Goal: To help participants discover existing gift-economy projects, imagine new ones, and leave with plans to create more free sharing in their communities.
Introduction (10 minutes) participants introduce themselves
Brief Lecture: What is Gift Economy? Gift Economy is a system in which people share goods, services, skills, knowledge, food, and care without expecting direct payment. Gift economies already exist all around us—in families, friendships, volunteer organizations, mutual aid networks, free stores, community gardens, and online projects like Wikipedia.
Watch one a video HERE
Read the handout (also posted at the link below) and suggest what also could be included
FREE WORLD - everything free in the SF East Bay
Check out the gift examples below and think about what you might be interested in
Food Serving Community Dinners
Food Not Bombs
Sikh Langars
Community Fridges
Free Pantries
Food Rescue & Give-Aways
Farmer’s Markets,
Dumpter Diving
Gleaning
Free Stores
Buy Nothing, Free Cycle
Street Medics
Wikipedia
Really Really Really Free Markets
Little Free Libraries
Pay‑What‑You‑Can / Gift‑Based Cafés
Community Gardens
Time Banks
Tool Libraries
Repair Cafes
Seed Libraries
Open-Source Software
Couchsurfing/Hospitality Exchanges
Skill-Sharing Workshops
Mutual Aid Networks
Housing Shelters
Free School Projects
Bicycle Co-ops
Community Childcare Exchanges
Spend 3 minutes by yourself writing down what you could give away for free, and another 4 minutes writing down what you would like to receive for free.
Form a small circle with others and discuss - what gift-economy project would you most like to start? What can you give? What do you need? What project excites you?
Each group share their ideas with the entire group.
Action Planning - Look for possible collaborators. Think about what is the first step? what is a 30-day plan? what are the challenges? Exchange contact info and write down a To-Do List.
Closing Circle - Leave with a concrete commitment and report back to the group.