Collective Coffee: Balancing Business and Community Values – Ruth Jeckel / Avenir

Collective Coffee: Balancing Business and Community Values – Ruth Jeckel / Avenir

The Avenir Collective operates two cafés and a roastery with the aim of making the coffee trade more transparent, fair, and sustainable. The conversation focuses on collective ownership and the practice of collaborative decision-making. Ruth explains how the collective works, how responsibility and leadership are organized on an equal footing, and what role the community plays in the long-term impact of social enterprises. We learn how Avenir combines impact and entrepreneurial action, how decisions are made collectively, and why cooperation should be based on trust and partnership. The episode highlights how collectively organized companies promote sustainable consumption while remaining economically stable and creating new avenues for social innovation. An inspiring episode about sustainable coffee farming that shows how to create value together and drive social change. Foto: Timo Knorr CHAPTERS 00:00 – Painting the picture of Avenir: What does Community mean? 05:12 – Decision-making and participation? 09:07 – Process-oriented management of conflicts 12:26 – Understanding Impact and Scaling 17:50 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT AVENIR * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avenir_lg/?hl=de [https://www.instagram.com/avenir_lg/?hl=de] * Websites: https://avenir-kaffee.de/kollektiv/ [https://avenir-kaffee.de/kollektiv/] & https://avenir-kaffee.de/handel/ [https://avenir-kaffee.de/handel/] BACKGROUND The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community [https://www.leuphana.de/kooperationen/innovation-communities/social-innovation.html] at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.

Empowering Communities through the CSA approach – Daniel Überall / Kartoffelkombinat

In this episode, we talk with Daniel Überall about the “Kartoffelkombinat,” a cooperatively organized community supported agriculture (CSA) initiative that has been distributing vegetables to the Munich region since 2010. Around 2,000 households receive fresh vegetables from their own production every week. But the project is about far more than food security: the Kartoffelkombinat sees itself as a response to alienation: a space where proximity, participation, and responsibility can come to life. Daniel shares how an idea grew into a movement that connects agriculture, democracy, and everyday life. He reflects on the challenges of scaling, on communication as a tool for building community, and on what happens when people take their food supply into their own hands. An episode about empowerment, building solidarity-based structures, and reimagining how agriculture can be organized beyond traditional markets. CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction of Daniel Überall/Kartoffelkombinat 08:24 – Understanding Scaling and Impact 15:38 – Painting the picture: What does Community mean in practice? 25:54 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? FURTHER INFORMATION Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kartoffelkombinat [https://www.instagram.com/kartoffelkombinat] Website: https://www.kartoffelkombinat.de/mitmachen/ [https://www.kartoffelkombinat.de/mitmachen/] BACKGROUND The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community [https://www.leuphana.de/kooperationen/innovation-communities/social-innovation.html] at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.

Building Partnerships that Amplify Community Impact and Ownership – Arnd Boekhoff & Lars Braitmayer / Viva con Agua

How do you build partnerships that not only make an impact, but truly strengthen community – sustainably, inclusively, and with joy? In this episode, we speak with Arnd Boekhoff and Lars Braitmayer from Viva con Agua. For nearly two decades, a global movement has grown around their mission. United by the belief that access to clean drinking water is the foundation for a good life. More than 4.5 million people worldwide have gained access to water, hygiene, and sanitation through their work. But the numbers only tell part of the story. Viva con Agua works through art, music, and sport – universal languages that open doors, break down barriers, and invite participation. At the heart of it all is a clear intention: to build structures that enable collective responsibility and empower local agency. A community that doesn’t just support the mission but co-creates it. With purpose, with care, with joy. Arnd and Lars take us inside the evolving ecosystem of Viva con Agua. What does it take to align growth with values? What tensions arise when grassroots meet the complexity of sustaining an organization? And how can we move from speaking about communities to building truly reciprocal partnerships with them? This episode is a reflection on imperfect action, shared learning and what it means to live a life anchored in engagement. CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction of Arnd Boekhoff and Lars Braitmayer 05:57 – Painting the picture: What does Community mean? 07:55 – From vision to the practices of Viva con Agua 11:40 – Understanding Community 30:43 – Understanding Scaling 36:28 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? BACKGROUND The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community [https://www.leuphana.de/kooperationen/innovation-communities/social-innovation.html] at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.

From Crowdfunding to Community Ownership – Johanna Kühner / SuperCoop

What if your weekly grocery shop could support your neighborhood, local producers and a fairer economy? In this episode, we’re joined by Johanna Kühner, co-founder of SuperCoop — Berlin's first democratically organized supermarket. SuperCoop is much more than just a place to shop, though. It's a thriving experiment in community-supported entrepreneurship. With around 1,800 members actively shaping everything from product selection to governance, SuperCoop is a powerful example of what can happen when people come together to reimagine economic participation. Johanna talks about the early days, from raising money and setting up the cooperative to establishing a fully functioning market where everyone takes responsibility and all decisions are made transparently. We also discuss how knowledge flows through networks, how collaboration can foster resilience, and how this model could inspire others to follow suit. Rather than standing alone, SuperCoop aims to become part of a broader ecosystem of cooperative initiatives that advocate inclusion, fairness and long-term sustainability. We discuss the concept of letting go of hierarchy, designing systems differently and creating spaces where people can both produce and consume. Johanna shares her insights from SuperCoop and her experience of working in politics at Geno.Digital, offering a vision for a more democratic business future. This is a conversation about courage, community and the transformative power of collective ownership. Out 7 July, wherever you like to listen to a podcast. The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.  CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction of Johanna Kühner / SuperCoop 04:25 – Vision and Impact of SuperCoop 07:52 – Understanding Community 11:12 – Ownership and Decision-Making 16:46 – Understanding Scaling 22:52 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? BACKGROUND The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community [https://www.leuphana.de/kooperationen/innovation-communities/social-innovation.html] at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.

Shaping the Future of Cooperatives – Fabian Gebert / #GenoDigital

What happens when a community isn’t just part of a business but becomes a force that transforms an entire legal framework? In this episode, we talk to Fabian Gebert about #GenoDigital, a project that empowers cooperatives in Germany to work more digitally, more effectively, and more collaboratively. Fabian has founded several companies himself, including a cooperative. He works as a strategic advisor to start-ups and co-ops and is active in various NGOs focused on regenerative agriculture and socio-ecological urban development. At #GenoDigital, he and his colleagues advocate for the digital empowerment of cooperatives. What began as a community-led initiative to modernize outdated cooperative law turned into coordinated political advocacy. The result? As of last year, cooperatives have become the most digitally enabled legal form in Germany. But #GenoDigital’s work doesn’t stop at legal reform or digital infrastructure. Today, it serves as a platform for community-driven innovation, through open barcamps, digital gatherings, and a growing network of actors from across the cooperative landscape. It's about sparking new ideas for democratic participation, diversity, mutual inspiration, and collaborative learning. In short: a community that doesn’t just support, but actively shapes fields, sets new norms, and co-creates the future of economic life. This episode offers a hopeful blueprint for how collective ownership, legal reform, and community culture can come together, to shape more inclusive and resilient futures. CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction of Fabian Gebert / #GenoDigital 05:44 – Vision and community practices of Geno.digital 11:30 – Role and Understanding of Community 20:20 – Understanding Scaling 25:07 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? BACKGROUND The podcast is part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. We want to connect social innovations, social entrepreneurs in an innovation community setting, where we learn from each other, make knowledge and innovative ideas tangible and visible.