Always on the move

Patrick Engel concentrates on adjusting a mop and a laundry label on the worktop. Once he has found the right position, he presses the lever of the patch machine downwards. The heat pressure of the machine firmly binds the two pieces of fabric together. So firmly that neither the washing nor the hot ironer can separate them.

For Patrick Engel, who is already aligning the next mop, every move is perfect. The 31-year-old has been working in a sewing workshop at the Hoffnungstaler Werkstätten in Dreibrück, Brandenburg, for three years. He works on the patch machine there, but also sews fabric filters for air conditioning systems and assembles screw components for solar panels. The Hoffnungstaler Werkstätten receive orders like these from small businesses as well as from global market leaders.

Patrick Engel has been up since 5.30 am. "This gives me time to get ready and have breakfast in peace," he says, who lives right next door to the workshop in an outpatient care centre for people with cognitive impairments. He works in the sewing workshop three days a week and on the other two working days, Patrick Engel works at a farmer's integrated workplace. "I like coming to work, I enjoy it," he says.

Earning his own money is an important aspect of his job. But he also likes meeting other people and taking on responsibility. Group leader Christin Teske often gives Patrick Engel the task of fetching materials from the warehouse and distributing them to colleagues. It's a job that he also enjoys in other respects, as he reveals: "Sitting in one place all the time is not for me. I like to move around."

Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Picture: Frederic Schweizer