Eins-und-Alles Welzheim

Eins-und-Alles Welzheim — also known as the Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne Eins+Alles — is a leisure and experience park in the Welzheim Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the Christopherus Lebens- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. in the Laufenmühle and is operated as a workshop for people with disabilities (Werkstatt für behinderte Menschen). The park invites visitors to discover and train their own sensory perception experimentally at numerous stations, indoors and outdoors, in the idyllic Swabian Forest near Welzheim. Guests may smell, hear, touch, balance, experiment and be amazed, either on their own, as a family, or as a booked group. The concept draws on the idea of an experience field for the unfolding of the senses developed by Hugo Kükelhaus (1900–1984) and on the sensory theory created by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). Eins+Alles differs from other experience fields in two main respects: it was initiated as a project for the social participation of people with intellectual disabilities, aiming to let the supported employees appear as far as possible as operators of the offering and thereby reduce contact anxieties between people with and without disabilities; and the visual arts, especially Land Art, play a leading role in the design of the installations and the grounds, giving Eins+Alles an individual aesthetic. The grounds comprise roughly 100 indoor and outdoor stations. Indoor offerings include the exhibition house Die Rote Achse with about 30 experience stations on 600 m² of exhibition space, a dark area with a corridor that must be navigated by touch, and a dark restaurant. The outdoor area is larger and includes the Wunderweg, a low-rope garden, the animal oasis (Tieroase) and the Aktionsplatz with a fire tent and a Mongolian yurt. Since 2010 a monumental willow cathedral, the so-called Zukunftsbau, has been created in a joint project with the Albertville-Realschule. The approximately 4.5 km Wunderweg, named in 2013, is lined with sensory stations, sculptures and Land Art installations, including a barefoot path, a 250-metre labyrinth, the Beuys-Platz and a forest ball track. Eins+Alles is a commercial visitor attraction and brand of the Christopherus organization, with its own online shop (EINS+ALLES Onlineshop) and a related coffee brand, Biokaffee mit Sinn, offering freshly roasted coffee. It serves adults, children and young people, families, groups, schools and companies, with programmes ranging from spontaneous individual visits to guided experiences and team development. The park is located about 2.5 km from the small town of Welzheim in a remote part of the Wieslauf valley. It opened on 6 July 2007 after a first construction phase in 2006 and early 2007, financed by a loan of around 2 million euros from GLS Gemeinschaftsbank. Since then the grounds and the range of offerings have been expanded annually, partly through cooperation with the Edith-Maryon School for Sculpture. In 2016 more than 85,000 guests visited the experience field.

The Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne Eins+Alles emerged from the inclusion efforts in disability work of the Christopherus Lebens- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. The organization's site, about 2.5 km from the small town of Welzheim in a remote part of the Wieslauf valley, far from cultural and social life, had proven problematic: encounters with the majority society could hardly take place under those circumstances. At the same time, the institution's leadership wanted not to dissolve the intact infrastructure and the grown living environment of the residents but, on the contrary, to use it effectively. In the management, therefore, the vision was not one of social integration in the classical sense but the reverse idea of inviting society into the institution's life (inverse integration). The experience field was to create an attractive offering that would draw guests on the one hand and, on the other, give employees with disabilities the opportunity to enter into lively exchange with visitors in service-oriented areas. This project was substantially underpinned by the anthroposophical view of the human being, which sees the (disabled) person less as deficient than as equipped with special abilities. Against this background, the experience field is also intended to contribute to a changed social perception of people with disabilities. For the entrepreneurial undertaking a loan of around 2 million euros had to be taken out, issued by GLS Gemeinschaftsbank. A first construction phase was realized in 2006 and early 2007, so that the experience field could be opened on 6 July 2007. Since then both the grounds in use and the spectrum of offerings have been expanded annually. In particular, through cooperation with the Edith-Maryon School for Sculpture, numerous stations have been added since the opening. In 2016 more than 85,000 guests visited the experience field. The grounds are divided into various indoor and outdoor areas comprising together about 100 stations. The majority of the area is owned by the Christopherus Lebens- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft; some parts of the hilly forest terrain belong to the town of Welzheim, which has made these areas available for use by the experience field project. Indoor offerings include the exhibition house Die Rote Achse with about 30 experience stations on 600 m² of exhibition space, where the senses of movement, touch, smell, hearing and balance can be explored experimentally. A focus is on letting visitors experience or remember a child's perception at first hand, for example through oversized stations such as the Maxi-Möbel. There is also a dark area with a corridor in which one must orient oneself by touch, and a dark restaurant in which multi-course menus with an experiential-pedagogical supporting programme are offered at regular intervals in the evening. The outdoor area is by far the larger part of the experience field. It includes the Wunderweg, a low-rope garden, the Tieroase and, as its heart, the Aktionsplatz, to which a fire tent and a Mongolian yurt are attached. Since 2010, in a joint project with the Albertville-Realschule, a monumental willow cathedral, the so-called Zukunftsbau, has also been created. The approximately 4.5 km long adventure trail (named Wunderweg since 2013) is lined with numerous sensory stations, sculptures and Land Art installations. Conceived as a circular route, it leads the visitor southeast of the Christopherus facility and above the course of the Wieslauf through the forest. The spectrum of stations ranges from activity offerings such as a barefoot path and a 250-metre labyrinth to inspirational places such as the Beuys-Platz, where Joseph Beuys's poem Lebe can be read on mirrors, to monumental installations such as the forest ball track, which makes the path of the ball not only visible but also audible. In the Wald der Balance, alongside a low-rope garden with various balance elements, guided climbing programmes such as the traditional tree climbing of the tree care workers or climbing on the monkey tree are offered. In the Tieroase of the experience field live llamas, sheep, donkeys, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, butterflies and various insects. The animal care and the supervision of guests are largely taken over by employees of the experience field with intellectual disabilities. The intensive relationship with the animals and responsible care tasks are also used therapeutically.

• 2016

  More than 85,000 guests visited the experience field.

• 2013

  The approximately 4.5 km adventure trail is named Wunderweg.

• 2010

  Joint project with Albertville-Realschule begins creating the monumental willow cathedral (Zukunftsbau).

• 2007

  Eins+Alles opened on 6 July 2007.

• 2006

  First construction phase of the experience field realized.

An anthroposophically oriented sensory experience park and inclusive social enterprise that combines leisure, Land Art and the participation of people with disabilities.

• Die Rote Achse exhibition house

  Indoor exhibition house with about 30 experience stations on 600 m², exploring movement, touch, smell, hearing and balance.

• Wunderweg

  Approximately 4.5 km circular sensory trail with stations, sculptures and Land Art installations, named in 2013.

• Dark restaurant

  Restaurant offering multi-course menus in darkness with an experiential-pedagogical supporting programme.

• Tieroase

  Animal area with llamas, sheep, donkeys, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, butterflies and insects, largely cared for by employees with intellectual disabilities.

• Zukunftsbau willow cathedral

  Monumental willow cathedral created since 2010 in a joint project with the Albertville-Realschule.

• Wald der Balance

  Area with low-rope garden, balance elements and guided climbing programmes.

• EINS+ALLES Onlineshop

  Online shop of the brand.

• Biokaffee mit Sinn

  Freshly roasted organic coffee offered through the online shop.

1. 1Eins- und Alles | Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne - Sinneserfahrungen, Erlebnispark, Freizeitpark, Landarteins-und-alles.de
2. 2Erwachsene | Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne - Sinneserfahrungen, Erlebnispark, Freizeitpark, Landarteins-und-alles.de
3. 3Eins-und-Alles Welzheimwikidata.org
4. 4Erfahrungsfeld der Sinne Eins+Allesde.wikipedia.org