If you are not from Bavaria, the word “Ramadama” probably doesn’t mean much to you. The term, which roughly translates to “we are cleaning”, is used in Bavarian to describe voluntary clean-up campaigns. The goal is to collect trash from public spaces to ensure proper disposal. At arculus, we’ve decided to come together on the beautiful banks of the Isar river to make Munich a little cleaner and strengthen our team’s social bonds.
A Brief History of Ramadama
In 1949 Munich was not as beautiful as it is today. Although the 2nd World War had already ended four years before, the city still had devastating marks of bombing raids. Streets were full of stones and rubble, and many houses were yet uninhabitable. At that time, Thomas Wimmer was the mayor of Munich. He wanted his people to leave the dark years of the war behind and bring them a more optimistic view of the future. But the first step was cleaning up.
So, on the 29th of October 1949, Wimmer called on the people of Munich to clean up together. “Rama Dama!” (We are cleaning) he called, and over 7500 volunteers answered. Men, women, children, and even the mayor himself picked up shovels to free the city from the dirty scraps of the war. Together, the population removed more than 15,000 cubic metres of rubble that day, and Munich soon looked more beautiful again.
Since then, “Ramadama” has stood for joint clean-up activities. With the support of local Waste Management Companies, voluntary citizens from all kinds of different groups come together all across Bavaria to make their cities cleaner.
The arculus Team Clean-Up
So, to honour our Bavarian roots and commitment to social responsibility, some members of the arculus team decided to get together for our very own Ramadama gathering. The chosen location was the beautiful banks of the Isar river, not far from our headquarters office.
Just like every arculus gathering, the event also offered a fun possibility to tighten the team’s bonds in a different setting. “It was much more than just picking up trash. We even created a collaborative playlist to make sure that we could make it a fun social happening.”, says Maria Souza (Social Media Coordinator).
For some new joiners, like Johannes Maier (Robotics Engineer), it was also a possibility to get to know some colleagues for the first time. “It was fun to walk along the Isar with the new colleagues and to do something good for the environment at the same time”, he explains.
Like any Ramadama action in Munich, the arculus clean-up had support from AWM (Munich Waste Management Company), who provided the cleaning materials and assisted with the general organization. Kristina Frank, Municipal Officer and First Works Manager of AWM, explains, “A Ramadama like this is a great community experience. All these people are thus voluntarily taking responsibility for cleanliness in their home city. AWM is therefore very happy to support this sustainable civic engagement to preserve Munich’s recreational areas.”