STIFTUNG GÄRTNERHAUS (Meisterschwanden)

About us

It is with great pleasure, satisfaction and pride that we can look back on the development of our FOUNDATION GÄRTNERHAUS over the past 21 years. Today, with 45 employees and 90 clients*, the Gärtnerhaus has grown to become the second largest integration center for people with mental impairments in the canton of Aargau and is recognized by it. The cooperation with the canton is regulated in a service agreement.

We offer our clients a living community in gender-mixed, partly decentralized and manageable living spaces. They have the opportunity to live under supervision and to work in protected areas. Our politically and denominationally neutral integration center offers space for outpatient and inpatient stays. With our support, people can once again move independently in society, assert themselves and integrate.

Innovative ideas are implemented in our retail store and in the Seetal restaurant, and attention is paid to a varied range of products. Important for us is a solid and high quality work.

*For reasons of readability, only the masculine form is used throughout the website in the following.

Our mission statement.

The history of the Gardener's House Foundation.

In the course of industrialization in the second half of the 19th century, a feudal park complex with the stately mansions of the Fischer straw industrialist family developed in what is now the center of Meisterschwanden. The buildings for the production of the flourishing straw products were built in the immediate vicinity along the village stream in order to make use of the water power. In 1930, the present "Gardener's House" was built within the park as an annex to the "Art Nouveau Fischer-Weber Villa" together with a Chinese teahouse. After the demise of the straw industry and the death of the last family members, the whole complex was divided into several properties. The plots passed to different owners. The quarter has largely been preserved in its original, splendid planting and building structure and still characterizes the central village image. The property "Gärtnerhaus" with its atmospheric green area and animal enclosures could be purchased by the STIFTUNG GÄRTNERHAUS seven years after its foundation.

Benny Stutz: Pioneer and Founder A report by Katharina Heyer, Honorary President of the Foundation Board.

I have known Benny Stutz for many years, on the one hand as a successful entrepreneur but also as a friend you can rely on when things are not going well. With him you could "steal horses" and then laugh heartily afterwards. We had many happy and funny moments! Life does not only bring sunshine, and when Benny Stutz went through an arduous withdrawal, I was allowed to accompany him.

This formative experience and many insightful conversations allowed him to mature, and what remained was a transformed person who was constantly thinking about how to improve the lives of "stranded" people. However, it was only through the painful experience of seeing fellow sufferers with whom he had gone through withdrawal and recovery not remain stable and being caught up in addiction again, that he regained his old determination. He surprised me shortly afterwards with a well thought-out concept, with which he convinced yet another benefactor, and without hesitation we decided to establish the Gärtnerhaus Foundation, after he had even already found a suitable property for the residential community.

At that time, the overgrown garden only hinted at the possibility of turning it into something beautiful with a lot of personal effort. Full of zest for action, he found within a short time the then complementary foundation board members and shortly after the foundation in 1997 the first persons could move in. The ground was laid for a family-like residential community built on trust. His life, especially his most difficult times, gave Benny Stutz the tools he used day and night with undiminished drive for people in need.

**Living 1

In residential living we actively accompany the integration process of the client in the areas of living, leisure and administration. We promote social learning and constructive interaction with fellow residents, guided by a group-dynamic, interactive process. This includes well-considered planning and execution of own activities, the establishment of a meaningful rhythm between work and leisure.

**Living 2

Living 2 is the internal continuing form of living. The prerequisite is the client's own initiative and a high degree of independence. Here, the focus is on managing a household and dealing with one's own limited financial resources.

Leisure time activities

Leisure activities are an important part of our support. The gardener's house offers a wide selection in various areas. It includes active physical leisure activities such as soccer, table tennis, jogging, walking and swimming. We also support musical and artistic skills and provide a music rehearsal room and a painting studio. Every year we spend a vacation week together at a special place.