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David Anderson's avatar

OMG Jean! We NEED to catch up now that I know you are thinking deeply about community resource management! I run a nonprofit called Simbi (.com) that could 100% handle the local Buy-Nothing-but-off-facebook transition! Let's catch up ASAP about how you see the software for this working!!!

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Jean Hsu's avatar

Yes let's catch up!

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Cassie Roblin's avatar

I was first exposed to lending libraries and freecycling when my cousins (who all grew up on farms and live in rural areas) told me about the ones they created amongst their friend groups for kids books, kids clothes, and kids games/toys/sports equipment. So when I learned about Buy Nothing, I was so excited to see it available as an app. Thanks for writing about this, Jean!

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Jenna Park's avatar

I love the idea of a lending library. I don't think we have anything formally organized like that in my Brooklyn neighborhood, however, we do have a culture of leaving things out on the stoop/in front of our buildings and things get shared that way. It totally works in creating this circular economy ecosystem—books, furniture, baby stuff, clothes. I've found some fantastic things this way and I love how even the most random things that I think will never get picked up, does when I'm in the mood to purge.

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Jean Hsu's avatar

Berkeley has the same culture, though it's usually left in a box or just laid out next to the sidewalk. I always end up coming home with some random things, I call them my Berkeley sidewalk treasures!

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