Case Studies

The South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) organised, through their previous delivery partner, South West Community Matters, a Community Benefit Fund. This Community Benefit Fund previously enabled SWPA to award local community groups and small charities, with grants to support further impressive initiatives and aid these groups in continuing the great work they achieve in their local, South West communities.

One of the groups to receive a grant, was Sustainable Tiverton, who used the grant to support the Share Shop Tiverton. From their beginnings, as Sustainable Villages in 2008 based in rural villages close to Tiverton, the group has grown into a multi-project volunteer organisation working across the whole Tiverton area. One of the remarkable projects achieved has been the Share Shop, along with the Repair Café, the Re-Rooted surplus food café and Community Fridge and the Tiverton Tree Team, amongst others.

The Share Shop opened in 2024 and is a community store, including household, garden and outdoor equipment, which you can borrow affordably instead of having to purchase.

This initiative is particularly useful for items you may need for cleaning, DIY jobs, household chores, assembling furniture, seasonal events and one-off gardening tasks, and projects.

The aim of the shop is fourfold:

1. Cost Efficiency: Enabling people to acquire and borrow items for a short amount of time, that they may have only needed once or twice a year. This reduces the need to buy items at a higher cost and enables people to get a job done without spending too much of their money.
2. Recycling: Items in the Share Shop are recycled; multiple people can use the items, multiple times, and they are not wasted, or thrown out. In an age where items can be bought for temporary use or single-use, and then thrown away, it is important to re-instil an item’s longevity and usefulness, which in turn can help the environment and carbon footprint.
3. Accessibility: Making items used in the home and garden more accessible for those, who would usually not be able to afford to buy them. Additionally, the local location of the Share Shop means people avoid having their items posted to them from far away locations or travelling further to buy them. Many people locally can reach the Share Shop on foot, and this helps people without readily available transport as well.
4. Sharing: Bringing the community together, to share useful tools and items, and helping each other with the skills needed to use them. This ensures the items are looked after and kept in good condition.

The Share Shop have over 200 items available to borrow in their online catalogue, and impressively, the number of items available is still increasing!

The Share Shop depends on donations and volunteers. For information on joining, volunteering, or donating, please visit their webpage: www.shareshoptiverton.org.uk. Alternatively, to get in touch email the shareshoptiverton@gmail.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram @shareshoptiverton.

For more information on SWPA’s Community Benefit Fund and our Social Value Statement, please use the links provided.