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Ground that brought us this
Sun, which made it ripe
Dear sun, dear earth, you won't be forgotten.
Love, light and peace to all that is, and you our dearest Alma Lucia
Thank you for the good food.
Good appetite
Ok Alma
These are Alma, Raphael and Nieves
Everything that they are eating, actually would have ended up in trash,
if Raphael hadn't picked it up at an organic supermarket and thus saved as food.
Alma, look here:
They live on a money respectively a consumption strike.
I also have the big hope and actually really the trust that we
as a specie can succeed over the monetary system that we have today
and that we can say one day "We don't need money anymore."
Because everyone is able to bring in his talents and qualities.
During my studies in Barcelona
I have read Erich Fromm: "To have or to be?"
So, that's the question, isn't it?
And for me the most important thing is being - with other people or just by myself
more important than having something material
To set an example against the society of wastefulness as a family
What do they want to achieve and how might this work?
A young family looking for new horizons
A film by Susanne Bausch
Raphael is with a friend that night on the way
to various supermarket trash barrels in Berlin
"Chiquita, of course."
For a new Internet platform, wasteleaks.org, they want to document,
what ends up in trash and where
To throw away food is not prohibited in Germany
to take it out of the trash very much though.
It's still really good stuff, isn't it? Yes...
It's unbelievable what they fish out there.
All this was thrown away carelessly. It has consumed a lot of energy and water
for its production, Raphal emphasizes.
There is even juice. Flowers again - they look as good as new, don't they?
Pure wastefulness of our resources.
Aha even wood stove bread!
However, he wants to fight this by his means.
After all, it must be possible for people to rethink and evolve.
Raphael firmly believes in that
Tofu ... the expiration date is only in 3 to 4 weeks.
First of all a wonderful good morning to all of you!
I've been a guest on this earth for 29 years now
the same as you who have been here for a few years.
I am very glad to be one of the earthlings here.
Raphael is travelling through all of Germany with his provocative theses
How can it really be that we, as humanity, who has so similar needs...
Today, the Vocational and Technical School Augsburg has invited him.
Ethics, more than 100 students
Has anyone ever heard the number that we have more than a billion people,
who suffer daily from hunger?
That is one in seven Earth-dwellers.
Millions of people even die from hunger.
and yet we could feed today, with the amount of food that we are producing, more than 14 billion people!
That said there is again a great discrepancy between
this abundance on the one hand and on the other we throw away a lot
but we also give a lot of it to animals.
Students should become aware that even the production of consumer goods
devours a lot of energy.
Can you imagine how much energy is spent to produce one car?
The production uses the same amount of energy as a four-person household does in 10 to 15 years.
The night before, Raphael has hitchhiked from Berlin to Augsburg
How nice of you!
The friendly driver even made a detour for Raphael
I wish you all the best. Greet your mother and your family!
I will, all right, bye bye
All the best, ciao!
And drops him off directly at his "couchsurfing" address.
Through a worldwide network free beds are being offered.
And keep on inspiring other people like you do
I'll do that!
Ohh nice. - Did you find here allright?
Melanie's apartment is in her parents' house
And then I brought some bread, these here have also recently been saved from Bio Company (German organic supermarket)
This is for your parents. - Gingerbread?
- Gingerbread. - They will enjoy that!
- saved from the waste container at Edeka
I always make the salad dressing with sunflower seeds. - Super I like it!
Sharing spaces such as food, normal for young people.
So these tomatoes are genuinely organic and genuinely saved.
If you get something from other people, this thing still has to be produced
so at the end of the day a person with a car is needed when you hitchhike.
That's right. But when a car moves in Germany there is an average of 1.3 people in that car
that is to say that 3.7 places are still available.
and so this is actually just as with all the other resources, that is something we just want to make people think about.
Consistently Raphael doesn't take money for his lectures and his expenses.
Hello, hello. Sorry I'm on my way to Berlin
and I wanted to ask if you are maybe going into the same direction?
Yes, I am. But I'm traveling with my family and they are using the bathroom right now.
Oh, no problem.
Sorry I'm on my way to Berlin and wanted to ask if you are maybe going in the same direction ?
The car is really crowded and the family is waiting there. - No problem.
Exhausting... wouldn't a train ticket be nice sometimes?
But especially if you have been waiting for an hour, then you are all the more happy
if somene is so kind and takes you with him.
That means that your level of satisfaction is rising with every minute.
Sorry, I'm on my way to Berlin and wanted to ask if you are maybe going in this direction?
I'm going in this direction, yes.
Do you think you can give me a ride?
I could certainly do. - Yes, great!
And in the end he is lucky. Some drivers are happy to have someone to talk to on a long drive.
That helps to overcome fatigue.
Actually, Raphael's mission began with a really big journey.
He had studied "European Studies" in Den Haag, and had jobbed additionally.
He wanted to go to a wedding in Mexico
after that to the climate summit, deliberately without any money.
A first demo for the conservation of resources.
After nine months, 500 vehicles and many cordial contacts
they were at their destination, in happiness and Nieves pregnant.
Raphael, Nieves and Alma live in Dahlem (part of Berlin), in the "Martin Niemöller
Peace Center" of the Protestant church - rent free.
In exchange they make themselves useful in the house, garden and the office,
They get involved with events.
Afterwards there will be a public vegan brunch.
They chip in a vegetable stew
Does not look perfect, but when you first... "How do you say that?"
"The leaves" It's ok if you remove the leaves.
No one would buy this anymore
so maybe it's more for people who have a little more time.
Time, health, happiness - you cannot buy it anyway.
For Raphael and Nieves less is definitely more.
Just remove the outer leaves, like this
Good Alma,you've looked closely, haven't you?
Oh Alma, what you can do already, you angel!
Because they are expecting a lot of people for brunch,
they have to fetch benches from the shed.
At the "Martin Niemöller Peace Center" people do voluntary work in groups
such as the "International Fellowship of Reconciliation" or the "one world store".
I believe that we also fit in very well here,
we feel very comfortable here and on the other side
we might as well fill
a niche that has somehow never been considered before.
Perhaps that diet also has to do something with peace, for example,
or the consumption
Raphael's relentless credo is:
Distribute availabe things better.
We need to eat grain and soy ourselves, rather than using it to fatten animals;
that preserves the climate and protects against hunger crises.
Until a year ago Raphael himself was still a trash diver,
but then he addressed an organic supermarket
"Couldn't we get the leftovers of the leftovers directly?"
Hey, nice to see you Enrico.
As it happens he found a co-operation partner.
He may take written off foods now, that the employees don't want
and caritative organizations do not pick up, and then redistribute them.
We thought "a nice fennel soup"
Yes very good
We simply don't want to throw it away.
And therefore I'm happy that someone comes and picks it up.
Because every product that we are throwing away is one too much.
That's why I think it's really awesome!
In the courtyard of another branch a food saver is sorting out the food.
Raphael gathered 100 cooperators,
who now pick up food from 30 different branches in Berlin.
That is good food. It's a group of about ten people
who come here and we are distributed on different days.
We use a googlemail calendar where you can sign in
for fixed days and say "Ok I will be here on Tuesdays and Fridays"
What they don't need themselves, they pass on to others.
There is also cous-cous, great!
Dry goods with an expired expiration date actually keep up forever.
I don't pass on something like this to the "free of charge shop"
because it is part of our staple diet as a family
and since it is very rare to find this and it also doesn't go bad quickly, we like to keep it.
Fat ***... which would have otherwise ended up in the garbage.
Back at the "Martin Niemöller House"
Once a month Nieves and Raphael invite to a vegan brunch.
Everyone brings something.
Raphael's mission is it to change our own consumer behavior
and thus to bring something about.
To reduce animal protein and thus also greenhouse gases and famines.
For people who are new here,
you are also very welcome. You find yourselves in the "Martin Niemöller Peace Center",
which was once a vicarage, where Martin Niemöller
an old fighter for freedom and peace, has lived.
And there are always events here.
Nieves gives a Spanish conversation course once a week,
where a few of you already were, but you are always very welcome here.
When is it Amor (darling)?
Always on Thursdays and always for free.
Thomas made this. Yes!
Falafel made of chickpeas and broad beans with oriental spices
in between are a few slices of zucchini and at the bottom some small tomatoes for decoration.
As always, a big hit!
Raphael and Nieves, like many others,
feel that our economic system has reached its limits.
Instead, they look for new sustainable forms
This is quinoa, I think...
of social life.
"To be awake in his own time", that is the legacy of Pastor Niemöller,
who had been heavily involved in the peace movement.
In the foyer the brunch guests have built a "free of charge shop"
everybody can bring and take whatever he wants.
They want to practice a free form of giving and taking.
Nieves is also looking at the things, but she does't need anything else
- I haven't bought any diapers or clothes for Alma
because there is so much - as you can see here.
But when I need a medicine or something for Alma, then I will buy it, because
health is the most important thing, right?
Nieves is not on a money but on a consumption strike.
From the child support she finances a health insurance for Alma. 40 Euro are left over.
with that she can afford the subway sometimes.
- I can not be as radical as Raphael with Alma.
My priority is to be here on time to feed Alma,
or to bring her to bed.
But I try not to use so much money.
I believe that the most important thing is that what Nieves does, comes from her own free will.
and that she is not made to do it by someone or me or anyone else.
That's why I'm pleased that she takes her own liberty
and says "I want this now and I indulge myself on it now or I'm making it easier for me right now."
and then she takes the subway instead of riding her bike through the cold.
I think it's great.
Raphael has addressed a bakery in the neighborhood.
He now gets the bread in the evening and it's not being fed to animals.
Thank you again and give my best to your dear colleagues.
- Yeah, give me a hug. - Ciao and have a nice evening!
Yes, you too. -Ciao
At home in the office of the "Niemöller House" he immediately posts everything on the net.
So, now you can see it, it is being offered now.
Since mid-December, there is a nationwide food sharing platform
It was founded in Cologne and Raphael is responsible for Berlin.
You can offer food but also fruit trees that need to be harvested
and everything else that otherwise wouldn't be used.
The voluntary giving and taking is Raphael's big issue and he has the firm belief,
that this is the future.
So, here we are, for example.
But is a human not always bad and exploitative?
A human is amazingly wonderful. You cannot imagine!
But historically?
History - You can always find something that is not so good
You can also get up in the morning and say, what a lousy weather here again, it is raining,
now I have to see that face again!
and he doesn't greet me...You can always find something in life,
that is against you, that is bad. But you can also see the good in people
in human developement and today you can see how humanity grows together.
I wanted to know what your parents say about this?
Whether they agree with your way of life or if they ask "What have we done wrong?!"
Do you think they have done something wrong?
Sunday walk to the parents.
Yes, I'm looking forward to it.
About five kilometres march are lying ahead of them.
Therefore they have borrowed the stroller from a friend.
It's called "Co-consumption" in "New German"
Raphael's father is an architect, his mother an art therapist.
They got infected by Raphael's eating habits.
Today they are having a "pumpkin sweet potato curry".
I'll start ok?
- Thank you mommy.
And then they are curious about Raphael's school event.
What was their interest? And where could you reach them?
Quite different.
- Had they already dealt in advance with you? Did they know already about what it is and did they have questions?
But they didn't have a clue about grey energy, of course, or virtual water.
A small group stayed afterwards and they wanted to know more.
How does Raphael's family view his life without money?
Many people say, relatives too,
this can't be
that you can do it for a short period of time, but now he is in charge
now he must take responsibility for his family and I think that he does it in many areas
maybe much more than a normal person would be able to.
I can understand it very very very well, I'm very grateful that
he is taking it on
that he is so committed and so full of enthusiasm.
Of course it is also difficult
especially when you see what you have to do for it
but the approach that someone says: "I change myself",
that's an approach that I appreciate very highly.
So Raphael definitely expects something from his environment
but this also implies that "I have the courage to trust you, that this ability lies in you"
and I believe that Raphael is able to trigger this in people.
Appointment with the head of "Bio Company".
30 branches with 80.5 million Euro in sales.
Georg Kaiser started to cooperate with Raphael one year ago
My parents' house was a small Edeka shop with an attached butcher shop
and everything that was still usable in some form was being processed
and at our house, we as children, my brother, my sister and I
were only allowed to eat things that were going bad
I have experienced that from birth on
therefore it's not strange to me and therefore Raphael wash't strange to me
such thoughts aren't alien to me, but rather his concern is something where I say:
"Finally someone who takes on this topic!" And that's fun for me to go along with it.
One ot the ID cards
Each one of the 100 "food savers" in Berlin now has a membership card.
Raphael would like to include other supermarkets as well in the future,
but that is too fast for Georg Kaiser
I also said: "You are responsible for ensuring that these are serious people who then
don't do any nonsense with it. But for now we have worked out a system
together. Given that, I'm pleased that it's running. - Yes
The goal for Berlin is to be the city with the lowest food waste
per inhabitant by 2014.
By 2014?
Yes, that's in a year - but we are headed in the right direction.
Yes, if you keep it up like this.
Yes, yes, I'll step on it!
In any case!
Raphael has found his calling.
He tirelessly is committed to food saving and its distribution.
At the market hall "nine" in Berlin Kreuzberg there has been established
the first foodsharing "Fair-sharing" point
with an accessible refrigerator for everyone.
Anyone can put something in there or take it out
nobody needs a credential, nobody is labeled as poor.
Keep it up, we are all proud of you!
Yes, me too.
The caretaker looks after the stall and keeps it clean.
Many people come here five, six times a day and see if it's filled.
Some people also bring something
but most of the time they want to have something.
In one and a half to two hours everything will be gone here, because many people here are very poor.
If something is there, I say here you go, help yourself!
Fair sharing against wastefulness
You could take this idea further
- A kiss for Mommy.
Nieves uses used cloth diapers for Alma.
and lives with clothes and furniture that others no longer want.
With her strike on consumption she mainly wants to protect the environment.
Nieves proudly shows her "cosmetic corner"
Everything here is saved
this for example was a tester
this was a bit broken
and there are also things for babies, for Alma
Cream, or *** cream for me
And this is an alternative to tampons
the menstrual cup. You can use it for 10 years, another alternative.
Does she have a special wish?
Yes, this, for example, I always need it in winter. But it also comes out of the barrel.
I have about ten.
That is my only wish and I have it! - Thank you
At the moment they don't want for anything else
and Alma is still small, but what about later?
What do they want to live on when they're old and in the need of care?
If my mother were sick now
I would help her of course or if Nieves were sick
and maybe if I were sick there would also be a friend who would help me.
I believe that we really should consider ourselves more as a community
and also behave accordingly.
Therefore this idea: "I deposit money now in a weird insurance
which then gives me money eventually
- this is utter rubbish. Who still believes in this
either hasn't understood the economic system or lives an illusion.
I believe he is doing a good job and that is important
and I support Raphael - always.
Raphael attends to his caretaker duties
but in his mind he is thinking about his ideas.
It took him one year to arrange everything with Bio Company
couldn't he continue like that and approach the other supermarket chains?
Every dream and every vision somehow starts in your head and your heart.
My dream still is it that we can live in peace together in this world.
everyone together and it also spreads
but maybe it will take a bit longer than a year..
But I believe that we are on the right track.
It probably needs thought-provoking idealists like him.
What a coincidence that at the cemetery downstairs
another great idealist rests
one of the last century.
It is a very beautiful place, we are very glad that we are allowed to live here.
There has also been a good spirit in this house for 30 years now.
People here strive towards peace. It just feels good to be a part of this.
All voluteers use the Office of the "Peace Center"
The same as Uli Sonn, who is commited to the "International Fellowship for Reconciliation"
What does he think of the young activist in the house?
We as a peace center have the motto
"Commitment to peace, justice and preservation of creation"
and Raphael covers this area in a unique way.
That's what we are grateful for, that Raphael joins
education and concrete actions with each other.
This is actually characteristic for this house.
Raphal has a skype date now
Luis
Hola!
My dear friend, how would you like to start? Do you want to tell me a bit of what you're doing already?
Luis from Spain wants to know everything about food sharing
and then transfer it to Spain.
It reaches out to more and more people via the internet.
Some have even offered their translation services.
Likewise, ciao my dear.
I think that just shows the motivation, that is running through people's veins
and that wants to get out!
That means they want to get active
and that's nice to see
that it's starting to become a community project.
And then everything goes quickly
Are you ok to speak English?
German is no problem
Your German is very good.
Raphael is literally swamped by journalists.
Everyone wants to know something about food sharing, that has been online for two months now
The "Reuters" journalist will come across a journalist from the "Berliner Morning Post" inside.
And then Raphael is supposed to give a telephone interview for the radio.
Meanwhile the other journalists wait outside.
Fortunately a food sharing user appears in person as well.
This is a very fine thing, on Sunday I took some potatoes
4 kilos, flawless.
And you do it over the internet so to say?
It only works with the help of the net.
In other countries people are starving and here we throw away edible food.
Such a thing is not supposed to happen. It shows the society which we live in.
Anyway, I come from a different social system.
I see the whole thing very critical.
From what kind of social system do you come from?
I am from the former DDR (German Democratic Republic)
I'm here for the buns, but I only need a few!
Yes, yes.
Yesterday evening, at seven o'clock, they were still in the store for sale.
Yes, this is super fresh.
Sharing, that is the future for Raphael.
Therefore you can develop this thought much further, this idea of sharing
this new culture where it's not the issue how much I possess
rather that we use it together as intelligent and efficient
as it is possible for us as humanity.
How to proceed with Alma?
Where do they see their future as a family when there is no food waste anymore?
The answer: in an eco-village
in a self-sufficient community
We are thinking about Spain, Italy or France, but not Germany.
It's too cold for me.
Just as we have been led here somehow by fate into this wonderful house,
so is the house or the farm
or the land, where the eco-village will be, already in existence.
Now it only needs to find us or vice versa
i.e. everything is already there
you only have to make the connection.