Ökohaus e.V. Rostock

Ökohaus e.V. Rostock is a non-profit, independent registered association based in the Hanseatic city of Rostock, Germany. It was founded in April 1990, in the period of upheaval surrounding the end of the German Democratic Republic, with the stated purpose of promoting education and upbringing that encourages ecological, social, solidarity-based and grassroots-democratic awareness. The association describes itself as a diverse community working for global solidarity with people, nature and sustainability, combining global thinking with local action. The association's work is organised around a broad portfolio of projects that operate locally, regionally and globally. Its connecting principle is solidarity: enabling, supporting and improving education, counselling and equal participation for all people. Ökohaus e.V. is recognised as a provider of free youth welfare (Träger der freien Jugendhilfe) and as a state-recognised institution for continuing education, with a focus on education for sustainable development. Its main areas of activity are the promotion of education, upbringing and integration. The physical and organisational heart of the association is the so-called Ökovilla at Hermannstraße 36 in central Rostock, a town villa built in 1908. The association acquired the building and grounds in 1993 under a hereditary lease (Erbbaupacht) from the city of Rostock, and after restoration it became a house for social, solidarity-oriented and ecological activity. The villa is barrier-free and ecologically renovated, and it houses the association's office, a Weltladen (fair-trade shop), a children's shop (Kinderladen), an education project and seminar rooms, as well as a composting toilet installation that was supported by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) as a model project. Rooms are also rented to other organisations and a restaurant. Beyond the Ökovilla, Ökohaus e.V. operates or supports a shared accommodation facility for asylum seekers in Rostock, a crèche group (Krabbelgruppe) in the Südstadt district, and an intercultural garden founded in 2011 where around 50 people from some 20 nations cultivate a roughly 2,000-square-metre plot together. The association also runs the Weltladen, the only fair-trade shop in the city, which is operated on a voluntary basis and provides information about fair trade and global trade structures. Its educational work includes seminars, further training, lectures and educational trips, mainly for school classes, teachers, trainee teachers and students. Ökohaus e.V. is not a commercial company but a civil-society organisation. It is financed through a mix of sources, including the GLS Bank and loan and donation communities for the purchase and conversion of the Ökovilla, as well as project funding and rental income. It remains active in Rostock and continues to offer events, projects and opportunities for participation and support.

Ökohaus e.V. Rostock was founded in April 1990 as a non-profit and independent association, during the political and social upheavals that accompanied the end of the German Democratic Republic. Its founding purpose was the promotion of education and upbringing with the aim of encouraging and enabling fellow human beings towards ecological, social, solidarity-based and grassroots-democratic awareness. Values such as mutual respect and a conscious approach to nature were to be conveyed from early childhood, and the responsibility of humans for preserving the natural environment and the universality of human rights were to be addressed in various ways. In the early 1990s, a handful of committed people needed space to realise their ideas. They found an address in a prime location: the town villa at Hermannstraße 36 in Rostock, built in 1908. Over the decades the building had had various occupants and uses, including at one time the Rostock brewery. In 1993, three years after the association was founded, Ökohaus e.V. was able to take over the house and grounds under a hereditary lease (Erbbaupacht) from the Hanseatic City of Rostock. The commitment of the founding members made it possible for the villa, after only two years of restoration and construction work, to become a house for social, solidarity-oriented and ecological purposes. The town villa at the Rosengarten was converted to be ecological and barrier-free. The purchase and conversion were financed in part through the GLS Bank and through loan and donation communities. A special feature of the Ökovilla is its three individual seminar rooms and its composting toilets. In 1990, a Weltladen (fair-trade shop) was established in the Ökovilla; it is the only Weltladen in the city and is run on a voluntary basis, offering products from the Global South along with public information about the products, their countries of origin and the consequences of unjust global trade structures. Also in 1990, the Kinderladen 'Kellermäuse' was founded as the first Rostock parents' initiative, emerging after the Wende from the desire to create an alternative to the large state-run children's institutions. In the mixed-age group, 20 children aged from two and a half years to school entry are cared for by four trained educators, with parents strongly involved in organisational, pedagogical and personnel questions. A Krabbelgruppe (crèche group) was founded in 1994 and is now located in the Südstadt; children aged three months to three years are cared for there by two educators and one honorary staff member. The association bought the 1908 town villa at Hermannstraße 36 in 1995. The house also serves as a roof for other projects and initiatives that share the association's goals and ideals. Some rooms are rented out, for example to a restaurant, and the villa's seminar rooms are also rented. Because about 40 of the 120 litres of drinking water that each German citizen consumes on average per day are used for toilet flushing, the association decided to use a dry toilet system. The high water quality is not required for toilet flushing, and compost can be hygienically obtained from faeces as a raw material. The project was supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) as a nationwide, publicly effective model project for alternatives in waste disposal and the possibility of saving drinking water, including in the public sector. Knowledge about the management of a sustainable toilet facility was also gained, and the regulatory feasibility of a publicly usable composting toilet facility was demonstrated, taking into account building law, hygiene and epidemiological aspects. The association operates the Rostock shared accommodation facility for asylum seekers, where around 240 asylum seekers live. The focus of the work is on counselling refugees and promoting integration, enabling people to represent their interests and lead self-determined lives. In the field of development-policy education, events are held on topics of development policy, sustainability and integration. The aim of encounter and education events is to awaken interest in other cultures and to point out the connection between affluent societies and migration movements. The target groups of the seminars, further training, lectures and educational trips are mainly school classes, teachers, trainee teachers and students. The tasks are carried out primarily by four permanent staff members. The education project also maintains a position within the framework of the Voluntary Ecological Year, which is awarded anew each year. The association is a state-recognised institution of continuing education in the field of education for sustainable development (BNE). The intercultural garden in Rostock's Südstadt was created in 2011 and is thus the association's youngest project. Around 50 people from 20 nations and cultures jointly cultivate a plot of about 2,000 square metres. Each gardening family or group can plant a plot of 20 to 40 square metres according to their own ideas. All participants plan and design the common areas and facilities, such as the community garden, the outdoor kitchen and the play meadow. From 1997 to 2024, the restaurant Heumond was located in the cellar rooms of the Ökovilla and also operated a beer garden there. In 2024, Ökohaus e.V. as landlord terminated the lease with operator David Kielmann. The association's history is one of continuous civil-society engagement in Rostock, combining education, integration, fair trade and ecological model projects under one roof.

• 2024

  Ökohaus e.V. terminates the lease of restaurant Heumond in the Ökovilla.

• 2011

  Intercultural garden created in Rostock's Südstadt, the association's youngest project.

• 1997

  Restaurant Heumond begins operating in the cellar rooms of the Ökovilla.

• 1995

  Association purchases the 1908 town villa at Hermannstraße 36, the Ökovilla.

• 1994

  Krabbelgruppe (crèche group) founded, now located in the Südstadt.

• 1993

  Association takes over the house and grounds at Hermannstraße 36 under a hereditary lease from the city of Rostock.

• 1990

  Ökohaus e.V. founded in April as a non-profit and independent association in Rostock.

• 1990

  Weltladen fair-trade shop established in the Ökovilla.

• 1990

  Kinderladen 'Kellermäuse' founded as the first Rostock parents' initiative.

Non-profit civil-society organisation promoting global solidarity, fair trade, integration and ecological sustainability through local projects in Rostock.

• Weltladen (fair-trade shop)

  The only fair-trade shop in Rostock, operated voluntarily, offering products from the Global South and public information on fair trade.

• Kinderladen 'Kellermäuse'

  A mixed-age children's group for 20 children aged two and a half to school entry, cared for by four trained educators with strong parental involvement.

• Krabbelgruppe

  A crèche group for children aged three months to three years, located in the Südstadt.

• Gemeinschaftsunterkunft für Asylbewerber

  A shared accommodation facility for around 240 asylum seekers, with a focus on counselling and integration.

• Interkultureller Garten

  A roughly 2,000-square-metre garden where around 50 people from 20 nations cultivate individual and shared plots.

• Entwicklungspolitische Bildung

  Seminars, further training, lectures and educational trips on development policy, sustainability and integration, mainly for school classes, teachers, trainee teachers and students.

• Ökovilla seminar rooms

  Three individual seminar rooms available for events and rentable for private celebrations.

1. 1Ökohaus e.V. Rostock – Ökovillaoekohaus-rostock.de
2. 2Verein – Ökohaus e.V. Rostockoekohaus-rostock.de
3. 3Geschichte – Ökohaus e.V. Rostockoekohaus-rostock.de
4. 4Ökohaus – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
5. 5Ökohaus – Wikidatawikidata.org