"Paul Crosland and Edmund Johnson asked me to help them promote their new project, Freelender, at the Buddhafield Festival. In return for helping them, I'd get into the festival for free. I am pretty fussy about what projects I'll support but Freelender (www.freelender.org) fitted the bill perfectly. Its aim was to maximise use of resources in local communities, through a website where people could borrow and lend stuff (from books to bicycles) to and from those who may not otherwise be able to afford them. Not only does it save people money, it makes better use of limited resources and helps build resilient communities through acts of kindness and trust. Very similar ideals to the Freeconomy Community and a good example of an organisation springing up to fill another part of the 'gift economy'; a social movement in which goods and services are regularly given without an explicit exchange agreement, relying on informal custom and the culture and spirit of giving.
I wasn't sure if Buddhafield would be my type of festival. Much as I wanted to help Freelender get off the ground, I was concerned there might be too much Chai Tea and Tai Chi for my taste. But Paul and Edmund offered to get me in and make sure I didn't run out of food for the five days, so I decided to go. During the day I worked in a tent handing out leaflets and questioning people about their attitudes towards borrowing and lending. We ran a Freeshop from which people could take things they needed for free and leave things they didn't want any more, set up a borrowing and lending service for things like blankets, wellies and so on and organised liftsharing so that people could get home from the festival for free." (p144-145)
(Mark Boyle, 2010)
Why not join "The Lend-It-All Man" in offering what you can on freelender.org and seeing what it's like to open to a world of generosity. It starts with you sharing.
Register at freelender.org here, then add a sewing machine, a beach-hut or just a DVD.
Also consider taking next steps with ecomodo.com (and raise money for charities from renting out your less-frequently used stuff) or, if you have stuff to give away too then try letsallshare.com as well as the usual suspects
(Join The Moneyless Man facebook page and www.justfortheloveofit.org)
(One of the Moneyless Man's green blogs on the Guardian -how to dance & make merry without spending a penny)
And if you publish (in any form) why not interview The Lend It All Man, Paul Crosland, by ringing him/texting on Zero 780 70 66 202