DoomsdaysCW“No tariffs on #sharing”: #ToolLibraries offer resilience amid federal chaos
by Truthout & Ella Fassler
April 29, 2025
Excerpt: "With the price of materials climbing (or set to), many #DIY projects have become more difficult to finance overnight. But what if Curtin’s friend didn’t also have to purchase pricey tools to complete the project? What if he borrowed them all from neighbors instead, and returned them when he was finished? And what if those neighbors helped him through the project each step of the way?
"This is more or less how tool-lending libraries work. Curtin, who is a volunteer and steering committee member of the nonprofit Rhode Island #ToolLibrary #PVDThings, connects people with the tools and know-how to make daunting do-it-yourself projects more accessible.
"For a #SlidingScale Fee, members of the cooperatively-run library have access to a catalogue of about 1,630 items that have been amassed over the past four or so years through donations. #Tools like the power washers, hammers, drills, cameras, lawn mowers, pet carriers, grills and pop-up tents can be borrowed for one to two weeks. But PVD Things is about much more than just the things.
"Volunteers get to know their neighbors and their stories, and provide guidance if they need help. Those volunteers told me about a local poet who borrows pop-up tents and tables to speed-write poems for passersby, and a surfer who borrowed palm sanders and dust extractors to build a fiberglass surfboard from scratch. Another member built out a camper van with their power tools. Several weeks ago, 30 gardeners borrowed rakes, shovels and pruners en masse for a big clean up party at a #CommunityGarden that had been overgrown for years."
Read more:
https://www.shareable.net/no-tariffs-on-sharing-tool-libraries-offer-resilience-amid-federal-chaos/
#SolarPunkSunday #USPol #SharingEconomy #BuildingCommunity #ToolLibrary #BorrowDontBuy #Cooperatives
Doug Bostrom
Adrian McEwen
