Juice, Dancing and Social Engagement with Sonne, Mond & Mango
by Lucie Heath
The words ‘volunteering’ and ‘clubbing’ are not often used in the same sentence. For most people, the idea of volunteering within your local community means handing out food in a shelter, helping with the elderly or maybe sorting through donations that are destined for those in need. Great and noble work of course, but perhaps not the first thing that is dragging everybody out of bed on a Saturday morning after a long week at work.
Enter Sonne, Mond & Mango – the 3 man DJ collective composed of Nico, Marc and Sasha who like to throw parties with excellent vibes all in the name of social engagement and a good cause. Last Saturday they threw a party at the Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik in Moabit in collaboration with Clubmob, an organization who are making Berlin clubs more sustainable by organizing parties at venues all over the city and donating the profits to reducing the venue’s energy footprint while also providing a free sustainability consulting service.
In order to pull off the event, Sonne, Mond & Mango called upon a group of Vostel volunteers to help out with a range of tasks including working on the door and squeezing the juice that was provided for free to partygoers. Eager to get in on the action, I too made my way to the Z/KU to help out with the decorations and suss out what the collective had in store.
Waking up on the morning of my volunteering shift I was slightly unenthusiastic about the afternoon ahead – it was a glorious Frühling day and I had signed up to spend it in the Z/KU basement all the way in the ridiculously far away Kiez of Moabit. Yet despite missing out on a precious afternoon of sunshine, I had a lot of fun at my volunteering shift, hanging out with a good group of people and transforming the Z/KU basement into a funky indoor garden. As I have now proved to myself on multiple occasions, volunteering truly is a perfect way for newcomers to meet some lovely people in Berlin. The Sonne, Mond & Mango event attracted a great group of volunteers – a mix of expats and natives – and it was nice chatting to them about everything from parties to politics.
”The Sonne, Mond & Mango event attracted a great group of volunteers – a mix of expats and natives – and it was nice chatting to them about everything from parties to politics.”
Another big plus from my day of volunteering was discovering my new favourite Berlin venue – the Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanisitik! The Z/KU is an events and artists residency space in a former railway depot near Westhafen and it’s green surroundings make it the perfect place to hang out during a sunny Berlin day. Aside from being a place for artists to meet, work and exchange ideas, the venue has also been known to throw open air concerts and other events during the summer months. Finding interesting repurposed places like this is one of my favourite things about living in Berlin and I always enjoy how volunteering forces me to break out of my own Kiez bubble. Considering I couldn’t even properly pronounce ‘Moabit’ before that day it was definitely nice to explore a new area of the city – well worth the 45 minutes on the U-bahn!
Returning to Moabit that evening I found within the walls of the Z/KU basement a party that felt like a true celebration of all that is great about Berlin – good people, good music, good food and exciting social initiatives. As the Sonne, Mond & Mango boys played a refreshing mix of funk-infused house and techno, party goers could treat themselves to hummus wraps and ‘Refuchips’ from Uber den Tellerrand while enjoying a free juice made out of fruit collected from foodsharing. Throw in the vegan condom grabber machine provided by the people at einhorn and we had ourselves a social startup carnival!
”Finding interesting repurposed places like this is one of my favourite things about living in Berlin and I always enjoy how volunteering forces me to break out of my own Kiez bubble.”
An event like this is the perfect example of how local people can promote social change and share their ideas with the world in a way that is fun, feel good and not at all preachy or patronizing. By simply attending a great Berlin party I contributed money to some good causes, exchanged ideas with other engaged people and even got thinking about ways to make safe-sex sustainable. There is no reason volunteering has to be a dull chore and no reason why we can’t party and think at the same time!
(and if you need more convincing, check out this video that was made at the event)
If you’d like to get involved then get liking Sonne, Mond & Mango on Facebook where they post info about all their events. Also check out the websites for Clubmob, Uber den Tellerrand and einhorn – all fun and innovative Berlin organizations. Finally, if you like good tunes of the chilled, funk, house and techno varieties then have a listen to Sonne, Mond & Mango on soundcloud.
Huge thanks to fellow vostel volunteer Sanja for sharing her pics from the event, check out more of her work on her website.
Lucie Heath
Lucie is originally from Scotland and has recently moved to Berlin after completing a degree in History and Politics at the University of Edinburgh. Aside from working as a digital marketing intern, she is currently spending her time trying to assimilate into Berlin by volunteering and drinking a lot of Club Mate.
No Comments yet!