What an evocative and positive name! But what exactly is this store?
La boutique du partage is a place of exchange, donation, borrowing and bartering, located in the heart of the Breuil in Nantes.
It is a place and a concept perfectly in phase with sustainable development, since it answers the three main issues:
Social issues: sharing means meeting people and creating social links
Economic issues: here, we share for free, so that everyone can access goods, services or knowledge.
Environmental issues: sharing and reuse are the best ways to fight against overconsumption
A place of donation, barter and loan
The place is divided into several spaces. First, an outdoor space, where everyone can come and help themselves.
Then, an indoor space, accessible only by membership (7€ for the year). Thanks to this membership, each member can come and borrow/collect 3 objects per month. If people want to come and get more items, they have to barter, that is to say bring back other items in exchange!
In the basement of the store is the "trucothèque", a lending space. Members can come and borrow a raclette set, fondue set, chocolate fountain, tools, etc...
If a member is looking for an object that is not available, he can register on a board, and he will be contacted if such an object comes to be given to the store (for example a shopping cart, a double stroller, a toaster...)
The store no longer collects clothes or large household appliances, for storage reasons.
If objects remain too long in the store, they are then redirected to useful boxes or book boxes, with free access.
Creating social links through activities all together
The store also organizes workshops such as walks, school supplies sales before the beginning of the school year, or Christmas decorations sales at the end of the year. Once a month, a workshop is organized to share know-how: knitting, origami, painting, home-made cosmetics...
The store has more than a hundred members from the neighborhood but not only. Non-members can also come and drop off items at the store.
As for its management, the store has an employee as well as volunteers, without whom this citizen and participative project could not function.
Within the district, several stores share this associative concept of sharing:
An associative café
l'Affaire et dans le sac: with a membership of 1€/month, people are entitled to food and hygiene products twice a month
l'Entre-deux, a second-hand clothing and donation store
This is a very dynamic neighborhood, which has a real desire to develop these associative concepts, to create social links while making itself useful for the community.
To find out more about the boutique du partage or to become a volunteer: https://www.laboutiquedupartage.fr/
By the way, if you are looking to get involved in an association and become a volunteer, there are different national websites on which associations post ads: https://www.francebenevolat.org or https://www.tousbenevoles.org
Thanks to the volunteers for these nice exchanges, it was great to see motivated people serving the community :)