The UMVERTEILER Project
The Redistributors go home office! While the student cafés are closed, we are sharing tips for a more mindful use of resources on social media. Join us there or help draft a hygiene or other concept for a room on campus dedicated to sharing and lending food and occasional-use items!
Current status? The project is run by members of the HU Sustainability Office student association and other Humboldt University students, as well as by a co-founder of the commons-based sharing platform Cosum. We aim to cooperate more officially with HU, possibly with an integration of an online-sharing platform on main university webpages.
What? The "Umverteiler" concept consists of three sharing modes:
1. Lending (home improvement and DIY tools, camping equipment, kitchen appliances, etc.)
2. Foodsharing fridge (sharing food before it goes bad!)
3. Free box/shelf (office supplies, kitchen utensils, etc.)
The cafés may contain a collection of items that can be borrowed for a short period of time (e.g. 7 days). Lending can also be organized online (e.g. via the commons-based sharing platform cosum.de) directly from student to student, and items to be lent can be left in cafés for a few days before being picked up by the borrowing student.
Foodsaver or anyone else with leftover or officially 'past the date' but still edible food can bring these to the Foodsharing fridge to be consumed by others.
The Free box/shelf allows items that are usable but no longer needed by their owners to be passed on to others rather than to be thrown away.
The goal: Consume less, create more community spirit.
Where?
3 sharing modes – 3 locations
Student cafés gain an additional role as places to give and take (or lend and borrow). This can also cause them to become more frequently visited and more open spaces for exchange and socializing. The three locations are:
Adlershof Campus– MoPS
Mitte Campus– Philosophy Students' Café
Nord Campus– Flora
How can you get involved?
- sign up for a shift at a student café (hang out there for 1 - 2 hours and take or give back deposits for lending items)
- Become a foodsaver and bring your rescued food a to Foodsharing fridge. Please also help us ensure that the fridge is always clean
- plan a community event in or near the student café (coordinate with the student café and/or contact us with your idea!)
Contact? Drop us a line at hu.umverteiler [at] gmail.com. We're looking forward to hearing from you!
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