tool kitchen bike cart

The Tool Kitchen is a community-based tool-sharing net­work of mobile work­sta­tions for teach­ing, build­ing, and fix­ing things.

Each sta­tion is custom-crafted by hand from locally scav­enged mate­ri­als such as pal­lets, futon frames, shop­ping carts, bike wheels and milk crates.

They are deployed at pub­lic events to teach, empower, and share local tool resources.

The Tool Kitchen is a sim­ple means for grass­roots neigh­bor­hood upgrad­ing. It enables local res­i­dents to fix up their homes on their own or with min­i­mal help. By shar­ing tools and skills, neigh­bors are able to col­lec­tively upgrade their prop­er­ties on their own terms, in an effort to keep the neigh­bor­hood afford­able and acces­si­ble to local residents.

This model can also be use­ful in dis­as­ter relief, as res­i­dents often wish to fix their homes rather than be relo­cated far away in a camp. And by stay­ing in their neigh­bor­hoods, they have the best options to rebuild their lives because they have access to their social cap­i­tal and fam­ily ties.

The Tool Kitchen took approx­i­mately 2 full days to build, after all the free mate­ri­als were sourced. In its first week, had over 60 instances of tools checked out, and 48 tools donated. Com­ing to a street cor­ner near you.