Summer jobs: a bit of a jump into the dark

Six weeks of summer holidays are coming up – with plenty of time to laze around and relax! Numerous children and young people find that too much, however, and look for a job during the summer holidays. Assignments on farms are particularly popular: here are two reports on the experience.

Working at the Grünau pony farm in Birmensdorf
Tarek Randel (17) lives in Lucerne and has carried out two assignments through Agriviva this year: one during the carnival holidays (Fasnachtsferien) in Birmensdorf, and the other in Unterägeri. He told PilatusToday about his experiences:

"I'm in the Kanti (cantonal school) and I'll soon be needing a new laptop. That's why the idea came up to do a few holiday jobs this year. Through word-of-mouth, I came up with the idea of working on a farm this time. I've never worked on a farm before, but I love trying out new things. In addition, I love animals, and I love nature and meeting new people. So I was relatively open in my search for a suitable farm.

It was important to me that the inter-personal relations were good. I wanted to do more than just provide a service.

That's why I talked with the farmer family– they were a married couple and their adult daughter – on the phone in advance, and visited their riding stable. I had a positive initial impression, and this was confirmed during my assignment.

I felt welcome and was given a lot of trust. I've never worked with horses before, so everything was new to me. They patiently showed me how to care for and feed the horses, and I was able to gradually take over the tasks myself. I was, of course, also allowed to ride a horse and also took two riding lessons.

We always had a lot to talk and laugh about, including with the other employees on the farm.

The two weeks went by far too fast – what remains is a lot of new knowledge about the way of life of horses and countless great memories with great people. And a great desire to do something like this again. Just a few weeks later, I carried out my next assignment in Unterägeri during my Easter holidays. Let's see where I end up in the summer."

1. Tarek Randal learned a lot of new things about how to handle horses during his assignment
2. The Ponyhof Grünau in Birmensdorf (ZH) was his new home during the carnival holidays.
3. Tarek Randal had never worked on a farm before his assignment,
4. Erika Kaiser loves to work in and with nature.
5. A change of scenery: Even if she knows this view from home – the atmosphere in the stable varies from farm to farm.
6. This farm in Wattwil in St. Gallen was Erika's home for two weeks.
7. And there were the goats every day: working with the animals was one of Erika's tasks.   
Photos: PilatusToday

From one cowshed to another
Erika Keiser (20) lives on a farm in Allenwinden (ZG). She carried out a one-week assignment in Gansingen (AG) and a two-week assignment in Wattwil (SG) during her interim year, She will begin her studies in agricultural science at the  ETH Zurich in September.

After 12 years of school, I wanted to do a gap year. I live on a farm, and agriculture is very close to my heart.

I love working with animals and nature. It was clear to me that I wanted to do the same in my gap year.

But I wanted more. I wanted to see how others do things, and to help out on other farms. That's why I went to a farm in Wattwil (SG) for two weeks and got to work there. It was a jump into the deep end, because I only had contact with the farmer's family via Whatsapp before the assignment – and this was mainly about organisational questions.

I didn't know what the people who were waiting for me were like – so it was a little jump into the dark. And it was totally successful! The family – a married couple and their three small children – was very open and I felt comfortable right away.

I was involved in their everyday life during the two weeks: I got up with them, we ate breakfast together, took care of the chickens, rabbits and cows, and we spent the evenings together. Part of the assignment also included the care of the children, which gave me a lot of pleasure. As a result, every day was different. The children sometimes wanted to splash around in the pool, or to jump on the trampoline, and at other times they simply preferred to visit the chickens.

“The joy of the children and the gratitude of the parents were palpable, and motivated me day after day.”

The assignment not only provided an insight into another type of operation, but was also a very nice inter-personal experience. I’m always welcome again and can visit the family, which I would like to do in the near future.

Would you also like to work on a farm?
Are you between 14 and 24 years old and would like to help on a farm during your holidays, just like Tarek and Erika? Then get in touch with Agriviva.There, without a lot of bureaucracy, you can create a profile and specify your desired period and your desired region. In addition, you can choose which work you would like to do on the farm: whether in the stable, growing fruit or on the alp? Once you've filled it all in, Agriviva will look for the perfect farm match for you!