As a "kid from the country" I asked myself early on why you spray a plant to death if you want to eat its fruit, as can be observed in conventional potato fields when the foliage first turns yellow and then brown after spraying and the land becomes acres by acres sad wasteland transformed. We now know that things can be done differently and better, many farmers in our region have now switched to organic and Dithmarschen has developed into the largest organic cultivation area in northern Germany.
After I took over the boarding house from my parents in 2001, meat and fish were the first to disappear from the menu. Since then we have been cooking vegetarian, meanwhile also Ayurvedic, vegan, on request gluten- or lactose-free. Alongside the seminars, food has become our trademark. We make rolls and bread, cakes and tarts ourselves, cook jams and chutneys and love to process vegetables straight from the garden and from the field into delicious dishes.
Through Bioland I came into contact with the association of organic hotels. I wanted to network with other colleagues and became a member in 2013. The constant exchange about topics that we deal with individually and in the group, the annual association meeting and mutual visits are a great enrichment for the house on the Watt.
Our pastures and arable land are also certified organic. Our vegetable farmer Jan Schütt manages the field and brings us the vegetables directly from the field to the kitchen. In our kitchen garden we grow fruit, vegetables and lettuce according to permaculture guidelines. Our four ponies and one horse roam the pastures and enjoy a relaxed retirement life.
Our philosophy is to use what the soil and the region offer us, to grow a lot ourselves and to source what we don't produce ourselves from partner companies in the region. For us, organic means paying attention to where something comes from and under what conditions it was produced.
Chamiene Ehlers-Witt
The Haus am Watt is an organic pension certified by the organic control body ABCERT (DE-ÖKO-006), we are a member of the association of organic hotels and a climate-neutral hotel business.
We avoid waste in our kitchen. It has become a virtue and a pleasure for us to recycle leftovers. Oven vegetables are made into spreads the next day, and cereal porridge from the morning becomes the basis for patties and rolls in the evening. Our 30 chickens are happy about leftovers and thank you in the morning with delicious breakfast eggs. Sometimes they don't lay enough, so not every guest gets an egg every day. Then we ask for your understanding and put off until the next day or the day after.
You can get tap water of the best quality from us around the clock. Carafes and glasses are available in our hall and you can also fill up your drinking bottles for on the go at any time.
Our friend, Haus am Watt graphic designer and vegetable gardener Angela Gerlach published a drawn book about permaculture with Dumont Verlag. From the bed on the mud flats directly to the book table: https://www.dumont-buchverlag.de/.../gerlach-permakultur.../