TKB millions
“We have to renovate – with or without TKB million”: Herdern Castle wants 0.98 million for a cheese dairy with the character of a show
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The expansion of the cheese dairy at Herdern Castle made it to one of the 14 projects for which part of the TKB fund is earmarked. Rounding up one million from the proceeds of the participation certificates should enable the construction of showrooms and thus more jobs for people with disabilities.
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The 125-year-old cheese dairy at Herdern Castle is in need of modernization.
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Why did you decide to submit the “Castle cheese dairy expansion” project?
–Armin Strom, manager of Schloss Herdern.
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Armin Strom: The project meets all the criteria required by the fund. In addition, we are a social institution and create jobs for people with disabilities. With the expansion of the cheese dairy we could offer four more jobs.
Will the show dairy like the one in Appenzell be open to the public?
No, we don’t want to attract crowds. Access is only granted by prior arrangement. We plan to design the premises in such a way that those interested can look into the dairy through a shop window.
In the application for the TKB money, it is said that there is a desire for a show dairy in Thurgau from many sides.
We have been working on this expansion project for four years and are in contact with various institutions, such as Agro Marketing Thurgau or Agrotourism vom Arenenberg. In these conversations it was mentioned again and again that a cheese dairy with a show character would be great. The Tilsiter variety organization, whose cheese we produce, also supports this project. She also wants to bring people closer to how cheese is made.
Four years ago you didn’t have the TKB millions in prospect. How would the project have been funded?
The dairy has been in operation for 125 years and is now at an age when we have to renovate – with or without the TKB million. We would have financed this with loans, but then at best would have had to do without the premises for the show part of the cheese dairy.
–A sketch of the planned dairy including the showroom.
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Why did you apply for only 35 percent of the total costs, i.e. 0.98 million?
One condition stipulates that the project must not be co-financed by the state treasury. This affects us insofar as we can only apply for money for the showroom from the TKB million. Because we have to contact the social welfare office for the renovation of the rest of the dairy.
You will probably not receive the money until 2022. What happens until then?
We are waiting. We also have to do this when applying to the social welfare office to finance the renovation of the cheese dairy. But I expect approval. As soon as this has been done, I can initiate the next planning steps at the responsible architecture office.
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