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Sharing Economy

The Business Of Unconditional Love

March 15, 2026 Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Josh talks to Cristobal, Wren, and Dayle — three of the people behind People's Plumbing, a worker cooperative operating on the Gift Economy model in Cleveland, OH. That's right, when People's Plumbing does a job, there is no bill to be paid at the end, just a participation form and a flushing toilet. Despite this unconventional model, the co-op has been successful for two years, is providing a living for multiple people, and looks to continue growing into the future.

Sharing The Bounty: Cultural Celebrations In Nicaragua Give Back

December 10, 2025 Becca Renk Foster, Popular Resistance. , , ,
When 25-year-old Dayana Martinez graduated from university earlier this year and began applying for jobs in her field of graphic design, she made a promise to the Virgin Mary. For Martinez, who had been running her own printing business from home all through college, the chance to earn a steady salary and have health care and retirement benefits was important. “If I get a job, I will give toys to children in December.”  Martínez got the job she applied for and has been setting aside a portion of her salary since to fulfill her promise to the Blessed Virgin. She has purchased toys for 50 boys and 50 girls, and will give them to children in a rural village.

One Love Community Fridge Is Feeding People And Changing Lives

August 5, 2025 Laine Doss, Broken Palate. , , ,
New York City is considered by many to be the greatest city in the world, not only for its stunning skyline, fine dining, cultural exhibits, and rich history, but also for its vibrant community and resilience. In 2020, the city was reeling from COVID-related lockdowns, with many people losing their jobs. Food banks and other social services were overwhelmed. It was then that Asmeret Berhe-Lumax decided to do something. The former fashion and beauty executive decided to set up a community fridge in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy community, rallying support from family and friends to keep that one fridge stocked with nutritious food.

The Many Innovative Spheres Of Organized Sharing

May 5, 2025 David Bollier. , , ,
Fifteen years ago, the American group Shareable filled a huge void in public consciousness when it began reporting about creative forms of sharing. Its web magazine introduced people to tool libraries, mutual aid networks, food-sharing systems, “sharing cities,” social co-operatives, tiny houses, and other neglected forms of collaboration. Based in the Bay Area, Shareable is a worker-directed “news and action hub” that, in its words, “promotes people-powered solutions for the common good.” Despite a fairly small staff, the nonprofit has been a catalytic force nationally in promoting commoning and progressive change.

‘No Tariffs On Sharing’: Tool Libraries Offer Resilience Amid Federal Chaos

April 20, 2025 Ella Fassler, Truthout. , , ,
As a handy person, Devon Curtin spends a lot of time helping people enrich their living spaces. Recently, while working with a friend to remodel their floor, Curtin noticed that the cost of do-it-yourself projects is already rising because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. “The cost of mahogany was the same as Douglas fir, which is kind of wild, but the cost of oak was double. And I was like, ‘Oh, we’re probably getting oak boards from Canada, and so the tariff cost on that is going to skyrocket,’” said Curtin. “And so all of a sudden, this project of building an oak countertop doubles in price because the tariffs are there.”

Digital Solidarity In The Sharing Economy

December 5, 2023 Anna Moskal, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Digital solidarity and the sharing economy may seem like natural companions. To be sure, the sharing economy with its melding of community and commerce has the potential to be a key contributor to digital solidarity in developing economies. Both concepts revolve around the idea of collaboration, sharing resources and funds, community-building, the network effect, increasing trust between strangers, and the leveraging of digital technologies for the greater good. In this blog post, we consider how the sharing economy can contribute to digital solidarity in a developing economy; the barriers to the sharing economy doing so; and if unchecked how it can distort an economy.

The Making Of La BOM: Montreuil’s New Library Of Things And Sharing Hub

December 8, 2022 Tina Jenkins Bell, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Montreuil, France - Inspired by Shareable’s coverage of the sharing economy, Bibliothèque D’Objets De Montreuil, also known as La BOM, opened its doors as a “Library of Things” in April 2022 in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. La BOM’s president and founder Sylvain Mustaki had been searching for a way to make a difference in an economic climate that disenfranchised people who struggled financially. Mustaki says that Libraries of Things (LoT) help reduce waste through the loaning and lending of useful but costly everyday tools, appliances, and other items, but says empowering everyday people to share is his focus. I’m afraid we have difficult times coming, particularly for poor people. Building a community based on sharing and mutual help is the best chance for the people to get through hard times. We had to do something.

People With Jobs Are Sharing Their Stimulus Checks With People Out Of Work

July 3, 2020 By April M. Short, Independent Media Institute. , , ,
The responses of governments around the world to the pandemic and its resulting economic impacts are revealing and varied. As officials enact measures to keep economies afloat and keep people from financial ruin, unprecedented relief efforts are underway. Canada’s government has promised monthly payments worth about $1,450 to anyone affected; Australia plans to give about $1,000 every two weeks to each employee of any struggling business. Many nations, big and small, have guaranteed recurring payments to all citizens until it is safe to go back to work. Italy froze all rent and mortgage payments in early March, and cities and countries around the world have considered ways to follow suit—including the U.S., which ordered reduced mortgage payments for some eligible homeowners for up to a year.

Ghent’s Quick Rise As A Sustainable, Commons-Based Sharing City

September 1, 2017 Mai Sutton, www.shareable.net , ,
By Mai Sutton for Shareable - A renewable energy cooperative, a community land trust, and a former church building publicly-controlled and used by nearby residents — these are just a few examples of about 500 urban commons projects that are thriving in the Flemish city of Ghent in Belgium. A new research report (in Dutch) shows that within the last 10 years, the city has seen a ten-fold increase in local commons initiatives. The report defines commons as any "shared resource, which is co-owned or co-governed by a community of users and stakeholders, under the rules and norms of that community." With a population of less than 250,000, Ghent is sizably smaller than the other, more well-known Sharing Cities such as Seoul and Barcelona. But this report shows how it is quickly becoming a hub of some of the most innovative urban commons projects that exist today. The study was commissioned and financed by Ghent city officials who were keen to understand how they could support more commons-based initiatives in the future. It was conducted over a three-month period in the spring of 2017. The research for the report was led by the P2P Foundation's Michel Bauwens, in collaboration with Yurek Onzia and Vasilis Niaros, and in partnership with Evi Swinnen and Timelab.

Fortress World Of Capitalism vs. Beautiful Possibilities Of Cooperation

July 9, 2017 Cynthia Kaufman, www.commondreams.org , , ,
By Cynthia Kaufman for Common Dreams. Our beloved world is entering an increasingly unstable period, full of dangers and also full of possibilities. In many countries, old political parties are crumbling faster and anyone thought imaginable. Old geopolitical alliances have come unglued as the US comes to exercise its role as world hegemon in new and unpredictable ways. The development of the internet, of mobile phones and of apps has led to incredible disruption of many aspects of many societies: from how we pay for and listen to music, to how we consume and propagate information and news, to how we shop for almost anything. All that is solid is melting into air. At this crossroads it is possible that the global community will move in the direction that the dominant social forces seem to be pushing us towards.

Sharing Economy: It Takes More Than A Smartphone

March 4, 2017 Steven Gorelick, www.localfutures.org ,
By Steven Gorelick For Local Futures - I ran into my friend Rick the other day in a small town near our homes in northern Vermont. He was just coming out of the bookstore, holding a pink plastic bag that, I would soon learn, contained a dozen eggs from his flock of free range hens. After a bit of small talk, Rick asked, “you don’t by any chance have a pair of jumper cables in your car?” I did. “Would you be willing to drive over to the post office and jump my pickup truck? I’ve been trying to park on hills until I can get a new battery, but there just ain’t enough slope at the post office.” After we got his truck started, Rick held out his pink plastic bag and asked, “Could you use some eggs?” As a matter of fact, I could: our elderly hens don’t produce enough for a family of four any more

Sharing Economy Will Screw, Real Problem Retirement

May 19, 2016 Steven Hill, www.alternet.org , ,
By Steven Hill for Beacon Press - Meet Howard and Jean, an older couple I know, who like so many Americans of the “greatest generation” plugged into the New Deal world that promised a secure lunch pail for the middle class. Howard is a World War II veteran who became a mechanic; when he was younger he worked on automobiles for a local Chevy dealership, and then on commercial airliners for United Airlines out at the airport. Jean was a housewife and part-time sales clerk.

The Sharing Economy Is Booming In Helsinki: Here’s Why

November 4, 2015 Anna Bergren Miller, www.shareable.net ,
By Anna Bergren Miller for Shareable - Helsinki is, in many respects, a sharer's paradise. The Finnish capital boasts a range of sharing economy platforms and services, from just-for-fun neighborhood initiatives to global for-profit startups. "There are both big and small examples, innovative and everyday ones, of how sharing takes place" there, summarized Pasi Mäenpää, a researcher in the University of Helsinki's Department of Sociology. If you want to share it—whether "it" is car or a meal, a skill or a services—chances are good that in Helsinki, you can.

In The Era Of The Hunger Artist, We’re Crowdfunding To Survive

October 10, 2015 Matt Stannard, www.occupy.com , , ,
By Matt Stannard for Occupy, “People became accustomed to thinking it strange that in these times they would want to pay attention to a hunger artist, and with this habitual awareness the judgment on him was pronounced. He might fast as well as he could – and he did – but nothing could save him anymore. People went straight past him.” — Franz Kafka, “A Hunger Artist,” 1922. Kafka’s hunger artist made performance of suffering his art. In the dismal twilight of corporate capitalism, many of us are becoming hunger artists by necessity, performing our suffering in hopes others can help us out.

Break-Fast. Literally.

September 26, 2015 Eleanor Goldfield, www.artkillingapathy.com , , , ,
By Eleanor Goldfield in Art Killing Apathy - This morning, activists with Beyond Extreme Energy plus partnering groups and individuals broke their 18 day fast outside of FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). Their fast represents a ramp up of action aimed at FERC’s wild disregard for people or planet. At the event, activists, fasters, faith leaders, and people from fracked communities came up to share their stories, their experiences and offer up inspiration for a continued fight against big oil and gas and their bought off agencies. People sang, played, danced, marched and literally broke bread with each other.
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