A little story.... last week I posted a 'wanted' notice on Penrith & Eden Freegle for a sewing machine, and got 2 offers the same day (one from a PACT member actually!). I collected from the lady who made the first offer, it turned out to be an old Singer sewing machine very similar to one I've used previously. So far I've completed a couple of small projects on it and it seems to work very well, so a great acquisition and another example of the benefit of being a freegler. It also allows me to 'recycle' old bits of material into something more useful.
From my own time living in the developing world it's also a reminder that many people overseas would be astonished that you can pick up an asset such as a sewing machine for nothing. In India it would be a route into employment, allowing someone to run their own small-scale tailoring business, whereas in reality it would be a major investment to buy, in fact even the purchase of cloth can be prohibitive for someone to get started.
In the same way bikes such as those appearing on freegle from time to time can also be a major expense in the developing world, yet would also provide a way of reaching work opportunities a little further afield, or even using the bike itself to act as a local courier.
Today I went to our local recycling site in Appleby and found just dumped there a kitchen bin and a washing up bowl, both in very useable condition so I've them brought away.
In general it'd be great if we can all recognise the value & benefit of almost anything either to our immediate community or even to others further afield. Anyway great to see Freegle working well and continuing to expand in this area!
Group tag:
Forums: