Greg Smith MP enjoyed visiting the Haddenham & Waddesdon Community Board Green Living Fair at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre this afternoon, in particular formally opening the I'd Like To Borrow initiative.
The project has taken over a year of planning and organisation. It is commissioned and overseen by the Haddenham and Waddesdon Community Board.
Councillor Ashley Waite is the active project lead and lead organiser. A local business called Complete Package Marketing is providing project management and marketing management services.
The project is based at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre who host the on-site container unit and provide a fantastic, supportive partnership for the project.
I'd Like To Borrow is a Library of Things (LoT) - the first known LoT in Buckinghamshire. It lends tools and equipment to Buckinghamshire residents for a small fee.
Residents can find all information they need and register for the service at https://idliketoborrow.com/
The aims of the projects are to strengthen community resources; encourage collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer borrowing; ensure everyone has access to the tools they need to be able to carry out household maintenance without having to rely on expensive tool hire or purchasing; reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption; and reduce waste at landfill sites.
There is also a repair cafe as part of the project and an I'd Like A Bike scheme, which provides quality second-hand bikes (fixed by volunteers who are part of the repair cafe) to financially restricted individuals so that they can access work, training, school or leisure.
The project is in it's infancy however they already have eager volunteers assisting with the project, over 200 useful 'Things' safety-checked, PAT-tested and ready for borrowing, and over 60 registered 'borrowers' who are ready to use the service.
Anyone who would like to be involved with the project can get in touch by emailing [email protected]
