The second week of fieldwork and daily routine in the city!!!
As always, there were some meetings of important initiatives in the city, which seek, through communication campaigns, to bring the messages of the different urgent changes that we can start in daily life. One of these initiatives is Rehab Republic, e.V. This group of volunteers works on several of the topics of interest for this documentary, and also others directed towards environmental awareness. Among them: Disco Soup, Clothes Exchange, Cycling, Plastics, Garbage issues not very obvious like cigarette butts or beer caps, Alternative Energy. All of this is shown to event attendees in a pleasant and inclusive manner that allows them to improve latent critical thinking.Â
One of the meetings we visited deals with the very important topic of Zero Waste, and seeks to form a working group for a campaign called Munich unpackeged (München Unverpackt), which will work on all fronts: political, educational, commercial, statistical. At the same time, another meeting took place with the group dedicated to food, where we organized the next disco soup and the next participation in a large demonstration of the whole city for organic farming (Mia Hams Satt).
The day of the disco soup arrived, and all the event helpers brought a recognizable Tutu of various colors and began to distribute the tasks to the old or new participants of this monthly version of the big event. With some live music and several inputs on the topics of food waste, the party continued until all the food, prepared by us, was also successfully consumed among more than 200 people.
We then joined a new pilot project of the FoodLab initiative in which a complete lunch menu was offered to the people of the neighborhood, but in the best style of rescued food, and in this way also initially free of money for our visitors. We were badly surprised to discover that due to communication problems, the hosting place had been charging a fixed ticket to lunch and accumulating that money. It was a conflict of monetary interests, and in the end what started as a project free of money, became a business for the local, since it was not even willing to distribute that capital income to the cooks or artists who presented themselves as entertainment for the event. In the end everything would be voluntary, but it was not expected that someone would benefit from the work of others. The conflicts of money in sight.
The next stop, the clothing exchange party, has also become a monthly meeting, and also an initiative of several organizations in different localities of the city. In this way, there will always be some possibility of exchanging clothes throughout the year. Also in a festive atmosphere, many people gather for what we would call a normal "shopping" but completely free of charge. Thus, when many give of their surpluses, you get incredible abundance, and even plenty! Â The meeting starts in the morning with the idea of having coffee and biscuits together, while people join the event. After a few words from the organizers about the importance of being aware of the origin of the clothes we usually buy and the resources that are invested from their manufacture to their commercialization, the distribution of clothes begins. Usually the people who come to the place bring some clothes that they no longer use to exchange them for clothes that other people no longer use, all free of money. In this transfer, people have the opportunity to exchange laughs, ideas and knowledge. We were lucky enough to get out of the event, with two winter coats and a rain jacket.
And the excitement rises, as the third week we will be out, a new trip, a new festival! 🎉