Idea
On March 15, 1995, trade unionists from Hildesheim founded “Arbeit und Dritte Welt”. The association collects used tools and machines via a network of supporters – companies, trade union members and private individuals. We process the donations in the association’s own workshops and make them available to initiatives for self-help projects in developing countries. We also organize the transport logistics.
We are a non-profit organization and offer employment opportunities with a daily structure in cooperation with the Hildesheim Job Centre in accordance with the provisions of SGB II. In this way, we get the long-term unemployed and severely disabled back into work for a certain period of time. Since our association was founded, over 1000 people have been given a temporary job and have been able to find their way back into the world of work. The cooperation with the job center and the social welfare office has proven successful.
Workshops
“Arbeit und Dritte Welt e.V.” runs a carpentry, a metal and a mechanics workshop under the direction of master craftsmen and skilled workers. Among other things, the mechanics workshop develops LED lamps from industrial scrap. In the warehouse, the incoming donations are stored, packed and prepared for sea and air freight in containers and transport crates. The carpenters build transport and storage containers, the transport service transports donations from all federal states and supports the workshops. The finance and payroll department ensures that processes run smoothly and correctly. The gardening department maintains the “Garden of the Senses Stadtfeld”, the metalworkers refurbish tools and machines. We built our factory workshop ourselves and work with recycled materials – 95% of all materials were collected and refurbished.
The socio-pedagogical service looks after and supports the employees with worries, problems and administrative matters, it mediates, clarifies and helps. Young people can be prepared for the primary labor market through intensive support in the workshops. Excursions offer the workforce insights and strengthen team spirit.
