Who invented billabong?

Answer 1

Billabong was founded in 2002 by some parents who had a pretty good idea of what they wanted for their kids, but no idea where to find it. The solution? Do it yourself. The kitas in Prenzlauer Berg, in the grips of a baby boom, had long waiting lists and little room for new ideas. So a handful of dreamers started down the long road to creating a new parent initiative kita which reflected their hopes for a personalized, hands-on education in a playful yet motivating atmosphere.

It was an an idea which had already taken hold in Berlin. "Kinderladen" and parent initiatives have been successfully operating and influencing Kita culture since the 1960s. With the rapid increase in pre-school age children, the local Berlin Senat saw many advantages in supporting parents in setting up kitas, not the least that it saved them money! So the creative founding moms and dads of Billabong quickly had a starter pack in hand that included guidelines, forms and more forms.

The first step? Create a "Verein" and set up a "Vorstand" or governing board. Then they had to write an educational concept. The idea was to create a kita which thrived on parents' creative, hands-on input and because so many of the founding parents were English native speakers or had strong ties to English, it had been decided to create a German-English Kita. This was all included in an application to the Berlin Senat. After about six months' wait...everything was approved and a fully parent-run kita was born! One of the founders, from Australia, provided the name - Billabong - meaning a small body of water or oasis left behind when a river changes its path.

But finding a place for that watering hole was going to be tricky. There are many regulations for kita rooms ranging from emergency exit access to toilet height! Luckily, many buildings were still being renovated in Prenzlauer Berg and one such building was found in Greifenhagener Str. where the owners were happy to install all the safety and health measures required and where parents could already influence the shape and look of the rooms.

The board began looking for teachers aiming for a German/English mix and hired two English native speakers and one German. Then a few more families were needed and the first group of fifteen kids, most of them two-years-old, were ready to embark on their new kita experience in April 2002.

There have been a few hitches on the way. The first one being that the kita rooms still weren't ready in April. So Billabong's first two weeks were spent in Salvation Army rooms in Kastanienallee! The first couple of years parents often met on a weekly even daily basis in the evenings to discuss every detail from organic food to parent involvement.

Billabong has grown and thrived since then, adding more children and teachers and expertise. A special needs child joined the Kita family in 2005 for whom one of the teachers completed extra training. Since then, we have offered a place for a special needs child. We are always looking for new ways to adapt to and learn from our ever evolving Billabong family!