About

The Sharehood is a community of neighbours that have recently started talking to each other and sharing goods and services in a small section of Northcote, Melbourne. A letter was dropped in the mailboxes of 240 neighbours:

“I'm interested in setting up a local community that shares the resources we have. The things I'm thinking of include sewing machines, tools, wheelbarrows, washing machines, wireless internet, cars (carpooling or car sharing) and probably a million other resources that I can't think of. Perhaps we could set up a fruit and veggie box co-op in order to bulk buy and reduce costs. We could organise co-ordinated garage sales between three or four streets, or “really free markets” where we offer everything we don't want anymore for free and grab anything we want from other houses. We could co-ordinate child-minding between families. We could put on garden working bee days in our respective gardens.

“We'd have a localised distribution system for our skills and our produce. If you wanted to share or trade your homebrew, your artworks, the sprouts you grow, your garden produce, your homemade jam or anything else you make, you'd have a little local community to distribute to. If you wanted to share your skills, whether they be in accounting, gardening, building websites (that’s me), bicycle or car fixing, essay editing, handiwork or anything else, you'd have a group of people within five minutes walking distance who want what you can offer. It'd be amazing to be able to borrow a circular saw for a day rather than buy one, or to get some accounting advice from a neighbour rather than pay for it; that kind of sharing is easier on our purse strings, is better for the environment, and will give us a feeling of community.”

A meeting was held, a backyard barbecue two weeks later and we were on our way. This website now allows neighbours to put up a profile of the goods they are willing to lend, the produce they create, the skills they are willing to share, things they want, contact details and anything else they might want to say about themselves. Logged in neighbours also have an events calendar, forums and photo galleries that anyone can post to.