Social Seeds supported inspiring social enterprises

Throughout the lifetime of Social Seeds, we had the opportunity to meet several inspiring social entrepreneurs that received support from the consortium partners. All of these entrepreneurs had launched their business to make a valuable impact in their community and make a difference for the common good. We had the honour of welcoming a few of these enterprises in our Final High Level Dissemination event on the 18th of November. We’ll gladly highlight them in a series of articles.

First up: Kabinet CB from the Czech Republic, a social enterprise that was supported by Social Seeds through our partner RERA, the Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia.

Kabinet CB: how to move 50 tonnes of furniture back to market

Dana Kalistová started her enterprise Kabinet CB in 2015 as a small community project, wanting to reply to the local needs of disadvantaged groups (often clients of social services), while at the same time tackling an environmental problem. She and a team of volunteers started collecting used furniture around the Czech city of Ceske-Budejovice and redistributing the goods to people in need.

The initiative quickly grew, with rising numbers of clients, which increased the need for more flexibility. So in 2018 the company was officially established as a social enterprise, employing mainly disabled people.

In their 500 m2 warehouse/workshop, the team of Kabinet CB recycles, repairs and upcycles furniture, thus rescuing items from the landfill and giving them a new life. They also offer the public the possibility to take furniture repair courses, and if people wish, they can even rent a small space in the workshop to work on their own upcycling project at the Kabinet CB premises. Kabinet CB furthermore offers the possibility to event organisers to rent dishes, cutlery and tableware, and they also sell these as starter packs to students and offices. 

Recently, Kabinet CB launched their own moving service: they empty houses, move furniture and even furnish offices with pre-loved items. Replying to the needs of the local social service clients, the team is a proud partner in the Housing First project, furnishing houses of underprivileged clients with re-used furniture and other supplies.

In the near future, Kabinet CB seeks to open an artisanal coffee house in Ceske-Budejovice and a second branch of the re-use centre in the nearby city of Kaplice. By becoming a member of the European RREEUSE network, they hope to raise awareness in the Czech Republic about re-use centres and the social impact these can have.

For more details, check out their website www.kabinetcb.cz or their Facebook page.

Photo credit: Kabinet CB, 2020