Tools Are Us - community tool share makes sense
by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
I was walking through the downtown neighborhoods with my dogs the other day - enjoying the relative quiet of the old and narrow streets, lined with creatively loved and lived in little houses. I stopped when I saw a homemade posting board near the curb. Here was a note about a lost chicken and another with a Buddha-like drawing. But the real made-me-smile message was from someone suggesting that they form a tool co-op, storing tools collectively in a community shed. The note invited neighbors to start a conversation about what they had to share. 
I’ve often wondered at the lack of logic in the practice of people living on the same street but each owning separate sets of yard tools, house tools, ladders, etc.. Unless someone is spending way too much time doing yard work, most of these tools are needed only occasionally, so sharing makes economic and ecological sense. It could even make it feasible to invest in some of the new and improved mowing options, powered by solar. You can find some good tips here on Mother Earth Living. I was excited to find out you can even convert a gas mower to solar-electric power! Of course, hopefully we are all using push mowers whenever possible and/or considering filling your open space with Food Not Lawns (if you haven’t read this book yet, please take a look).
We share tools here in Co-housing and it works out fine. Since there are no garages in our intentional community, we are also considering building a bicycle shed. Sharing stuff lightens the load on the earth, our wallets and our minds. Do you share anything with your neighbors or friends? I’d love to hear about it!
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