Share (Portsmouth) story
In 2018, a group of volunteers started Repair Cafe Portsmouth, initially running monthly pop-up events. It grew from there and by 2023 the group had prevented 1.5 tonnes of waste and 14 tonnes of CO2 emissions from going into the environment, thanks to over 1,600 hours of time volunteered. It was obvious that the project needed to expand further to help more people repair and reuse items and so, in 2022, the charity ‘Share (Portsmouth)’ was set up to run the two main volunteer-led community initiatives: Repair Cafe Portsmouth and Portsmouth Library of Things.
Repair Cafe Portsmouth allows repairers to share their skills with people who have broken objects that generally aren’t able to be repaired on the high street, and Portsmouth Library of Things helps people to borrow items that they infrequently use; from cake tins to gazebos, drills to waffle makers. Both of these city hubs help to reduce emissions, waste and raw material use, through sharing, repairing and re-use, in addition to saving people money.
As well as running these initiatives, Share (Portsmouth) is also involved in campaigning for the ‘Right to Repair’ and in supporting other groups to set up across Hampshire and the UK.
To hear more about Share (Portsmouth), listen to the Carbon Copy Podcast Running Out of Time special episode featuring this initiative.
Useful learnings from Share (Portsmouth)
Share (Portsmouth) are very conscious about the potential financial barrier for some people and affordability of their offerings goes hand in hand with accessibility. One of the trustees explains the charity’s creative solution:
“People are able to become a member of the library for as little as £1 for the year, and there are suggested donations for borrowing items a week at a time, but we don’t want lack of finances to be a barrier to anyone who needs a tool and can’t afford it, so people can contribute to the community in different ways e.g. volunteering or helping spread the word.”
Share (Portsmouth) metrics
Number of people helped, tools borrowed, items repaired, tonnes of waste saved from landfill, tonnes of carbon emissions reduced.
