Kollektiv Bioase

Bioase44 was the first organic grocery store in Rixdorf, established nearly 10 years ago. The women who managed this have decided to step down and pass the torch, so to speak. We are a collective taking over this beloved shop, and wish to continue in the same spirit of the previous owners, while taking their vision a step further. It means to us to implement more creative ideas on sustainability and encourage and find ways for a zero waste living - throughout the whole production and consumption chain from the farm, through transport/logistics to consumption and disposal. We all know that we're living on a planet with limited resources, so we strive for a responsible and just handling with them. We want to contribute to a world with less exploitation of nature, resources, land, animals and humans.

Furthermore, it means to us to change the way how we work with and treat each other. Working in a collective is fundamentally different than working with a boss. The shop belongs to all of us workers. Everyone is engaged with tasks and responsibilities according to their own capacities. We believe that everyone should be able to influence and decide on things that matter to them, and that power as well as responsibilities have to be shared equally. It requires a lot of commitment, a lot of communication, and a lot of trust and honesty with each other as well as with oneself. This takes time, patience, understanding and hope. We want to share all of it: the fun and the struggles, our trusty old cheese counter, the dirty dishes, the feierabend dinners, our courage, worries and visions.

Our goal is to raise enough funding to ensure a successful transfer from the old owners to the new collective structure. We seek to breathe new life to the Bioase store you all know and love. Amidst global inflation, crisis, dying retail industry, profit-driven changes and big sellout of uncommercial living and working spaces all over Berlin we want to be like a little bastion of calm on Neuköllns ever-changing Karl-Marx-Straße.

We can't change the world or solve any conflicts through consumption only. What we can do is to contribute a tiny bit towards it and help improve the everyday reality of those who make sure we've got wholesome food on our plates at the end of each day. Ensuring the survival of Bioase Kollektiv is the precondition for exploring new paths of sustainable food production and consumption as well as finding ways to contribute to the vision of a just, exploitation-free and solidary society for all.

Especially in this current state of affairs, where the trend is continuously going towards anonymity, automatisation, wealth accumulation, greed and competition, we want to create and uphold a place where we can still meet each other as humans and fill concepts like solidarity, social justice, empowerment, shared responsibility and utopia with life.

In addition to the day-to-day shop work these are our visions:

• replacing as many packed products with loose and bulk products as possible and wherever its truly meaningful (maybe say sth like according to a "how much work-how much effect-balance", in German like: dem Verhältnis angemessen)
• improving the shops circular economy and thus reducing the shops wastage wherever its possible
• encouraging need-oriented production and consumption through a clever pre-order/bulk-order system
• setting up co2-free delivery of goods with cargo bikes
• becoming a place for social, cultural and political encounters
• getting involved and tighten our bonds with local Kiez businesses, collectives, movements and structures who share our values

We're doing this for the Rixdorf and wider Neukölln community. In order to do so as well as to pay all of us a good living wage we need more financial stability and all the support we can get, so thank you!

You support our project because you believe in small, independent businesses instead of large, corporate chains where the social actually has a greater meaning. Or you believe in egalitarian, collective structures, as opposed to hierarchies and non-transparency. Or you recognize the growing need for truly sustainable food, instead of following a greenwashed "bio"-lifestyle-trend.
And, of course, if you agree with all of these, then definitely support our project!

The money we raise from this campaign will be used directly to maintain existing product inventory, to finance new cooperations with small, independent and direct producers as well as to implement new ideas. Also, improvements towards modernizing the Bioase location and appliances need to be made. Many are in need of repair or replacing. We hope to make changes that will help the shop to be more sustainable in terms of use of resources, too.

We are aiming for the following:

• New cooling and deep freezer systems - 3.000€
• New lighting system - 2.000€
• Renovation of Cafe - 3.500€
• Small unpackaged section - 1.500€
• Marketing, printing cards and signs - 1.000€
• Security to deal with market price increases - 5.000€
• Improving commercial kitchen - 2.000€