With friends and racing bike on the farm

Rene-Pascal Bartsch lives in Ahaus and works both as a freelancer and as an employee in marketing. He regularly comes to work together with friends at calle3 - a former farm in Coesfeld Heek. In the coworking space, he not only finds inspiring dialogue and the spatial separation of his various activities, but also the opportunity to combine work with pleasure.

Please note that the following text has been translated freely.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: After living in Amsterdam for a few years, I moved back to Münsterland with my wife during the pandemic: From the big city back to the countryside. We now live in Ahaus and I work both as an employee at d.velop AG in Gescher and as a freelance marketing consultant for various start-ups and scale-ups. Both jobs allow me to work from home quite a lot. However, I quickly felt the need to separate the two activities both physically and mentally. When I spoke to a few friends who are in similar situations, the idea came up at some point: Why don't we sit together in an office and use the time we have between our appointments to have lunch together? We then looked online to see what coworking options were available in the area and quickly found calle3, which is easy for all of us to get to. Since then - that was at the beginning of 2023 - we've been coming here regularly to work together.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: We simply enjoy learning from each other. For example, one of my mates works for a large gym and fitness software company, while the other works in sales for Lieferando. Because they do really cool things, use exciting tools and deal with interesting people, it's extremely enriching to exchange ideas and give each other insights. The countryside isn't home to the strongest employers or the strongest brands, which is why people move here - according to the motto: I have to live here because it's the German Silicon Valley. Not at all! But the fact that a relatively large number of companies are now flexible and allow you to work from anywhere has made it possible to create our little hub here - with people from fairly large companies who really make a difference. And we're sitting here on the farm and chatting about it. That's pretty crazy!

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: When we found out about the possibilities in the neighbourhood, we couldn't quite believe that there would be a coworking space in the middle of the countryside. That's really cool: You're in the middle of the countryside, quite remote, the last residential area is a kilometre or two away - and then there's this farm with extremely modern equipment. The owner Bernhard has thought of everything and invested heavily. It's crazy, I would never have expected something like this to lie dormant here. When we looked at the courtyard together, it was clear to us that we wouldn't have to look at a second coworking space because it couldn't be topped. We were hooked right from the start and have been meeting there at least once a week ever since.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: No, on some days I also work there for d.velop. For me, using the coworking space allows me to separate my work well due to the physical distance. For example, I can say: I do all my meetings for d.velop in the morning from home or in the office, then I go to the coworking space for a few hours and do my own stuff there, before perhaps finishing off the day at home with a few more hours for d.velop.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: No, the company is quite flexible in this respect. Everyone has the option of working from home, in the office, in a coworking space or while travelling. It's up to the people. I also have colleagues who are constantly travelling around and working from their camper!

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: I actually have comprehensive equipment at home too, because it was important to me to have a good home office. My high standards are probably modelled on the d.velop office - we have height-adjustable desks everywhere, two displays, super-fast Internet, a canteen and everything else. So there's really no reason not to use it, because it could hardly be better. We may not have a canteen at calle3, but the facilities with super-fast internet and height-adjustable desks can definitely keep up. And what the coworking space has over the home office and the office: The special premises of the courtyard, the surroundings, the peace and quiet and the idyllic setting. There are only a handful of us, it's super quiet, there's no disruptive traffic. There's very little throughput, you can really shut yourself away in your space and concentrate fully on your tasks. That's what makes it special for me, this unique atmosphere. The equipment is also top notch - with printers, great displays and everything you need - but the decisive argument for me is the special atmosphere.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: We usually sit in an open space with room for five or six people. If everyone works quietly on their work, it works well. If someone has a call, they just go into the next room, which is adjacent to the open space. It's a small screened office with a high table where you won't be disturbed and won't disturb others if you need to make a call. When you're through, you go back into the big room - so we fly in and out like pigeons. We always buy cool music in the background, everyone brings a playlist.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: The premises are very versatile. There is a large meeting room in the former barn of the farm with a huge display for presentations that can accommodate up to 40 people. We also sometimes spend our lunch break here. Upstairs there is a huge converted attic with three workstations - for example, an author works there and writes her book in peace. There's also a fully equipped bathroom that we can use. As my mates and I are keen road cyclists, we sometimes cycle here in the morning and then arrive here soaked in sweat - then we can take a shower before we get to work. There is also a small tea and coffee kitchen where you can make yourself comfortable, as well as our group room and the small telephone room and a few individual offices. And the owner Bernhard has some cool plans for the future: in the outdoor area - where you can also park your campervan if you're here for several days - he wants to build spots where you can work in the open air in summer!

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: It's a very colourful mix. One young woman is training at calle3, she is learning for her tax consultant and has said that she has more focus here than at home. Another comes here to study for his master craftsman exam. It's really funny who all comes together here. The users of the coworking space really do come from a wide range of industries!

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: I probably haven't realised anything we've talked about one-to-one yet. But you can definitely gather inspiration from the discussions. Sometimes it happens that a spark is ignited, which then perhaps sparks another area of my work later on. I can get good feedback on various tools and current trends from my two mates in particular, which really helps me.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: We usually bring something from home. The nearest supermarket is one or two kilometres away, and there's also a small bakery where we sometimes get fresh bread rolls. And then we always go for a walk, which is the highlight of the lunch break because you're surrounded by greenery. There are animals, there are fields, there are hardly any cars, it's super quiet. It's just nice to go for a short walk and chat, even about personal stories, and then go back to the desk with fresh energy.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: The regular change of scenery is good for staying motivated and gathering new ideas. I really enjoy being able to choose flexibly between working from home, the office and a coworking space. If I feel like socialising, I drive to Gescher and sit down with my team. If I really need some peace and quiet, want to delve deep into topics and be super productive, I stay at home, close the door and just be myself. And when I need my mates around me and fancy a completely different setting, calle3 is simply the perfect spot.

Rene-Pascal Bartsch: Yes, but I actually believe that this will take some time. In addition to those who already think in a modern and progressive way, there are currently also conservative employers. And coworking isn't necessary for everyone - there are also people who say: I don't need to pay 70 or 80 euros a month to work somewhere else once a week, I can do that at home too. But I believe that the next generation, which demands more flexibility anyway, doesn't want to hang around in the kind of ancient offices that are often found in the countryside. They will definitely be more interested in alternative concepts such as coworking. And I think it's particularly interesting for people who have a drive for self-realisation and their own projects. For people who want to express themselves creatively and perhaps can't fulfil this need when working in a traditional office. Third-party workspaces like calle3 can help!