Something I am most grateful and proud of is the community that has formed around our little Datscha Fröhden. When we first bought the place, we were scared that we would just be out there in the countryside alone, just the two of us.

Since the very beginning, we’ve had many friends and visitors come to stay. Often these visitors turn into friends and friends into good friends. Tad, our first guest who stayed with us on our very first night, went from a football acquaintance of Artur’s to becoming a dear friend and core part of our farm.

Mateusz has been living with us now for almost a year and is practically family. Not only am I happy that he’s there to look after the chickens and Kitty while we’re away, we enjoy his company. Whenever he’s gone for a few days it feels like a huge part of Datscha Fröhden is missing.

We were lucky to meet and become good friends with Falk, who lives in the neighbouring village. He shares with us his wealth of knowledge (and vegetables), as well as inspires us to think bigger and do more. It’s also comforting to have someone with the same values and views living so close.

We have guests coming to stay almost every weekend. Initially it took quite a bit of time for me to get used to this kind of communal living and sometimes it can be tough. Small things like not knowing where things have been moved to can be quite frustrating but you have to learn quickly to adapt and not let the annoyance take over. I’ve had to learn to not get stressed over little things. It’s not always easy living this way, but it’s definitely worth it. The people that come to stay are the people that shape and build the life of our farm.

Some people say that the most important thing in life is human connection and I believe that through Datscha Fröhden, we’ve managed to build strong bonds with people that wouldn’t have happened in city life. I feel so lucky that we have such an amazing group around us, all because of our decision to buy a little run down house.