Civic service

This reverse migration of community service is helping to provide staff for North Plain Farm, a 10-acre spread of lush, rural living where young Germans and other volunteers care for five adult residents who have conditions such as autism, mental retardation, and emotional disabilities.

If this is tough duty, it is not immediately apparent among the maples, gardens, and centuries-old buildings that dot the grounds of the working farm. The mood is one of communal serenity enhanced by natural beauty and easy camaraderie.

“We all learn so much here,’’ said Thomas Hald, a 20-year-old from Stuttgart who walked barefoot outside the farmhouse.

But what brought Hald and several other Germans to the Berkshires was an aversion to military service, nine months of which is required of all young German men unless they receive a waiver as a conscientious objector. “I don’t want to shoot people,’’ Hald said. “My religious beliefs are not OK with killing.’’

Hald and Dominik Bergmann, a 22-year-old from Frankfurt who also works at the farm, are part of a German government program called Zivildienst, in which conscientious objectors apply for civilian service, primarily in social work.

The applicants are required to submit an essay with their objections, which, if approved, lead to their placement with an accredited service provider. A total of 499 young Germans are currently working at 238 sites in the United States.

For Hald and Bergmann, who learned of North Plain Farm while in Germany, their arrival at the household was an introduction to a bewildering new world of care-giving. They were attracted by the idea of helping others, the pair said, as well as the exposure to a new culture, language, and environment.

At the farm, one-on-one care is the norm, chores are shared, and work days usually last 12 to 15 hours.

Hald and Bergmann share the farm with five handicapped residents, other volunteer workers, and co-owners Nick and Andrea Stanton.

“Sharing life with 10 other people is not always easy,’’ Hald said. “There are a lot of social skills that you learn. You see the work, and you just do it.’’

That work can include cleaning dishes, doing farm work, and shepherding clients to music class, horseback riding, or massage therapy.

North Plain Farm is one of 11 group homes in this pocket of the southern Berkshires, some of which also use foreign staff, Nick Stanton said. Bela Winsmann, 20, a German who works at a nearby home, said appearances can be deceiving.

“Many of the guys our age in Germany think this is an easy life,’’ said Winsmann. “But it becomes really important for us when [the residents] can handle little things. It makes us very happy.’’

The workers receive one day off a week in what is often an 11-month stint at the farm. The pay they receive, according to Andrea Stanton, is no more than “pocket money.’’ The place has many other rewards, the volunteers said.

“The humanity of this place, this community, is just great,’’ Winsmann said. “I like the feeling for us, as young people, to do something for other people.’’

“I liked the idea of working with the challenge of handicapped people,’’ said Johannes Noeke, 20, who works at another house. “What you really learn is patience and to accept people who are different.’’

Such notions of civil service are promoted in Germany, according to Karl-Matthias Klause, chief spokesman for the German Embassy in Washington. “The government encourages this kind of social work, as it enlarges the horizon of younger people but contributes also to a deeper understanding between our two countries,’’ Klause said.

Another German government official, who asked not to be identified, said that opting out of the military is not difficult. The workers at North Plain Farm echoed that view, which they suggested has been heavily influenced by the burdens of German history.

“Because of our history, for us, it’s a little bit different view,’’ Winsmann said.

At home, Hald said, military recruiting commercials do not appear on television as they do in the United States. For North Plain Farm, where special-needs residents have received attention since 1986, the philosophy is one of peaceful coexistence.

“We’re sharing our lives with people,’’ Andrea Stanton said.

“The only thing that matters in life is relationships,’’ Nick Stanton added.

That energy seems to ripple through the staff, who rave about their experiences.

“Sometimes we think we are too young to help, but we see we can do something important,’’ Winsmann said. “It is not to get out of something. But, of course, that is a nice part, too.’’