Interview by Kath Jenkins

Continuing our series of interviews connecting with other organisations in Wales which share our core values of waste reduction, skill sharing and community cohesion, I met up with Ella, one of the three founders of Benthyg Cymru. Ella returned to Wales from South London in 2015 where she had volunteered at her local Library of Things. When she realised we did not have our own Library of Things in Wales, she co-founded the first one in east Cardiff with Becky Harford and Jane Booty, two familiar faces on the Cardiff volunteer and third sector scene.  Since then, they’ve been working hard alongside their respective day jobs to develop plans for a Wales-wide borrowing network and are currently working on projects which will bring Libraries of Things to Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Penarth and Monmouthshire.

I was very keen to find out more about this exciting project and started by asking Ella how Benthyg Cymru’s activities result in waste reduction, a major environmental benefit close to our hearts at RCW as repairing something, rather than throwing it away, results in less waste being sent to landfill:

“We completely agree with Repair Cafe Wales’ core values and our ethos at Benthyg Cymru is to help communities create spaces where you can:

  • borrow things you need but don’t own​
  • donate things you own but don’t need 
  • meet to share knowledge and skills 

This not only provides short-term benefits, as donated items continue to be used rather than disposed of in landfill, but it also increases products’ lifespans, and we can get more out of our resources. The idea is to make borrowing easier and more attractive than buying something new. Ultimately we want to make borrowing as easy as popping out for a loaf of bread.”

I continued by asking Ella about how Benthyg Cymru promotes skill sharing which we engage in at RCW, as our visitors are invited to sit with their volunteer repairers to watch and discuss the repair, enabling skills to be passed on:

“We encourage our network members to show how to use equipment that someone may not have used before. We would love to inspire new hobbies and empower DIY novices who may have thought that the idea of, for example, putting up a shelf was daunting. Skill sharing events have been limited due to the COVID pandemic but there have been some great virtual events run by other organisations such as Green Squirrel.

We also support network members to create videos showcasing the stock in their inventories which can be borrowed, to raise awareness and to demonstrate what the equipment can do, empowering people to learn new skills and hobbies.”

I also wanted to know more about how Benthyg Cymru promotes community cohesion which RCW’s pop up sessions aim to do by inspiring and connecting local residents from different backgrounds:

“This is fundamental to our values. Libraries of Things in the Benthyg Cymru network need to be owned by local communities with decisions informed through steering groups which are representative of those communities. Our toolkit includes equality and diversity forms to monitor how we’re doing at engaging with people from different backgrounds, because inclusion and representation really matters. We encourage branches to be as accessible as possible by setting the borrowing price as low as they can and by offering non-cash alternatives. We also have a range of different opening times to fit around people with different schedules. Although social media is really powerful for publicising Libraries of Things, it’s important to use traditional media and face-to-face engagement (where possible!) to avoid inadvertently excluding people who aren’t on social media for whatever reason.”

This led on to my final question regarding the current restrictions which have meant that RCW has been unable to hold our pop up events. We have diversified and have held outdoor events in some of our cafes, such as in Llantwit, and in Cathays we have started a “Repair Service” where clients can arrange for their damaged items to be dropped off and repaired by one of our volunteers. We have also been streaming virtual repairs which can be watched here.

I asked Ella what impact the COVID-19 situation has had upon Benthyg Cymru’s activities:

“The impact has been massive for our operations and the disruption looks set to continue for a while. We have developed template COVID guidelines, ensuring social distancing and reducing the number of people who can enter a branch at any one time. We also recommend a 72 hour “quarantine” for returned items and/or disinfecting items before they can be lent out again. Although Libraries of Things can’t open fully at the moment, being a non-essential service, we can offer click and collect borrowing, supported by an online platform. This allows members to browse, reserve and pay online.

We are developing projects in Pembrokeshire, Penarth, Monmouthshire and Swansea which we are working towards getting off the ground this Spring. We’ve got lots of plans to work with partners to find creative solutions and continue to operate within ongoing restrictions so that we can share the sharing love wherever possible. We do need to raise awareness of exactly what resources we have available to our community”.

For further information about working with Benthyg Cymru to get a Library of Things in your community, or finding your nearest Bentnyg Cymru network member, please visit their website. You can also follow them on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We hope you have enjoyed finding out about Benthyg Cymru. Join us next time to find out more about another Welsh organisation which shares our core values.