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

Communicorn - Episode 08

In the eighth episode of the Communicorn podcast, we talk to Ruth Jeckel, collective member of the Avenir Café and co-founder of the Avenir roastery in Lüneburg.

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Listen to the eighth Episode of the Communicorn Podcast: "Empowering Communities through the CSA approach – Daniel Überall / Kartoffelkombinat"

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.

Chapters (for the Video)

00:00 – Painting the picture of Avenir: What does Community mean?
05:53 – Decision-making and participation?
10:51 – Process-oriented management of conflicts
14:26 – Understanding Impact and Scaling
20:34 – Game: Enterprise, Impact or Community? 

The Leuphana Social Innovation Community is driving the sustainable shaping of society by bringing together stakeholders from business, civil society, and politics. Shape the future with us and become part of the community!