Volunteering at a care farm in the Austrian Alps

I wanted to go abroad to learn a new language after my education for teaching assistant. My grandmother is from Austria, so the choice was easy. Through the European Solidarity Corps, I found a European Volunteer Project that allowed me to gain experience in care and welfare in a new area of work for me; with mentally disabled adults.

The project allowed me to work a lot outdoors and with people. That sounded perfect to me! I also followed a German language course through the European Solidarity Corps and many expenses were reimbursed. Besides lunch and dinner, we got accommodation, travel expenses, insurance and pocket money.

I found it very exciting in the beginning, because I could not yet speak German very well and hardly anyone there spoke English. This was quite tiring with all the new impressions, but it was more than worth it. I enjoyed nature and space, because the farm is beautifully situated in the Alps. I did not hear cars in the morning, but donkeys!

My German got better and better and I can now get by well in that language. The work itself was also very nice. I came to work in the kitchen and in the café. Outside of work, I also learnt a lot. I am more independent now, because I was living on my own for the first time. You learn to solve your own problems if something goes wrong. 

I also made international friends. I lived with three other volunteers: a boy from Scotland, two girls from Spain and one from Germany. We took trips together, including to Vienna, and we went snowboarding, climbing and hiking. How I miss that now that I'm back in the Netherlands! Now I work as a teaching assistant in the Netherlands. I'm having a great time and am saving up to travel again. It's so cool to get to know people from other backgrounds.

Updated on utorok, 17/02/2026