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Canberra Today 15°/17° | Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

‘Library’ for the handy opens up a world of tools 

Canberra Community Toolbox volunteers, from left, Tom Spratt, Suzanne Richardson, Rebecca Tregurtha and Kathy Ehmann.

A POWER drill will only be used for about 13 minutes in its lifetime, but with the ACT’s first “tools and equipment library” launching this spring a group of handy volunteers say they’re determined to up that number.

It’s called the Canberra Community Toolbox and for an annual fee starting at $20 members will be able to borrow gizmos and gadgets for home maintenance, DIY activities, gardening, leisure, hobbies and crafts, the kitchen, even things such as kayaks, all of which are donated by others who no longer need them.

“Think of it like a library,” says volunteer Tom Spratt.

“You’ll be able to look online to see what’s available and then you’ll be able to come in and borrow a set of hammers, for example.

“You take them for a week, use them and bring them back for the next person.”

It’s an initiative the team is hoping will bring the community together, raise knowledge about sustainability and give a hand to those unable to afford important tools.

“A lot of everyday objects are used only once and then they’ll just sit around at home for months or years,” says Tom.

“But these are often really valuable items. While they might not be useful for one individual all the time, they’ll always be useful for someone doing something.”

Canberrans have excitedly got behind the idea, with thousands of dollars donated through a crowdfunding campaign to get the project off the ground.

“It started with a goal of $7000 and we hit that in under a week,” says fellow volunteer Rebecca Tregurtha.

“It’s allowed us to see how supportive people are and that they care.”

Encouraged by the response, the toolbox now has a “stretch fundraising goal” of $12,000, which would allow them to expand the resource even further.

“One of the main priorities for us is accessibility,” says Rebecca.

“We’re hoping to put in a ramp with some of the money we’re getting through our crowdfunding.”

Rebecca, Tom and a team of volunteers will help manage the premises in Watson during its opening hours.

What those hours will look like aren’t locked in just yet, but Rebecca says they’ll be making them as convenient as possible.

“It’ll really depend on what the demand is from people and what the availability is for volunteering,” she says.

“We’re suspecting it will be more heavily used on a weekend, but we might also have some time on a weekday evening or morning so people can return something on their way to or from work.”

It’s not just construction tools that will be available for borrowing, either. A stand-up paddle board and pasta maker are just two of the more obscure items that have been requested by community members.

“We’re really hoping for more things like this so that people can have experiences out in the world that they might not normally have access to,” says Tom.

“It might not even be something people realise they like doing until they give it a try.”

It’s just the start of the team’s ambitions for the Toolbox, with plenty of long-term goals they’re keen to get to work on.

“At one point we’re hoping to have workshops where we can teach people new skills,” says Rebecca

“There may be people in the community not confident on how to use a drill so we hope to be able to teach them and help them be more self sufficient.” 

They’re also hoping the project might inspire others to follow the example.

“We’re conscious that this site is right in the north of Canberra so we’d be excited to see something in the south, whether it’s an extension of our project in the future or a new project happening,” says Rebecca.

To the Toolbox team, the enthusiastic response has them excited moving forward.

“It’s an intrinsic part of this project that it benefits both the community and the environment. They come hand in hand,” says Tom.

“And the response shows Canberrans care about these things, they’re happy to help out.”

More at communitytoolboxcbr.org

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Nick Overall

Nick Overall

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