Harz-Weser-Werke

Harz-Weser-Werke (HWW), formerly Harz-Weser-Werkstätten, is a non-profit social-services company headquartered in Osterode am Harz in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. Its name refers to the region between the Harz mountains and the Weser river, from which most of the people it supports come. The organisation is one of the largest providers of assistance services for people with disabilities in Lower Saxony, operating around 30 locations and employing more than 900 people in a charitable service enterprise that spans care and nursing, vocational education and training, and services for seniors. The core of HWW's work is the participation of people with disabilities in working life. It operates sheltered workshops (Werkstätten) in Osterode am Harz, Northeim, Dassel and Holzminden, focused on work, vocational education and qualification. Alongside these, it runs residential homes and living groups in Bad Sachsa, Sievershausen, Duderstadt, Einbeck, Holzminden, Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken and Osterode am Harz, as well as ambulant supported living in Osterode, Gittelde, Herzberg am Harz, Duderstadt, Einbeck, Dassel and Holzminden. A day-care centre (Tagesstätte) is located in Osterode, and FAIRKAUF shops operate in Osterode, Einbeck and Holzminden. Inclusive leisure activities, counselling cafés and sensory gardens round out the offering. HWW is a gemeinnützige GmbH (non-profit limited liability company). Its shareholders are regional organisations of Lebenshilfe Deutschland. The company also has subsidiary operations: HaWe-Integra, founded in 2002 as an integration enterprise to help people with impairments enter the general labour market, and STArQ, a non-profit subsidiary offering qualification opportunities for people in particularly difficult circumstances. The workshops also produce goods sold to the public, such as fire starters (Zündgut), beer carriers and nesting boxes, and the organisation works with more than 500 companies from industry, skilled trades and commerce. In late 2018 the company renamed itself from Harz-Weser-Werkstätten gGmbH to Harz-Weser-Werke gGmbH, reflecting a broader self-understanding beyond workshop operations. Its guiding principle is expressed as "Außer-gewöhnlich!" (Extra-ordinary!). Management includes Ditmar Hartmann as managing director and Frank Müller as a member of the management team. HWW is a signatory of the Charta der Vielfalt (Diversity Charter).

The Harz-Weser-Werke trace their origins to the establishment of the first workshop in Osterode am Harz in 1972. This workshop was created to provide people with disabilities in southern Lower Saxony with opportunities for vocational participation and social integration. Two years later, in 1974, the first residential home in Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken was ready for occupancy, extending the organisation's work from daytime employment to supported living. Over the following decades the organisation expanded its network of workshops, homes and services across the region between the Harz mountains and the Weser river. In 2000 the first day-care centre (Tagesstätte) opened in Osterode am Harz, adding a daytime structure for people who were not in workshop employment. In 2002 the subsidiary HaWe-Integra was founded as an integration enterprise, with the aim of helping people with impairments find their way onto the general labour market rather than remaining only in sheltered workshops. Another non-profit subsidiary, STArQ, was established to offer qualification opportunities for people in particularly difficult circumstances. By the 2010s the organisation had grown into one of the largest providers of assistance services for people with disabilities in Lower Saxony, operating around 30 locations and employing more than 900 people. Its services had broadened from workshop employment to include residential homes, ambulant supported living, day-care, inclusive leisure activities, counselling cafés and sensory gardens. It also ran FAIRKAUF shops in Osterode, Einbeck and Holzminden, and its workshops produced goods such as fire starters, beer carriers and nesting boxes for sale to the public, while cooperating with more than 500 companies from industry, skilled trades and commerce. At the end of 2018 the company renamed itself from Harz-Weser-Werkstätten gGmbH to Harz-Weser-Werke gGmbH. The change of name reflected a broader self-understanding: the organisation was no longer only a workshop operator but a comprehensive social-services enterprise covering living, working, learning and leisure. The company remains a non-profit limited liability company whose shareholders are regional organisations of Lebenshilfe Deutschland. Its guiding principle is expressed as "Außer-gewöhnlich!" (Extra-ordinary!), and it is a signatory of the Charta der Vielfalt. Management includes Ditmar Hartmann as managing director and Frank Müller as a member of the management team.

• 2018

  Company renamed from Harz-Weser-Werkstätten gGmbH to Harz-Weser-Werke gGmbH.

• 2002

  Subsidiary HaWe-Integra founded as an integration enterprise.

• 2000

  First day-care centre (Tagesstätte) opens in Osterode am Harz.

• 1974

  First residential home in Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken ready for occupancy.

• 1972

  First workshop in Osterode am Harz begins operation.

Non-profit social-services provider and one of the largest disability assistance organisations in Lower Saxony, combining care, vocational integration and inclusive community offerings.

• Zündgut (fire starters)

  Fire starters produced in the workshops, priced at €9.90.

• Bierträger (beer carrier)

  Beer carrier produced in the workshops, priced at €20.00.

• Nistkasten (nesting box)

  Nesting box produced in the workshops, priced at €20.00.

• Textile processing

  Textile processing carried out in the workshops in Dassel.

1. 1Harz-Weser-Werke - Harz Weser Werkeh-w-w.de
2. 2Über uns - Harz Weser Werkeh-w-w.de
3. 3Harz-Weser-Werkewikidata.org
4. 4Harz-Weser-Werkede.wikipedia.org