Today, Arno's living room is where he used to study his ABCs a few decades ago. He lives in an old village school, which he renovated completely free of debt. Living in his own house was not on Arno's life plan for many years. As a wandering shepherd, he had no fixed center of life at all for many years. A serious motorcycle accident had led him at that time to live as a dropout: Away from social expectations and instead do only what is good for him. One day in 1988, when he was out walking his sheep, he happened to discover the old school in Dornholzhausen in the Rhine-Lahn district. He immediately fell in love with the building and it was clear to him that he would like to purchase the school at some point. But it took a few years before he was able to persuade his wife to end the dropout life and move to Dornholzhausen: In 1996, they were able to purchase the property along with the old school, another building and a barn for 215,000 DM at the time. They financed the purchase price from savings and with the support of their parents. Initially, they lived in the building next door to his dream house. Then, in 2010, he began renovating the old school, where he lives today. It was built in 1906 and classes were still held here until 1966. Eight grades sat together in the classroom, which is now Arno's living room. During his renovation work, he still found old class papers: many with poor grades. Maybe that's why they were hidden in the attic. After 1966, the building was used as a sheep barn. Over the years, it fell into disrepair. Accordingly, the renovation work was a real feat for Arno. To be able to afford the renovation at all, he did almost everything himself. Arno even built some of the furniture himself. As a result, he only had to invest 80,000 euros in the renovation. Not having to take out a loan was very important to Arno. The former dropout wanted and wants to live as autonomously as possible without having to pay off many years of debt. His free-spirited attitude is also reflected in the furnishings: he built the high sofa in the living room especially so that his grandchildren can look down on the heads of the adults and the adults have to look up at the children for a change. Arno also picked up other furnishings from the bulky waste and restored them. Very close to Arno's heart is the spirituality of indigenous peoples, which he practices. In his bedroom he has created a place for meditation. In the living room, the four elements of fire, water, air and earth are deliberately reflected. Spirituality has also led him to honor and preserve the past in a special way. Thus, he has taken care to renovate the house as carefully as possible and to always pick up and incorporate the old. In the case of the round window on the upper floor, he has therefore incorporated an old green shard of the original window in the center. To heat the house, Arno came up with an ingenious system: a single chimney heats the entire house via an assemblage of fans and ventilation shafts. With three cubic meters of beech wood, he gets through the year and pays just 200 euros for it. In 2020, Arno was finally able to move into his dream house. Even though the project was very tight and he himself was never sure whether he would ever be able to finish the renovation: He has learned an incredible amount through the work and thinks back to this period of his life positively and proudly. A film by Jörn Michaely (editor), Bettina Lichtenauer (camera), Yannick Marlon Gaul (sound), Monika Kostrzewa (editor). 00:00 Living in the old school 00:30 Living area 04:15 Kitchen 04:36 Bathroom 06:21 Staircase with reading place 08:10 Bedroom 09:01 Outdoor area with barn 10:30 Circus wagon