Duisburg startups: Tausche Bildung für Wohnen

In 2012, Christine Bleks and Mustafa Tazeoğlu founded the nonprofit association Tausche Bildung für Wohnen e.V. (“Trade education for housing”). The association, which has since won several awards, provides committed young adults with rent-free housing in disadvantaged neighborhoods such as Duisburg-Marxloh or Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf. In return, as education mentors, they support the personal and academic development of the neighborhood’s children and offer them a second home in so-called Tauschbars, the association’s hubs. This exchange creates a win-win-win situation for the children, the young adults, and the neighborhood – and with it a long-term perspective for the immediate region. Founder Christine tells us more about Tausche Bildung für Wohnen.

Where did the idea come from? What drove you?

Tausche Bildung für Wohnen e.V. was founded in 2012 as a joint project between me and my then business partner Mustafa Tazeoğlu, whom I met in 2008. He had already developed the basic idea for Tausche Bildung für Wohnen in 2007. As the son of Turkish immigrants in Duisburg-Marxloh, he had many negative experiences in his life because of his background – but they only drove him more to turn his disappointment into creative energy and give the next generation a better start.
As a former single teenage mom, it was also a matter close to my heart to create a safe place for socially disadvantaged children and their often burdened families, along with access to educational opportunities that also focus on personal development. That’s how the impactful social enterprise Tausche Bildung für Wohnen e.V. grew out of fragments of two very different biographies.
Mustafa left the association in 2015. Since 2020, I’ve found a new partner in Sandra Schürmann, Ashoka Fellow and founder of Projektfabrik gGmbH, and we run the association together.

What did you do before?

After studying philosophy and cultural reflection at the private University of Witten/ Herdecke, I worked as a project manager and editor for LABKULTUR.tv, the web magazine of the European Capital of Culture Ruhr.2010.
After that, together with my former business partner, I first founded Urban Rhizome UG and later Tausche Bildung für Wohnen e.V. in Duisburg-Marxloh.

Where are you right now?

We’re currently working on developing our scaling and sustainable financing strategy. The process gained momentum during my fellowship at Impact Factory in 2019. We were able to win a great funder for this, and together we’re now trying to spread the impact of Tausche Bildung für Wohnen.

What do you want to achieve? What’s your purpose?

Our vision is a society in which people are active shapers – not passive consumers – of their own lives and their surroundings.
Our mission is to open up spaces for people of different ages, genders, educational levels, origins, religions, economic backgrounds, and social standing, so that mutual learning becomes possible through inspiring encounters. To do this, urban living space becomes a shared space to shape together, where it remains unclear who is giving and who is receiving.
As a nonprofit association, Tausche Bildung für Wohnen e.V. sees itself as a social enterprise that has set itself the goal of building a sustainable business model and scaling across Germany. At the same time, the organization’s success is measured primarily by its social benefit and positive impact, not just by financial considerations.

What are your current challenges?

As for all social enterprises – especially in education – the biggest difficulty is putting sustainable financing in place.

You can find more about Tausche Bildung für Wohnen on their website!

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