In the winter of 2012, the Oder family from Islikon TG saw the urgent need to create a space for families with small children, in which there was space for the child's urge to move.

As the local offer was rather meager, they quickly took the project into their own hands.

A suitable room was quickly found in the discarded gym in Frauenfeld. Vehicles, play equipment and toys suitable for small children were purchased. The offer also included a trampoline, a bouncy castle and a cafeteria for large visitors.

It quickly turned out that the need for a place for children with a great urge to move was huge and so the Konvikthalle was filling up. There was also great interest in the media, so spielruum was a topic in various newspapers several times.

From December to May spielruum became a weekly fun and meeting point for over 200 families with children.

Reacting to the great demand, spielruum was held again with great success in winter 2013/2014.

All visitors donated a donation to the spielruum cash register, from which the playground was financed. Thanks to this support, as well as financial contributions from local companies and the city of Frauenfeld, it was possible to donate a substantial sum to a charitable organization in Johannesburg, Africa after the end of the project:

The non-profit organization "Lambano Sanctuary" takes care of seriously ill children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses that have seriously impaired the normal life of a child.

A permanent home with all-round care is possible thanks to donations and support from patrons.

A friend and also a visitor to spielruum drew the attention of the Oder family to this project. Her sister has been a nurse in the "Lambano Sanctuary" for years.

It was also possible to organize urgently needed cardiovascular monitoring monitors and send them to Africa.

Following instructions from a nurse, the organizers at spielruum went looking for these monitors. A university hospital in Switzerland gave spielruum two discarded monitors with accessories, which simply did not do justice to the current software status, but otherwise worked perfectly. Thanks to the enormous cooperation of an international courier company, it was easy to send the monitors to Africa quickly and cheaply. These were used immediately after arrival and have served their purpose to the full satisfaction of everyone ever since.

Thanks to the well-functioning network that was created by spielruum, it was possible to implement inputs and their implementation as well as ideas and their designs. Like a puzzle or a honeycomb system, parts of a whole resulted, which wanted to be put together through their execution.

The experience with spielruum showed the Oder family that the idea and concept of spielruum should be further developed and something permanent had to be brought into being.

This is how .......

SPIELGÄRTLI

Thanks to a contact from spielruum, we came across a piece of land in Kefikon. The owner was immediately ready to let us have the space so that we could pursue our idea further.

From now on we put our energy into building plans, execution and opening of the playgroup Spielgärtli.

The existing, agriculturally used shelter was completely renovated and equipped with heating and sanitary facilities. The area has been enriched with a boat that invites you to go on discovery trips, a climbing tower, a trampoline and other exciting elements.

A large number of the materials and elements used to build the play garden and playground are second-hand, have been brought to new life from disposable materials or have been quickly converted for a new purpose.

Used shipping containers can be found as the cover of the sanitary facility, pallet frames serve as raised garden beds, the boat was actually intended for the landfill and the parquet that was laid comes from a renovated house.

The long list can be continued indefinitely ...

Here, too, we find many puzzle pieces - or honeycombs, which were formed by circumstances, contacts and circumstances.

The Spielgärtli playgroup celebrated its opening in August 2015 and immediately started with the first groups.

The success was immediately apparent: since the opening, the number of playgroup children has increased fivefold.

It is thanks to the great offer of the playgroup, as well as the great team, that the number of children registering is steadily increasing and the capacity can be further expanded.

The playgroup attaches great importance to the cooperation between people and nature.

The children playfully learn to take care of their fellow human beings and their surroundings and to develop respect for their surroundings.

The children are told stories about flora and fauna and there is always time to watch animals or to harvest vegetables and fruits in the garden.

Many of the materials that the children have at their disposal for handicrafts are recyclable materials that can be awakened to all kinds of things in children's hands.

Spielgärtli can also call itself the owner of a small zoo in which turtles and rabbits have found their home.