Prefigurative Community Building (Part 8)
Sharing What We Need: Tool & Seed Libraries as Power With in Action
In a world dominated by consumerism, privatization, and planned obsolescence, access to basic tools and seeds has become gatekept by wealth, zoning, and scarcity myths. Yet the things we need most, such as tools to build and fix, and seeds to grow and feed, have always been meant to be shared. When we reclaim them collectively, we shift from survival as individuals to resilience as a network.
Tool and Seed Libraries are more than a clever way to save money. They are prefigurative systems of mutual support, where we decentralize resources, reduce waste, and co-create local abundance. Done well, they embody Power With, rather than Power Over, by honoring every participant as a contributor, steward, and beneficiary. No bosses, no customers. Just neighbors caring for shared capacity.
Why Start a Tool & Seed Library?
Break the cycle of consumer dependency by reducing the need to buy tools or seeds individually.
Build relational infrastructure that reinforces mutual trust and care.
Increase food sovereignty and DIY resilience at the neighborhood level.
Reduce waste by recirculating what already exists.
Create points of connection across class, skill, and culture divides.
This is resistance made practical. And beautiful.
Step-by-Step Guide: Start Your Own Power With Tool & Seed Library
1. Start Small and Local
Gather a few people who are interested in mutual aid, gardening, DIY repair, sustainability, or collective resource sharing. Emphasize from the start that no one is in charge. You’re building something together, not for others.
Begin by asking:
What tools or seeds do we already have?
What does our neighborhood most often need or lack?
Where could we store or share them?
This helps ground the project in existing needs and assets.
2. Choose a Location That’s Already Connected
You don’t need a building to start. Many successful libraries begin in:
A garage or shed
A community garden
A co-op house
A corner of a local cafe, faith center, or maker space
Even a weatherproof outdoor cabinet
The key is accessibility and informality. Avoid anything that demands permits, insurance, or paid staff unless absolutely necessary. Keep it rooted in community, not compliance.
Resource:
Little Free Libraries – while focused on books, their model and materials (like neighborhood maps and cabinet designs) are easily adaptable to tools or seeds.
3. Build a Culture of Trust, Not Surveillance
Avoid systems that require heavy tracking, gatekeeping, or punitive rules. Instead of fines or fees, use community agreements:
“Return tools cleaned and within a week unless you check in.”
“Label seed varieties clearly if donating.”
“If something breaks, let us know. No shame.”
Put shared responsibility over individual policing. Trust is cheaper than enforcement and far more generative.
4. Keep the Structure Horizontal
Roles like tool maintenance, seed organizing, and outreach can be rotated or taken on by affinity. Decisions can be made in open meetings or consensus circles.
Avoid hierarchy creep by:
Having no single “leader”
Publishing your guiding values clearly
Designing systems that anyone can step into or replicate
You’re building Power With, so the system should feel inviting, transparent, and duplicable.
Resource:
Patterns for Decentralized Organizing – a great free guide to consensus, facilitation, and shared leadership.
5. Design for Use, Not Perfection
You don’t need perfect shelves, a barcoded checkout system, or branded signage to start.
Focus on function:
A pegboard or bins can hold tools.
Mason jars and envelopes can hold seeds.
A shared spreadsheet, chalkboard, or bulletin board can track what’s available.
Let the system evolve through use and feedback. Simple is resilient.
6. Invite Contribution Without Pressure
Encourage donations of tools, seeds, time, or knowledge, but never require them. Everyone has something to offer, even if it’s just care.
Examples of contribution:
Fixing a tool that’s been returned broken
Saving seeds from this season’s harvest
Teaching someone how to use a miter saw
Designing a flyer or updating the inventory
Let people step into roles that feel meaningful to them.
7. Make It a Gathering Point
Hold seasonal events:
Seed swaps and garden planning days
Tool sharpening or repair workshops
Potlucks and DIY skill shares
Clothing or book swaps alongside the tools/seeds
These gatherings create connection and memory, the real foundations of any resilient system.
Two Inspiring Real-World Projects
Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library (Richmond, CA)
This open-access seed library lives inside the public library. Anyone can “check out” seeds for free, grow them, and return saved seeds at the end of the season. They’ve created a starter kit to help others replicate the model.
Berkeley Tool Lending Library (Berkeley, CA)
Since 1979, this community resource has lent everything from circular saws to pressure washers, entirely for free. It's now a model for tool libraries across the country and emphasizes skill sharing and neighborhood trust.
🔗 Berkeley Public Tool Library
Bonus: Community Meals as Anchor Points
Hosting periodic community meals alongside your library efforts invites deeper relationships. Whether it’s a soup night using garden veggies or a potluck after a seed swap, shared meals turn resource sharing into social cohesion. Meals create space for storytelling, intergenerational connection, and informal learning, all of which strengthen the mutual care your project depends on.
Why This Work Matters
Tools and seeds aren’t just objects. They’re potential, to build, to grow, to fix, to feed, and to share. In a world of artificial scarcity, reclaiming that potential collectively is a political act. It says: we will not be dependent, divided, or disposable.
Tool and seed libraries give us a way to rehearse the future we long for. A world where enough is shared, where value isn’t hoarded, and where power grows between us, not over us.
Let’s start building it, one shovel and one sprouting bean at a time.