There are plenty of very stupid and wasteful consumer shopping habits, but top of the list must be buying something quite expensive for one specific job or activity, using it solely for that purpose, and then storing it away in your shed or garage and forgetting about it.
We’re talking about things like carpet cleaners, wallpaper strippers, kitchen appliances, pressure washers and camping/festival equipment. Even if money is no object, this kind of shopping doesn’t really hit the ‘retail therapy’ spot, and if you can’t really afford the expense, you’re likely to opt for a low-cost item which may not be ideal for the purpose.
That’s why Libraries of Things are such a great community asset. This is the endearingly vague term for collections of tools, gadgets and equipment that most people don’t use very often, but are necessary for specific events, activities or projects. If you’ve got a Library of Things in your area, you don’t need to find the money to buy one of these items, or the space to store it. You pay a small membership fee or donation to the library (usually a non-profit organisation) and then rent whatever you need on a weekly basis. It’s a brilliant way of pooling resources, reducing needless spending and building community spirit – and kind of ‘sticking it to The Man’ by bucking the trends of consumerism and mindless waste.
The Totnes Share Shed is a Library of Things – but it’s gone one better by becoming what’s thought to be the only mobile Library of Things in the world. It has adapted to meet the needs of the mainly rural area in which it operates, travelling to seven local towns so that borrowers can pick up the items they’ve reserved online.
In May this year the Share Shed won £252,316 from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme. The money will give the project financial security for the next four years, enabling the service to reach more people and build stronger links with other community organisations.
How it all began
It’s a giant leap forward for a project that started very small, with an uncertain future. Back in 2017 the Share Shed’s co-founder Mirella Ferraz, a member of the Totnes-based charity Network of Wellbeing, heard about a Somerset-based Library of Things called Share Frome, and wondered if a similar service could be set up locally. After a visit to the Somerset library and a bit of market research to gauge local interest, Network of Wellbeing successfully applied for a National Lottery grant of just over £5,000 to fund a six-month pilot project. They were also offered the free use of a garage owned by Totnes Town Council in the town centre.
Mirella said:
“So we had six months to try it out. We had almost 200 donated items to begin with, which was amazing. By that time we had some idea of what people wanted, what they couldn’t afford or didn’t have storage space for. We said we’d need stuff that was in good working condition because we didn’t have the resources to repair things, and it was just incredible the amount of really good items that were just lying around in people’s garages.”
So far, so good. The pilot was successful, and the project continued for the next couple of years. But while plenty of people wanted to borrow from the Share Shed, its Totnes town centre location wasn’t ideal for users in the wider local area, such as the towns of Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, where plenty of people needed the service.
Mirella continued:
“Buckfastleigh is one of the towns with the highest indexes of poverty in the country, there are pockets of real deprivation and social inequality, so that’s where the idea of transforming the project into a travelling one came from.
“At the time it was a really crazy idea because no-one had done that. We use software that helps us manage the membership and where things are, and enabling people to book things online – and not even the software had the features that would allow us to go mobile at the time, so it was very nerve-racking and exciting too, to go down that route. But we had all this stuff, all these items, so we might as well get them used as much as possible.”
Winning the ‘people’s vote’
Needing a big cash injection to set up their mobile library, the Network of Wellbeing entered the running for funding from the 2019 National Lottery’s People’s Projects scheme, in which the public are invited to vote for regional winners from a shortlist of finalists. The Share Shed project won and was awarded nearly £50,000. The mobile library – a large van with a wooden shed built into the rear compartment, packed with items for rent – was launched in Totnes town centre in July 2020, just a few months into the Covid pandemic.
Mirella said:
“Covid delayed the launch, but in some ways, surprisingly, it was helpful because by being mobile we could be outdoors. We had a whole system in terms of queueing up, hand sanitising, all that kind of thing, but in some ways it made things even more accessible because we were outdoors and safer. By this time people had spent a lot of time at home in lockdowns – we wondered whether people would want to share stuff, or would they be hesitant? But the reality was that people would arrive with a long list, maybe 10 items, because they were getting on with DIY projects, so it worked out in our favour in that way.”
Since then, the mobile Share Shed has been making weekly visits to Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dartington, Kingsbridge, Ivybridge, South Brent and Totnes. It now has around 350 items available for borrowing, and more than 3,000 members, who pay whatever subscription fee they can afford. It has 25 volunteers and the support of local Repair Cafes, whose ‘fixers’ help to mend and maintain its library of tools and equipment.
“It definitely requires a behaviour change around consumerism,” said Mirella.
Indeed – it’s a very different mindset to the instant and impersonal quick fix of online shopping. Using a Library of Things involves planning, co-operation, and focusing on what you need, rather than what’s being pushed at you by advertisers. It involves the satisfaction of repairing and re-using items, rather than buying into the throwaway culture. It involves going out and meeting people from your community, rather than sitting alone, staring at a screen. You could argue that these are natural, rewarding behaviour habits, all of which have been stripped away by the internet shopping experience.
And of course, Libraries of Things are a huge money saver. Borrowing items from the Share Shed is enabling people to carry out house renovations and garden projects, be well-equipped for camping trips and festivals, try out new art and crafts activities, entertain visiting children/grandchildren, and add some fun touches to their parties and celebrations, such as chocolate fountains and bubble machines.
‘A hand-to-mouth existence’
But while the Share Shed is estimated to have saved its members around half a million pounds over the years, the project itself has been leading a hand-to-mouth existence.
Mirella explained:
“We never had a business model, as such, because we were just going along with what people’s needs were, and what we had the resources for.
“We’ve worked so hard and we’ve had so many challenges, especially around the instability of funding. Last year, out of pure necessity, we ran a crowdfunder and raised £17,000 which was amazing, but it was just buying us time.”
So the team were overjoyed to win the £252,316 from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities fund, announced in May this year. The money will be used to extend the service, make it even more accessible, share skills, spread the word, and build on its existing partnerships with grassroots community groups. An apprenticeship scheme was originally envisaged, but the funding bid was scaled down because it was a bit too ambitious.
“The first thing is we want to do is expand beyond the seven towns every week,” said Mirella. “People assumed that we’d be going to other places but the reality is that we won’t – instead we’ll focus on events.
“We’ve already done a lot of what we call skill shares – how to sharpen your tools, scissors and knives, bike maintenance and repairs, basic clothes repairs – these have been very popular, so we’ll continue doing more of that in all the locations we serve.”
Easier to access, easier to use
As part of its outreach programme to extend the service to more people, The Share Shed is piloting a locker system, like those used by Amazon and other online retailers, so that people can still collect and return items outside the visiting times of the mobile library. It’s currently being tried out in South Brent, and the aim is to roll it out in all seven towns.
The team are also offering free membership to the lowest-income households, and have introduced a ’pay it forward’ scheme for better-off users who would like to support those in need. They’re connecting with food banks, churches and community centres to help spread awareness among people who could benefit from the service.
Further collaboration with other organisations is centred around future community events such as the Totnes Sharefest in 2023 and this year’s Woolfest in Buckfastleigh. These brought together dozens of local groups and attracted hundreds of local residents. Additionally, the Share Shed will be involved in a five-year project – also funded by the National Lottery – to support sustainability events and activities at Devon’s libraries.
“It’s an exciting time, creating a circular economy and creating bridges between all these great projects. They’re all tiny, especially in rural Devon where we are, so we’ve got to support each other – and it can be really powerful.”
Sharing knowledge and experience
Not surprisingly, the Totnes Share Shed is keen to help other similar projects get off the ground or expand to reach more people. The team have put together a toolkit, bringing together all their own experience and knowledge, which is available to download free of charge from the Share Shed website. Mirella is deservedly proud of the project and keen for others to emulate their success:
“We’ve created a guidebook of all we’ve learned about setting up and sustaining a Library of Things, so there are tons of resources, including webinars that are free on YouTube.
“When we started out there were just a few projects in the UK, and now there are more than 100, which is incredible – it’s like the time has really come. But yes, I totally recommend that people check out our website for the toolkit, it’s a really comprehensive asset in terms of sharing all we’ve learned, both running a static project and a mobile one – we’ve been supporting people all over the world.”
For more information, and to access the toolkit, visit www.shareshed.org.uk.
