. And when it becomes obvious that none of the cars of the camp management has a trailer hitch, the tranquil low mountain range mutates into the Himalayas. Thereupon Viktoria mutates to the ultimate planning monster and finally even the high mountain range of material could be moved.
Chapter 6 : IT begins.
This year in Mutzschen we put the ceiling tiles in room 2 back in place, repaired the windows, cleaned the toilets, renewed the benches, put a new manhole cover in place, cut the wooden cladding for the side walls, filled the shafts and redesigned the park. In the free time we were like every year eating ice cream, swimming, eating chips and at the chocolatier in Wermsdorf.
Chapter 7: The WorkCamp Bullshit Bingo.
Like every year there were sentences as well as loose groups of words in this camp that were heard so or so similar in the past. Here are a few examples:
– Where’s the meat? (In this case, the experience was so dramatic that even with real bratwurst there was fear of hostile vegetarian takeover ;)) – Not zucchini again! – What a load of crap here. (Univeral expression for, e.g., hitting one’s finger, tripping, or the like).
Chapter 8: The end is the beginning
Despite initial worries about whether the timing would work out, whether everyone would have their air mattress with them, and yes no one had marshmallow intolerance, all went well. In addition, the now not too fresh camp management gained a lot of experience. Everything has an end. This text is about to end and our camp ends tomorrow. But experienced participants know: After the camp is before the camp and in this sense we are looking forward to next year. “
This first camp, in our own organization, has shown us many new insights in planning, implementation and follow-up and we have learned a lot. But like every camp, this one would not have been possible without the numerous support of partners from the region. Many thanks for that!
Hope to see you next year ! 🙂
Your WorkCamp-Orga Team 2022
Flyer for participants and the collection flyer:
… in the media was the following:
For a better impression of this year’s camp, here is a photo gallery.
This year’s promotional video on our YouTube channel:
and the summary from the camp: