diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f6324ccc5..0ed912206 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ collectstatic:
 bounce:
 	RUNWITHMAKEBUILD=True CURRENT_UID=${CURRENT_UID} CURRENT_GID=${CURRENT_GID} docker compose down
 	[[ -d config/certificates ]] && echo "keys exist" || make keys
+	# Ensure MongoDB data directory exists with proper permissions
+	mkdir -p docker/volumes/db_mongo
+	chmod -R 777 docker/volumes/db_mongo || true
 	RUNWITHMAKEBUILD=True CURRENT_UID=${CURRENT_UID} CURRENT_GID=${CURRENT_GID} docker compose up -d --build --remove-orphans
 
 bootstrap:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 0de095181..d4e526235 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -153,13 +153,14 @@ services:
   db_mongo:
     container_name: db_mongo
     image: mongo:4.0
-    user: mongodb
     restart: unless-stopped
     ports:
       - 29019:29019
     command: mongod --port 29019
     volumes:
       - ./docker/volumes/db_mongo:/data/db
+    # Ensure the MongoDB data directory has proper permissions
+    user: "${CURRENT_UID}:${CURRENT_GID}"
 
   task_celery:
     container_name: task_celery