Tool Library - Autonomisation of common centred practices

Campfire
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Hello Edgeryders,

There is so much interesting conversations to partake on the campfire at the moment, but here i am, starting a new one.
I just started as a coordinator on building a tool library for the commun of ixelles in partnership with La Serre, that some of you know:

Our tool library works exactly like a regular library: in exchange for an annual membership fee of € 40 (or € 20 for one month), you get unlimited access to a wide range of quality tools to repair or renovate at home. In short: Tournevie is an affordable and ecological alternative to more expensive rental or sales outlets.

We are a non-profit initiative run by a group of dedicated volunteers.Have a look at the video:

Tournevie: an introduction

While building the spot from the ground up in Ixelles, there is already an antenna in Molenbeek that counts more then 500 members and runs completly on the community. My task is to bring that model to a new level that needs to be self-managed and results in a common tool library that could be implemented in multiple cities as a sociatal service.

I’m sharing this with the edgerydes community because i think you all come accros likewise projects in Europe and elsewhere and would like to find out if there are shareable good practices and if other formats are possible.

I see a couple of important principles in the tool library by tournevie that you don’t find in for exemple peer.by (i could be wrong)

  • community and local anchored based work
  • non-profit and run by volunteers
  • waste reduction philosphy as the fuel for the organisation.

Let me know what you think about these kind of initiatives

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Love it, @yannick. congratulations, it seems like a really fantastic project. And can see us being members, especially as the new Reef falls into place. @mariacoenen, what do you think?

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Hi Yannick. Do you know of the Edinburgh Tool Library in Scotland? https://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk/
There’s also one in Stirling (also Scotland):
https://www.transitionstirling.org.uk/the-tool-library

I think in the UK tool libraries often exist as part of broader-scale community/sustainability projects, like Transition Towns (which seems to be the case for Stirling.), or within/alongside makerspaces.

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Hey Yannick!

Very nice to hear that Tournevie will have a second antenna soon. Congrats.

We definitely need more tool libraries in Brussels😎

With A Reef 2.0 in the making we should meet up for a coffee soon.

Count us in as members already;-)

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Hey Yannick!

Very nice to hear that Tournevie will have a second antenna soon. Congrats.

We definitely need more tool libraries in Brussels😎

Count us in as members already;-)

With A Reef 2.0 in the making we should meet up for a coffee soon.

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Great news, @yannick ! Once upon a time when we were discussing possible models for a new space for edgeryders, I proposed opening this kind of library there as well. The post is somewhere :slight_smile: Glad to see that the idea comes back:) Fingers crossed!

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