An international social movement aimed at giving for the good of giving in your own neighbourhood has come to Guelph.
The hyper-local Buy Nothing Project connects people in their own neighbourhoods and lets them give goods and services for nothing and ask for goods and services for nothing, all in the hopes of connecting people.
“It’s about people, not things,” says Tara Hesch, the Guelph woman who brought the Buy Nothing Project to Guelph’s east side two weeks ago.
The group, which runs through Facebook, already has 65 members.
“It’s very hard, nowadays, to meet people and to get to know your community,,” said Hesch, who moved to Guelph two years ago. “I didn’t even know my neighbours for a year.
“I find people are just becoming so closed off that this provides an opportunity to give where you live and meet your community.”
The movement’s motto is “Buy nothing. Give freely. Share creatively.”
There’s no buying and selling. No bartering or trading.
“They believe that not only do we have stuff to give, but we all have some sort of abundance. We don’t give as a charity, we give because we all have excess: be it time, or stuff or self.”
Someone might have a stroller they no longer use, someone might be going to the grocery store and be willing to give someone a ride if they don’t have a car or someone might have a skilled trade they’d like to share with their neighbours.
Hesch plans on making a plate of baked good to give away, asking only that people make one themselves to give away to someone else.
No money gets exchanged. All that is asked for in return is a note of gratitude on the group’s Facebook page.
Because the Buy Nothing Project is hyper local, Hesch’s group coves the Brant/Waverly/Grange Hill East neighbourhoods on the city’s east side.
She is hoping others are interested in starting one in other neighbourhoods.
“The organization keeps it hyper local,” she said. “They want to keep it small so it’s more about community and meeting people. Once you grow big, you start to lose sight of that.”
She’s had people ask to join, but they live on the other side of the city.
“I have to say ‘I’m sorry, but I’ll help you get one set up in your neighbourhood.’”
Up and running for just two weeks, the adults-only group already has 65 members.
“We encourage people that once they give or get something, just express gratitude. When you thank somebody for giving something, everybody feels good. That’s what promotes community, we think,” Hesch said.
The Buy Nothing Project was started in 2013 by two women in Washington state, and has since spread to 30 countries.
Hesch took a two week online training process in order to be allowed to set up an official Guelph chapter.
“Our local groups form gift economies that are complementary and parallel to local cash economies; whether people join because they’d like to quickly get rid of things that are cluttering their lives, or simply to save money by getting things for free, they quickly discover that our groups are not just another free recycling platform,” the organization’s web site says.
“A gift economy’s real wealth is the people involved and the web of connections that forms to support them.”
