Benthyg Cymru bringing communities together

from Cardiff Times - January 2023

Fashion done your own way

Benthyg Cymru bringing communities together by creating a culture of environmental sustainability

by Natalie McCulloch

We’ve all heard the saying ‘sharing is caring’ and during the Pandemic we saw a resurge in the neighbourly spirit of yonder years through ‘random acts of kindness’ such as people offering to help with chores that others were unable to do, neighbours buying groceries for those unable to get to shops and people donating time and skills to help others in need.

Social media was showered with people asking for, or offering, assistance and the nation seemed to unite, in many ways, on common ground. According to government statistics, during the pandemic a record “33% of people surveyed had volunteered informally at least once a month, which is the highest percentage on record. People have helped one another across communities from getting a neighbour’s shopping and prescriptions, to looking after a friend’s children.”

Leading on from this sense of community spirit and kindness come community interest companies such as Benthyg Cymru which have been established to help build communities and help individuals when they need it most to support and develop a Wales wide network of Libraries of Things.

Benthyg Cymru is best described as Wales’ “Library of Things” and has one simple goal; to make borrowing easy. Benthyg (pronounced ben-thig) is a Welsh word meaning borrow or lend, so the name, and the aim, of the not-for-profit makes complete sense in this day and age. Current financial strains on the nation may mean that the cost of living may prevent some ‘non-essential’ purchases – but, thanks to places like Bethyg Cymru it doesn’t always have to mean missing out!

These ‘libraries’ have been set up to provide benefit to communities around Wales by creating a culture of resilience and environmental sustainability that brings communities together to share items, knowledge and skills.

Items available to borrow include gardening supplies, DIY tools, fitness kits, camping equipment and much more, all available to borrow for less than you'd expect to pay second hand, and with the opportunity to pay in time instead of cash. Popular items are carpet cleaners, gazebos, pressure washers & then seasonal items such as camping equipment. Each library will have their own inventory of items depending on what the local community needs/wants to borrow.

Members may be charged for borrowing an item with all money generated from borrows going back into the project to fund repairs & upkeep of the inventory items. However, method of payment is negotiable. Payment methods include – Money, Time Credits or Skills. There is no charge for individual membership, but you may make a donation. Organisations, both commercial and not-for-profit groups, will be charged a small membership fee.

borrow regardless of their situation so they have created a concession membership for borrowers who might not otherwise be able to borrow because they are unemployed, receiving government support, on a low income or receiving the state pension. If you’re unsure of how ‘best to borrow’, please don’t hesitate to give the friendly Benthyg team a call!

Thanks to Libraries of Things in the Benthyg Cymru network people can access items at affordable prices which will hopefully enable people to do DIY tasks they’ve dreamed of, go on family camping trips without the full cost of a tent purchase as well as donating things they don’t need themselves to save space and help contribute to national waste reduction targets.

As with a lot of organisations, their work wouldn’t be possible without their amazing volunteers. Since Benthyg Cymru's beginning, volunteers have been a valuable resource to both the service and the wider community. By volunteering, people are not only helping a local community through community involvement, they will also be developing new skills and broadening their own horizons.

Libraries of Things offer a social meeting place where people of all ages and backgrounds can borrow and donate household items with skill sharing promoted through repairing and testing our items. They recognise and value those who have a wide range of hands-on practical and interpersonal skills and rely on its committed team of volunteers to deliver and maintain a high-quality and reliable service.

Some of the skills needed to sustain Benthyg include the following:

• Hosting / Reception / Front of House (Helping members borrow things)

• Social Media (Shouting about how awesome

Benthyg is and what we have to offer)

• Administration / Organisation (Helping keep us super streamlined and efficient)

• Events (Organising really cool events to share skills and showcase our things)

• Repairer / Fixer / Tester (work together to troubleshoot, fix and maintain our things)

• Skill Sharer (plan and host practical events on

DIY, sewing, gardening or upcycling) There are now quite a few ‘Libraries of Things’ open across Wales, with interest growing and more libraries in development. Their vision is simply to create a Wales-wide network of Benthyg’s with a branch in every neighbourhood, so wherever you are in Wales, you can borrow whatever you need cheaply and easily. If you feel your local community could benefit from one of these libraries and you feel you would be the right person to set one up, that’s brilliant! You can contact the friendly team at Benthyg Cymru who have a tool kit to help an organisation/ group ‘set up base’ and offer support following this, as well as a network of members to share experiences with.

One of the most recent libraries to pop up is Benthyg Splott which was set up using funding from National Lottery. This funding is only for a short time and they need more volunteers to support the ongoing success of the project as well as more people to utilise its service.

Becky Harford, co-founder of Benthyg Cymru

said: “We launched Benthyg Cymru to build strong communities based on sharing items, skills and neighbourly support as well as easing the financial burden so many of us are facing right now. Benthyg Splott is another example of the commitment Welsh citizens are making to each other, their local areas and the fight against climate change and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”

Benthyg Splott is currently open on Wednesdays 102pm. They also offer free delivery/collection across Cardiff on a Friday 10-2pm. Similarly, there is another Benthyg based at ACE, Dusty Forge, Ely which is also covered by the mobile delivery service.

If you like the thought of what you read and you want to get on board with borrowing, or help others to do so, please do not hesitate to get in touch, your help would be very much welcomed!

Splott@benthyg-cymru.org

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