Inspired by the Frome Share Shop, last year we seeded the idea of having a version here in Totnes: the Share Shed. Things soon began to take shape when Totnes Town Council granted us a space to pilot the Share Shed in The Guild Hall garage on Guild Hall Yard. This, together with a grant from the The Big Lottery Fund, means the project is well underway and we’re looking forward to a grand opening this Spring!
What is the Share Shed?
The Share Shed will enable local people to borrow all sorts of useful things at nominal cost so that they don’t have to buy them for themselves. The aim is to encourage the sharing economy locally; to help people connect more, spend less, consume less, and waste less.
We hope that the Share Shed will help build community, allow people to use things they may not be able to afford otherwise and help people de-clutter their garages and houses without their old things going into landfill. By sharing we use less of the earth’s precious resources in creating more ‘stuff’ and the associated pollution this entails, reducing the impact on the environment.
Latest Share Shed News
Following our grant from The Big Lottery Fund, we were delighted to welcome Mark Jefferys to the Share Shed team in early December. Mark, the new Share Shed Manager, will be helping to ensure that the Share Shed is open for borrowing in the Spring; collecting and sorting donations, working on promoting the project in the community and, together with a team of fantastic volunteers, making sure the garage-space has a good spruce up ready for action!
We’ve also showcased the Share Shed idea at several community events, including Caring Town Totnes, and had an overwhelmingly positive response, with people donating everything from bike racks to pet carriers and garden tools.
People shared their visions of a Share Shed; spanning from simply having a mobile market stall where people could borrow things, to having a more established social space where people could share things, skills, and social activities. We are hoping that the Share Shed pilot in the garage will be the beginning phase of a larger project of sharing.
How Can I Get Involved?
We’ve had some fantastic donations – huge thanks to all who have donated so far – but we are eager for more! After polling people in the community, here are 20 items that people would love to be able to borrow from the Share Shed. So if you’ve an unwanted Christmas gift, or perhaps you’re giving the garage a Spring clean, we would welcome donations of the following items:
- digital projector
- wall paper steamer
- carpet cleaner
- extending ladder
- gazebo
- heat gun
- belt sander
- pressure washer
- electric strimmer
- electric hedge trimmer
- sewing machine
- floor sander
- garden tools
- guitar
- jam fruit preserver
- laminator
- hammer drill
- regular drill
- small wood working bench
- SDS drill….
- and a UniCycle?!
We are also looking for some accessible additional storage for items, so if anyone has space in their garage or spare room for at least three months please do let us know. There are other ways to get involved too. If you have some spare time and would like to get involved with the Share Shed, we have opportunities for people to help with publicity or working in the Shed.
If you are interested and would like to be involved or help out in any way, please contact Mark Jefferys via shareshedtotnes@gmail.com.