LUMi is all about developing, encouraging and everyone gaining from power of sharing, but we are not the only brilliant (and modest) sharing resource in Norwich.
In this section we've highlighted some amazing other sharing organisations in the city, alongside some great resources to help you along on your sharing journey.
The Summer of Sharing Resource Pack
If you're looking to get involved in an existing sharing project in Norwich or you're after inspiration to start your own, look no further!
As Norwich is the UK's first Sharing City, we've created a collection of amazing projects which are already up and running plus collected guides, sharable equipment and links to help you run your own.
Let's make 2019 the most sharable summer ever! #NorwichSharingCity
Norwich Sharing City Campaign
Norwich Sharing City is a non-profit campaign for Norwich to become the UK's leading sharing city by the year 2020, and join a global alliance of connected cities that are embracing the rise of the collaborative economy.
Norwich Sharing City aims to bring together local communities, associations, businesses, institutions and authorities to define the goals, projects, events and initiatives of the campaign to strengthen Norwich and our challenges through sharing.
To find out more about the campaign visit their website:
Norwich Sharing City – The UK's first sharing city
Summer of Sharing Resources - 8 tips on hosting a clothes swap (Sharable)
If you're inspired by New-U and fancy having a go running your own mini clothes swap event either for your friends or wider community. Then Shareable has a great resource with their 8 tips on how to host a successful clothes swap.
https://www.shareable.net/8-tips-on-hosting-a-successful-clothing-swap/
Summer of Sharing Resources: A Guide to Setting up a Community Farm (FEA Network)
If you are inspired by great projects such as Norwich Farmshare then this will be a useful guide for you. Produced by Charlotte and Ben Hollins,of Fordhall Community Land Initiative. This practical guide is aimed at groups of people looking to set up a community farm, and at farmers who may be interested in developing a different relationship with their local community.
Summer of Sharing Resources: A Guide to Starting a Men's Shed (UK Men's Sheds Association)
Are you excited about the concept of a Men's Shed and becoming a Shedder having read about the Norwich Men's Shed? Men's Sheds come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and can offer a range of different key activities.
Starting your own Men's Shed needn't be a daunting task, and by surrounding yourself with other people who share the same vision and passion it soon starts to feel less overwhelming. We'd definitely encourage you to visit the Norwich Men's Shed and have a chat with them. But thankfully UK Men's Sheds Association has produced this great guide to get you started:
https://menssheds.org.uk/docs-all-uk-sheds/Starting-a-Mens-Shed.pdf
Summer of Sharing Resources - Community Food Growing
Community food growing comes in all different shapes and sizes. Approaches vary from sharing land, sharing vegetables to even crop mobs and sharing the effort! You can create a community vegetable plot pretty much anywhere – it could be a raised bed in a public space, a shared area on an estate, a revamped piece of unloved land, or in your front gardens along the street. It’s a great way to bring people together to build on a shared passion for food.
TCV and their community food growing is a great example that, with a little effort can be replicated in your local neighbourhood. We've found this useful resource to help get you started from the RHS.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/resources/food-garden
Summer of Sharing Resources - Community Fridges, A 'How to' Guide (HUBBUB)
Has the Heartsease Community Fridge project inspired you to make a difference in your local community and you want to know more?
With a little guidance, you too can make surplus perishable food freely available to people who need it. As we become more aware of the impact of waste on our environment , community fridges are a tried and tested way of stopping good food ending up in the bin. Did you know the average household throws away £470 worth of food every year and at the same time four million people in the UK are living in food poverty?
Thankfully, Hubbub have put together a ‘How To’ Guide and Resource Pack to help you navigate the set up and running of a successful, safe and celebrated Community Fridge in your neighbourhood.
Summer of Sharing Resources: Helping Businesses Share Your Staffs Expertise & Passion
If reading how The Boundary Pub responded to their community's needs has got you thinking. Here are a couple of useful websites to help you get the ball rolling with your business.
A good starting point is to understand the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for your business. We found this useful blog to get you started by The Cause Artist to shift your thinking from a daunting undertaking, to creating a simple, tangible action plan. Helping you positively change both the community and your company.
https://www.causeartist.com/five-steps-to-building-a-corporate-social-responsibility-program/
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to Create Your Own Seed Swap / library
Norwich's annual seed swap is an exciting and inspiring event. All that promise of growth and potential! You too can set up a seed swap for your local community.
The basic is idea is that you plant the seeds, let some go to seed, then return some of these next generation seeds for others to borrow. You may want to set up you or library or simply get together with like-minded people and have a swap. Whatever 'root' you go - happy growing!
We've two useful resources for you, Richmond Grows has a great website and has put together a guide to help you organise your own seed swap:
http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/how-to-organize-a-seed-swap.html
We've also included from Shareable a guide to setting up your own seed library:
https://www.shareable.net/how-to-create-your-own-seed-lending-library/
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to Organise a Plant Swap like a Pro (Homestead Brooklyn)
If you're anything like most green fingered plant lovers we know, the chances are you have plants and cuttings in every nook and cranny! Then organising a swap plants maybe just the ticket!
Inspired to give it a go? Then we've found this great guide from one of the top homes of Sharing to get you started, produced by Homestead Brooklyn.
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to Organise a Street Party (StreetParty)
If reading about Mill Lane's street party has spurred you on to arrange a party for your local street or community. Then you'll be pleased to hear having a street party is easier than you may think and it will definitely be worth it!
You can do it, it is not difficult, and this useful guide produced by Streetparty tells you the key points. Do bear in mind that guidance is only for residents organising a simple street party in 1 or 2 quiet streets without external publicity.
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to Plan a Community Meal (The Family Dinner Project)
Has reading about FoodCycle's community meals inspired you to help feed your local community? Then this great website produced by The Family Dinner Project is just what you need!
Guiding you in fun ways to help people in your community to have healthier, more meaningful meals. This guide, provides tips and materials for both hosting and facilitating a successful event.
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to set up a Good Neighbour Scheme
Good neighbour schemes like the one established by West Parade Residents Association are a fantastic way to share your passion for people, by offering a helping hand to others in their local community. Each group is different, but will often include transport assistance, social activities and a befriending scheme. Popular with volunteers for its flexibility and popular with people because they can rely on a trustworthy and friendly face.
If you are interested in starting one then this guide by Good Neighbours can send you down the right path:
https://www.goodneighbours.org.uk/set-up-a-good-neighbours-group
Summer of Sharing Resources - How to Share a Park
Establishing a Friends of Group such as The Friends of Jubilee Park, is a way you can make a real difference, not just to the quality of your own life, but also for your family, your friends and your neighbours. It is very rewarding to see a precious green space giving a focus to community spirit and activity, used well and enjoyed.
Produced by Green Space & Cabe Space this comprehensive toolkit helps people wanting to start or develop a community group aimed at improving local green spaces. It shows the benefits and mutual support that can be achieved by working closely in partnership with the local council.
Summer of Sharing Resouces - How to Soup Guide
If Fine City Soup has wetted your taste buds to starting your own micro-grant soup event as a 'souper' easy way of kick starting and funding community activity in your local neighbourhood. Then help is on the way.
Detroit City are the founders of the Soup movement have helpfully put together this guide to help you get started:
https://detroitsoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WhyandHowtoSOUP_Eng.pdf
Liftshare
The concept behind Liftshare, is pretty simple. Liftshare helps drivers and passengers link up, you share the cost of the journey, save the environment and reduce the stress by driving with and meeting some amazing people.
It's quick and easy to arrange, affordable, and a brilliant organisation we're proud to have in Norwich.
Find out more on their website:
Shareable
Shareable is a fantastic web resource for sharing transformation, which simply put is an international movement of movements emerging from the grassroots up to solve today’s biggest challenges.
Grassroots up is key to their work, their website is an amazing source of inspiration with a range of resources and guides through stories from other likeminded community groups and organisations.
As they so nicely put it: When individuals embrace sharing as a worldview and practice, they experience a new, enlivening way to be in the world. Sharing heals the painful disconnect we feel within ourselves, with each other, and the places we love. Sharing opens a channel to our creative potential. Sharing is fun, practical, and perhaps most of all, it’s empowering. It enables us to experience and do things we never thought possible.
Summer of Sharing Reources - Sharing through Social Enterprise
Social Enterprises are businesses wanting to change the world for the better - Exactly like The Missing Kind and their Kinda Kafe. There are so many different ways a social enterprise can have a positive impact on their community.
If you are inspire but not sure where to start the website Power to Change is a great starting point with inspirational ideas for developing a community businesses:
Summer of Sharing Resources - Share books through a Little Lending Library
Old Library Wood's little lending library is a super simple but effective way of sharing books. If they have inspired you to start you own little lending library, we have found this great guide to setting up your own from Shareable. You don't event have to build one if you don't want to!
This helpful little guide will talk you through the steps you need to get your started. Don't forget though to get the land owners permission!
https://www.shareable.net/so-you-want-to-build-a-little-free-library/
WEBINAR: Buy Less, Share More: How the Sharing Economy Improves Wellbeing
The most pressing challenges facing us today, wealth inequality, climate resilience, technology addiction, and social isolation - have the potential to be mitigated by improving the ways that we share resources with each other.
This great webinar brought to us by Shareable and The Network of Wellbeing, is definitely worth watching. As Norwich works towards its Sharing City Aspirations, Tom Llewellyn from Shareable helpfully discusses the key steps for embracing a sharing culture.
You can watch the full webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81zYZGApvQ. or
Or thanks to The Network of Wellbeing catch the highlights in this useful summery: https://networkofwellbeing.org/2018/12/05/buy-less-share-more-how-the-real-sharing-economy-improves-wellbeing/.
How to organise a ShareFest
A ShareFest can have a huge impact on your community.
It can introduce the public to sharing through first hand experience and education. It can promote the sharing resources that already exist and help connect them to support each other to grow the sharing movement locally or a ShareFest could even be used to brainstorm what new shared resources you want to create for your city.
Whatever you wish to achieve from your ShareFest, this helpful guide produced by Shareable will help you on your way.
Sharing City Book: Activating the Urban Commons
"Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" showcases over a hundred sharing-related case studies and model policies from more than 80 cities in 35 countries. It witnesses a growing global movement and serves as a practical reference guide for community-based solutions to urgent challenges faced by cities everywhere. This book is a call to action meant to inspire readers, raise awareness, and strengthen the sharing movement worldwide. "Sharing Cities" shows that not only is another world possible — but that much of it is already here.
This is a read any sharing enthusiast should not fail to read!
You can download it as a PDF for free from the Shareable website here: https://www.shareable.net/sharing-cities
Or you can make the most of a brilliant share from Reworks on our stuff page and borrow their copy of the book here: https://www.lumi.org.uk/stuff/view/199/