Eichhof (Much)

Eichhof Much parish Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 35 "  N , 7 ° 24 ′ 52"  E
Height :	131 m above sea level NHN
Postal code :	53804
Area code :	02295
Location of Eichhof in Much
View of Eichhof (Much)

Eichhof is the youngest part of the municipality of Much , North Rhine-Westphalia in the Oberbergisches Land . The settlement was recognized as an official village by the municipality in 2008. Originally just a single farm, a number of buildings have been built on the site since the 1990s, all of them by the Eichhof community, an institution for people with intellectual disabilities.

Today around 250 people, including 120 with disabilities, live and work in the village community. It consists of 12 large residential buildings, a workshop for disabled people (WfbM) and a hall, the house of encounter. The life community is based on Rudolf Steiner's concept of man and the anthroposophy he developed .

history

Eichhof farm

The farm was originally an outbuilding of the property, which was built by Nikolaus Eich , at the time CEO of Mannesmann AG, at the beginning of the 20th century. For decades the building was operated as an agricultural property together with a few outbuildings on approx. 10 hectares.

Foundation of the village community

Two associations from the Bonn area were initially founded independently of each other in the early 1990s with the aim of creating opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities to live. The “Gründerkreis Dorfgemeinschaft Rheinland” and the “Dorfgemeinschaft Siebengebirge e. V., Founding Circle "got together on December 29, 1993 and founded the" Gesellschaft für Sozialtherapie Eichhof mbH ". It is now called “Lebensgemeinschaft Eichhof gGmbH”. The name arose from the former farm "Eichhof" near Bröleck .

Originally only a few people with disabilities were supposed to live in this building, but it soon became apparent that a meaningful concept could only be implemented on a larger scale and that the need for living and workplaces for people with intellectual disabilities was great. This gave rise to the idea of ​​building a village with a workshop on the agricultural land. Over the course of several years, a village with twelve houses was built, the last house so far was completed in 2005.

In 1998 the foundation stone was laid for a workshop that opened in 2000. It has several departments: the candle workshop, a metal and universal workshop, a pottery and a joinery. There is also a bakery and an agricultural department. There is also a building called the “House of Encounters”, which is used for meetings, but also for cultural events. The concerts and performances are also attended by people from far and wide. In the village shop, a health food store, the products of the workshop, the bakery and the farm can be purchased. The two founding associations formed the “Gründerkreis Eichhof e. V. “together, a registered association that is recognized as charitable and benevolent. In 2003, the Eichhof employee development association took over half of the shares in the gGmbH, so that the partnership is now being developed further by relatives and employees on an equal basis.

In the carnival session 2014, three disabled people formed the local triumvirate for the first time: Prince Guido I, farmer Helmut and the virgin Sina.

Eichhof Foundation

At the beginning of 2007 the "Eichhof Foundation" was established. In the long term, it should take over the financing of tasks that are not financed by the public purse but are seen as very important, such as offers for leisure activities, recreational measures and some therapies, as well as further training, medical help and support, provision of additional care and maintenance Auxiliary staff, support and assistance with legal care, care for the elderly and day-care, hospice work.

Web links

• Website of the Eichhof community
• Much community: Our Much from A – Z with an entry on Eichhof (PDF; 231 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New signs lead to the Eichhof. eichhof.org, accessed June 12, 2013 . 
2. ↑ Where does the "Eich" from "Eichhof" come from? eichhof.org, accessed June 12, 2013 . 
3. ↑ Jens Höhner: Dreigestirn in Much - Inclusion is very foolish. In: Rhein-Sieg-Anzeiger. February 27, 2014, accessed January 25, 2018 .