I love schemes which link people with things to give, with people who want them; it’s co-operation and community spirit at its best.

Freecycle is probably the first idea that comes to mind, but you might be aware of other enterprises.

Freecycle links people with people who have items they no longer want to the people who want them. It’s a great way to keep stuff out of the landfill.

The Freeconomy Community, links people with skills to share. If you need a gardener, mechanic or cleaner you can ask in your local community. When you have something to offer back, just create your profile and wait for the asking to begin.

LETS is another way to share skills and gifts; members can swap items or trade skills for LETS instead of money.

Many people dream of the Good Life but don’t have the space to grow things. Although I maintain you can grow food without a garden, it’s not so easy when you want to grow larger or more items that can’t be grown in containers; especially as many allotment waiting lists across Britain are massively over subscribed.

And what about people that have huge gardens, but can’t take care of them?

I’ve talked about this campaign before, but some things just need mentioning again! Headed up by Huge Fearnley-Whittingstall, Landshare is on hand to connect growers with landowners.

The aim of Landshare is to become a UK wide initiative to make British land more productive and fresh local produce more accessible to all.

Over 43,000 people have signed up to share their spaces; so if you’re looking for land to grow crops, or have some square feet that could do with some TLC, why not join? It’s easy to get involved. All you need to do is post a listing and other users will get in touch with you through the Landshare website. You can also browse listings and contact the ones that look suitable to you.

Is anyone a member of Landshare? Are you finding it useful?

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