Education and research

Pupils, Interns & Co.

On a daily basis, we receive support from different regions in Germany and from many different age groups. Particularly for school pupils, the Brodowin eco village provides a great starting point and environment to further their education.

For a number of weeks, every autumn, we receive groups of grade nine school children from the Rudolf Steiner School in Berlin and from various Waldorf schools throughout Germany.
They get an impression of the farm’s different areas and lend a helping hand with the harvest, caring for the animals and making small repairs. Pupils from regional schools are always welcome guests during the holidays; helping to rake and weed in the vegetable gardens as well as cleaning the organic baskets.

Apprentices have the possibility to train as arable, animal or dairy farmers. We are currently developing positions for retail sales training.

We provide internship places for students or apprentices to accompany their studies and apprenticeships. Throughout the year, you will find interns in Brodowin and we hope to meet them again later, either as colleagues or perhaps as staff members.

Many students support us doing part-time jobs during seasonal peak periods, especially in arable farming, in the cow and goat barns as well as in the vegetable gardens. We are happy to have such motivated helpers.
We would like to thank all the young people who assist and help us in Brodowin; and to whom we can pass on our knowledge and experience in this field.

Science and research

“Ökodorf Brodowin” takes part in various research projects whose results are not only interesting for the different pending theses, but also for interested parties alike. Students from the HNEE regularly use two of our mobile hen huts for research. The information and knowledge gained on animal husbandry and food intake are immediately included in our animal husbandry principles.
Over the years various diplomas, B.A’s and Master’s theses have been written. Students can also do business research in our organic basket delivery department. In 2015, there was extensive research on our customer structure. Furthermore, we co-operate closely with the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover and with the regional veterinary inspection office to support and carry out practical studies, particularly subjects such as animal health.

As a farm, we are also involved in the BERAS Project. This project encourages agriculture along the Baltic Sea to reduce its nutrients input. One of the project’s aims, is to raise the awareness of each individual farm’s responsibility in this field; and thereby achieve the greater aim of sustainably protecting our seas. Though BERAS is no longer supported by the EU, we are nonetheless keen to maintain the aims of this project in the future. We are going to give this topic a room in our new Education and Nature Preservation Exhibition Building, which is currently being planned.

Certain measures considering in sowing, cultivating and harvesting are based on the results of a five-year long project called “Nature Preservation Farm Brodowin” (project sponsors: Ökodorf Brodowin e.V. and the Federal Office for Nature Preservation). Nature preservation procedures were examined in relation to their impact on certain animal and plant groups. You can find these results in a manual that was put together and is part of our further reading material.

We hope to be part of many future theses and research projects as this guarantees that our own development never stops.