After a two-year hiatus because of COVID, MAKE SMTHNG Week has relaunched with the support of Greenpeace Germany. Like many things that are refinding their way back, this year’s events are part of a soft re-launch that is aiming to expand beyond Germany to become a global campaign again next year. You can find all scheduled 2022 events here.

And don’t let the name fool you, MAKE SMTHNG events extend out across several weeks to increase the opportunities for impact. “We’ve seen that the shared experience of making things with others can lead to lasting change in both the lifestyle choices of participants and in the way that they engage with their communities,” says Shareable’s Tom Llewellyn. “We’re proud to be collaborating with Greenpeace and other partners to support communities to host events where people can opt-in to an alternative way of celebrating the holidays while forging new relationships and behaviors that will last throughout the year.”

There are many ways to be involved in MAKE SMTHNG Week 2022. Participants can attend an event, but the organizers also suggest planning an event of your own and sharing about the movement on social media. And you don’t even need to make your event public to participate. It’s the action that matters, so whether you’re making things with friends and family or going it alone, the most important thing is to just MAKE SMTHNG.

The spirit of MAKE SMTHNG can apply to all sorts of activities: whether it is cooking food instead of buying, using food scraps to make a broth, upcycling clothing or other materials, or reusing pieces of broken items to make new DIYs, creativity can play a huge part in sustainability. As we continue to work toward creating a more just, more eco-friendly world, we will have to work together to coordinate the best ways to use resources that are respectful to the planet. MAKE SMTHNG Week is a fun way that everyone can participate in sustainability, just by creating something at home. Use hashtags #MakeChangeNow, #MakeSMTHNG, #BuyNothing, and #MakersforClimate when you participate.

Editor’s note: this article has been updated and repurposed from an original post in 2019.

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Get our free ebook: “Beyond Waste: Community Solutions to Managing Our Resources.”

The post What will you make during ‘MAKE SMTHNG Week’? appeared first on Shareable.

House of Commons is a workshop hosted at the 500 Capp Street Foundation, the home of the late conceptual artist David Ireland. Since 2016, the facility has operated as a museum, highlighting art and architecture projects by global artists.

500 Capp Street’s latest exhibit celebrates the research of California College of the Arts professors Neeraj Bhatia and Antje Steinmuller, who brought together over 30 examples of communal living from recent and historical samples. The end result of this exploration is an engaging exhibit that showcases their work alongside that of architecture firm Open Workshop, which was inspired to create several speculative designs based on lessons they derived from the pair’s research. 

So, what makes successful co-living possible? 

Communal living takes many forms, but successful co-living communities often share a few commonalities. Here are the takeaways from the Open Workshop’s House of Commons exhibit about how successful communal living is often done. 

1. Dedicated private and public spaces 

Ironically, the ability to access space — and time — away from others is key to communal living. In other words, community has to be opted-in to in order to grow organically. Case studies in House of Commons range from those that include private dwellings to those with shared rooms, but all examples contain some form of private and public space and a clear delineation of the two. 

Take for instance Tribe, a company that runs a co-living space in San Francisco’s SoMA neighborhood. Tribe offers shared a office space, a media room, a workout room, a large living room, and a large kitchen, but all bedrooms are private (either singles or doubles). Most of the case studies examined in House of Commons share the same ethos. 

2. Connection to social causes, intentional gatherings, and events

Co-living and the values of social justice, inclusivity, and acceptance have historically gone hand-in-hand. During San Francisco’s hippie era in the 1960s and 70s, many communal living spaces sprung up in the Bay Area, becoming hubs for radical thought and activism.

Examples included communes like Kaliflower in San Francisco and Essex in Berkeley, both of which operated in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. At modern-day homes like Chaortica and the Embassy, the ethos of change through community lives on as members work on volunteer projects, host community events, and live collaboratively together. 

3. Clear expectations and communication systems 

While co-living has numerous benefits, there’s no denying some of its challenges: it requires near-constant negotiation and communication. For that to work effectively, residents need to know what is expected of them and have clear communication norms. Communities need to have agreements about how decisions are reached (through voting, consensus, elected leadership, etc.), which spaces remain private and which are considered public, how resources will be shared, and how responsibilities will be divided.  

At the Canopy, a 5,600 square foot house in Oakland, CA, a dozen residents manage their house by collectively budgeting for shared food, hosting regular dinners, delegating schedules for chores, and most importantly setting shared values agreed upon by all members. Canopy house values include play, collaboration, accountability, equity, compassion, creative empowerment, and a growth mindset but values at communal homes should be as unique as the people who live there. The most important part of values and communication is buy-in: all residents should be aware of and agree to the terms, whatever they might be. 

4. Spaces designed for their user’s needs 

While some co-living communities are designed for a mix of different residents (families, students, young professionals), many of the case studies in House of Commons focus on a particular group of people, like entrepreneurs or artists. These specialized communities create spaces that are tailored to what their individual groups need. Chaortica, for example, caters primarily to artists and activists, so the house includes a library, greenhouse, and workshop for its residents to utilize.

5. Affordability

Supplementary benefits of communal living go far beyond the financial (companionship, collaboration, support), but many people are drawn to communal living because of the prospect of lower-cost housing.

Accessing affordable housing in America is often a difficult feat, especially for young people who are still building their careers. By co-living, individuals are able to access nicer amenities than they typically would be able to afford on their own. This is especially true in the Bay Area. The workout space, co-working/office space, and large kitchen offered at Tribe, for example, would be impossible for most residents to afford by themselves. For comparison, rent at Tribe starts at $825 for a shared fully furnished room, while most 1-bedrooms in the Bay Area start at close to $2500/month!

All in all, co-living can help communities thrive

Co-living isn’t right for every person or every community, but it can have many benefits, especially in highly-populated urban areas. Communal living can help reduce isolation and provide safe, affordable housing for people who would otherwise struggle to live comfortably, offering the opportunity to collaborate, support others, and share resources. 

Successful co-living requires clear communication, respect, and boundaries, with communal living spaces thriving when they are intentionally designed and maintained.

House of Commons demonstrates the many ways communal living can be done, highlighting examples from the present and the past that demonstrate the power of sharing space and building community. 

House of Commons is on display at the 500 Capp Street Foundation until May 31, 2022. Learn more and plan a visit to the free exhibit here.

Check out these related articles on communal living:

• Three ways to co-Create a vibrant co-living culture
• These 4 cohousing projects are creating thriving communities
• 5 co-living spaces for creatives in expensive cities

The post House of Commons exhibit examines how successful co-living spaces operate appeared first on Shareable.

When the Walbridge fire ripped through northwest Sonoma County last year, Mills’ home was threatened, and he spent hours each day checking for updates on Facebook and Twitter, which were exploding with messages from concerned homeowners just like himself. CalFire, the state’s major firefighting administration, only provides updates about once a day, leaving municipalities–and individuals–to fend for themselves in between. Concerned citizens keep their ears glued to radio scanners and blast out updates to their social media followers, sometimes numbering in the thousands.

But Twitter and Facebook were never designed for the type of information distribution that massive wildfires require. As a long-time technologist and software engineer, Mills wanted to help. So, he got to work. “All I wanted to do was build these guys a bigger microphone. I am not trying to change anything about how they operate, just give them a platform.” 

With the help of a volunteer team of “citizen information officers” and other software engineers, Mills built Watch Duty, a free app for real-time wildfire information that currently provides updates for Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties. Within days of its August 2021 launch, Watch Duty had over 22,000 active users. Most of the citizen information officers who work with Watch Duty had large followings on social media, and brought their audiences to the app.  “I’ll be out somewhere and hear our push notifications go off in people’s pockets. It’s incredible,” said Mills. 

The trick to Watch Duty is its simplicity–the app sends push notifications to users with the latest information on fires uploaded by their vetted citizen information officers. Beyond that, the user interface is basic. “Our product is doing well, because it’s super simple. It doesn’t cost much to operate,” said Mills. 

At the heart of Watch Duty are the organization’s citizen information officers, or CIOs, most of whom are local to the regions that they provide updates for. They post on the app as they find information through their own research, utilizing public forums, aerial photography and radio scanners. As long time experts, Watch Duty’s CIOs are well respected experts with roots in the community. “These guys are the trusted voice of these communities, and they tell everyone, ‘We’re building this app. You should get on it,’ so it just exploded,” said Mills. 

Watch Duty is designed to be accessible even to people who aren’t tech savvy themselves, like the elderly or those without reliable internet access. “We’ve gotten thousands of letters, telling us people feel safer, that they don’t have to be on social media all the time searching for information. It’s alleviated some anxiety for people,” said Mills. 

Watch Duty isn’t just used by citizens, either–firefighters themselves rely on the app to get the latest information from other agencies or regions. Mills makes it a habit to attend town hall meetings and other public forums and work alongside authorities. The approach has gotten positive feedback from the firefighting community. “Every firefighter I met mentions it. They all use it,” he said.

Mills relies on his team of experts to check information and make sure that the notifications sent to the app’s users aren’t just current, but accurate. Unlike social media, the information gets vetted before it’s broadcast. “Just because we hear something on the radio once, we don’t post it. We wait to hear it a few times at least, because we are trying to be a reliable source of truth.”

The operation is so far a resounding success, though maintaining it isn’t without its challenges. Without any paid employees, the organization has limitations. Compared to previous tech companies Mills has created or worked for, Watch Duty is scrappy and bootstrapped–not to mention, short on funds. “We need more people, more time. But our volunteers have jobs, they have homes and mortgages and kids,” said Mills. Because most of the software engineers who work on Watch Duty have day jobs, they pull a second shift at night to work on design and programming updates. Mills works evenings as well. 

Despite the hurdles, Mills plans on expanding to other areas soon, ideally reaching the entire state by next fire season. The app’s capabilities are also set to expand. They’ll soon launch a feature that enables citizens to post approved photos (first vetted by Watch Duty’s CIOs) to the growing platform. For Mills, the experience has been eye opening and inspiring. “I’ve never built anything like this before. I usually build things like enterprise software, seemingly unsexy things. It’s been truly explosive in the best way. I am so glad it is helping.” 

Watch Duty can be downloaded for free on the App Store or on Google Play. 

Check out these related articles and resources:

• Wildfire blackouts got you down? Start a battery collective like we did in Oakland
• The Response podcast: The impact of northern California fires on the undocumented community 
• Resources for community-led disaster response and resilience initiative

The post Meet Watch Duty: the nonprofit app crowdsourcing wildfire data in real time appeared first on Shareable.

Steve Trinidade runs the Urban Workshop, one of the largest makerspaces in North America. On March 16th, 2020, Steve got the call that the space would have to close for sixty days: no group classes, no in-person youth programs, and no members in the space.  Urban Workshop offers onsite storage for local artists, which they were able to continue, but all programming was shuttered. “We were forced to shut down. Adult classes went to zero. About half to two-thirds of our members canceled,” he said. Luckily, some members chose to continue paying their membership dues to help the space stay afloat, and Urban Workshop shifted most of their youth programs for local schools online. 

For Trinidade, the pandemic actually brought unexpected opportunities to strengthen and grow Urban Workshop’s community. “All but two of my original staff quit during the early days of the pandemic, because everybody was just scared to death. The uncertainty level was crazy. Once we got the OK to reopen, I had to hire all new staff and train everybody. But in hindsight, it was really the best thing that could have happened to me…we trained a whole new staff and took everything to the next level. It was fantastic,” he said. 

Other makerspaces took advantage of the pandemic to make improvements as well. The Dallas Makerspace, a large nonprofit maker community, remodeled their space while they were closed in order to reopen with more space and more amenities. “Prior to the pandemic, we had taken over the building next door and expanded into it, but with everybody still working in the space, the upgrades were very slow, particularly the electrical upgrades. So, to bring all the electricity over, to move our jewelry, glass, machine shop and blacksmithing shop over meant extensive work and shutting the power down. But during lockdown, the government never put restrictions on construction workers. So, we were able to let the team of electricians come in and take a full month to do all the electrical work,” said James Henningson, a member of the space’s board of directors. 

According to Henningson, the makerspace’s biggest asset—and the lifeline that allowed them to survive shelter-in-place—was its engaged community. “We had a large number of people who said from the start, ‘I am going to continue to pay because I want this to be here when things open back up. They really kept us strong, and we never really lost money over the course of the pandemic,” he said. 

As communities across the country begin to slowly emerge from lockdown, makerspaces have opened up again—and their members are thrilled to return.  Urban Workshop now has 360 members, more than they had before the pandemic, and is continuing to grow.  They are now offering both distanced group adult classes again and individual, 1:1 mentoring for makers. “We have come to realize community life is a big part of this.  People sign up for the equipment, but they stay for the people,” said Trinidade. 

The nature of makerspaces—the need for large rooms with plenty of square footage for equipment and workstations—also lends itself to social distancing, which has assisted in their recovery. “Our space is 36,000 square feet, so people are sort of bound to be spread out and distanced in the space,” said Henningson. 

Although the state of Texas’ shelter-in-place rules allow for the Dallas Makerspace to increase occupancy, they have chosen not to do so and remain at 25% capacity most of the time. Dallas Makerspace is a 24-hour space, so members can enter any time and are rarely congregated in large groups. “We feel safe, because we know that we are making decisions guided by rational scientific thinking. There’s very little risk of disease in our space to our knowledge,” said Henningson.  There have been no reported cases from exposures in the space since it reopened. 

Alongside reopening their physical spaces, makerspaces are creating digital ones as well. As makerspaces look toward the future, they are taking the lessons of the pandemic with them, including broadening their definition of community to include accessible online programming. Trinidade is even developing a makerspace education course to help other people start and run their own makerspaces with Urban Workshop as a model. 

Dallas Makerspace offered Skillshare logins to all their members when they shut down and created online courses that they could take alongside the many already available on the platform. “Our goal going forward for long-term success is to build out a full digital content library, and digital tools to offer value for members alongside all our physical assets,” said Henningson.   

The post-pandemic “new normal” will look quite different, but there is no doubt makers will be as important as ever. For Trinidade, Henningson and other makers, creating is a pathway to community, in 2021 and beyond. “I walk along the shop and see people working on things in groups, and none of them knew each other before. As the owner, I see my job as identifying these connections. I tell people the minute they walk through the door, ‘Whatever problem you’re facing, whatever project you’re trying to make, somebody in this room has already done it, and can help,” said Trinidade.

Related Stories: 

• Everyone’s a maker at this library makerspace
• Meet the Maker Space in a Church Basement

The post Making in a post-pandemic world: How U.S. makerspaces are recovering from the pandemic appeared first on Shareable.

Although we can’t attend classes or connect in person, there are more educational offerings online than ever before that allow us to share our knowledge and make connections. 

One of the most popular online learning platforms globally is Skillshare, which has reached more than 8 million people all over the world.

Lockdown learning platform 

Skillshare allows experts of all kinds to create online courses on design, creative writing, leadership, and more. 

Because course creators using Skillshare — such as the award-winning authors Roxane Gay and Mary Karr — are well-respected in their fields, paying them quickly and accurately is a crucial part of the business model.

There’s no room for error, so Skillshare uses the payables platform Tipalti to make sure those payments are sent on time. 

The Shareable team browsed through the thousands of courses available on Skillshare, and found courses on teamwork, creativity, leadership, and change-making that can brighten up your quarantine and support creators. 

1. A class on advocacy for sharing activists

Whether you are a seasoned activist or simply passionate about a social cause, this course will help you take simple steps to become a stronger advocate. In this course, you’ll complete a small scale advocacy action plan that covers committing to developing effective action, choosing the right action for you, setting achievable goals, crafting your message, and defining your audience. 

Learn more: “7 Simple Small Steps to Small Scale Advocacy Action”

2. Keep it simple

Minimalism is a cornerstone of sustainability and the sharing economy — possessing less decreases our ecological impacts, and we can share things with others rather than having to own them ourselves. This course by author Erin Boyle is an introduction to the positive benefits of minimalism and how to get started with it. 

Learn more: ”Everyday Minimalism: Find Calm and Creativity in Living Simply”

3. Be the change you wish to see 

Do you have a vision for your community, or see a problem that could be served by a nonprofit? In this class, a seasoned consultant walks you through all of the tools you will need to start your own nonprofit. You will learn about naming your organization, registering and fulfilling your legal obligations, how to staff your organization, and how to fundraise for your new venture. 

Learn more: “How to Start A Nonprofit Organization” 

4. Journaling prompts and “writing for self-discovery”

Writing is an act of self-care, says Yasmine Cheyenne, a mental health and spiritual-wellness writer, speaker, and coach. Her course offers six journaling prompts, and a toolbox of styles, that aim to improve mental health and well-being. 

As many of us navigate the stresses of COVID-19, natural disasters like wildfires, and a contentious presidential election, self-care is more important than ever, and enables us to be better involved as members of our communities. 

Learn more: “Writing for Self Discovery: 6 Journaling Prompts for Gratitude and Growth”

5. Being a team player remotely 

If you’re new to working with others remotely, as so many of us are doing these days, there’s absolutely a learning curve to this skill. When every member of a working team lives in different parts of one city, country, or scattered across the globe, we have to participate in “remote collaboration.” This course breaks down the complexities of remote collaboration into compact, bite-sized modules, providing you with the key ingredients you need to foster tightly-knit, high-performing teams. This is also a great course for anyone who spends time working in groups and teams as most of the strategies covered are fully applicable to any collaborative context, online or in-person.

Learn more: “Online Teamwork: Manage Remote Teams & Master Remote Collaboration” 

6. Freelancing? Put a price on it

As we have covered extensively at Shareable, freelance workers and gig workers are often not paid as well as they deserve and have limited support systems and labor rights. 

In this course, author, educator, and artist Peggy Dean will teach freelancers tips for pricing their work at a rate that is fair and equitable. 

Learn more: ”Pricing Your Work: How to Value your Work  as a Freelancer”

7. The power of your voice

The internet is an incredible resource for creating community and sharing resources and ideas. But in order to have impact online, you need to have a unique voice and perspective. 

This course by Youtuber and content-creator Nathaniel Drew helps students find and hone their voices to create a powerful online presence. 

Learn more: “Creativity Unleashed: Discover, Hone and Share Your Voice Online”

8. Communication counts

Good communication is the foundation of strong relationships and positive change. If you want to become a better communicator, this course by educator Alex Lyon will be perfect for you. Strong communication skills can help you become a force for good in your community. 

Learn more: “Communication Skills: Become More Clear, Concise and Confident”

9. Everything you need to know about events 

We couldn’t pick just one events-focused course here because there is so much depth within this category. Courses here range from where to start when planning an event to organizing an amazing retreat, to how to get parents to volunteer for school events. The skills covered in these courses could easily be applied to sharing events such as swaps, repair cafes, and activism and advocacy-related events. 

Learn more: Check out courses in the events category 

Plugging into platform power

If you’re hoping to learn something new this fall, check out one of these courses on Skillshare, or teach one yourself if you’re a creative! 

For Skillshare and other businesses that rely on paying many vendors accurately and on time, the payables platform run by Shareable partner Tipalti is crucial. 

Learn more about Tipalti and its work to support creative businesses all over the world.

*Tipalti is a Shareable Sponsor and this article includes affilliate links.

The post Learning in quarantine: 9 courses to try on Skillshare  appeared first on Shareable.

And that was true even before COVID-19 came along and gummed up so many of the business world’s traditional payroll and payment mechanisms.

Shareable sponsor Tipalti can help by improving the process for paying contractors quickly and equitably.  

Today, Tipalti is making a difference for some of the most innovative platforms of the sharing economy: 

1. Skillshare: Teaching talent — and paying for it

The teaching platform Skillshare enables skilled practitioners — such as artists, writers, designers, and entrepreneurs — to create courses for millions of members all over the world. 

Its model depends on timely payments of professional-level fees to teachers who are respected in their fields. 

Tipalti got the work of managing those payments out of the way, enabling the Skillshare team to focus on supporting their teachers. 

“It’s very important for Skillshare to have a platform like Tipalti. Providing people with a system where they can get paid on time, however they want, is a huge benefit of our platform,” said Leslie Pesante, the company’s head of finance. 

2. Flytographer: Vacation photography connections worldwide

Canadian startup Flytographer connects photographers all over the world with people who want to book a photoshoot while on vacation or on other family trips.

Flytographer photographers capture family gatherings, engagement and wedding events, and more. Local photographers can also give clients travel and tourism tips. 

For photographers, Flytographer removes the burdens of finding clients, marketing, and billing, which can be a major time suck for creatives. 

Flytographer operates in 300 destinations worldwide, so it’s critical that the company provides a smooth payment process no matter where a photographer is based. 

Flytographer uses Tipalti to automate their payment process so that photographers have a digital, self-serve hub where they can update all their payment details themselves. This creates efficiencies by relieving Flytographer’s back-office staff of having to manage each photographer’s payment details individually. 

“Photographers don’t have to do any of the customer acquisition, marketing, or vetting. They get served up shoots and can opt in or opt out, all online. And once they provide a great photoshoot experience for the customers on location, we can pay them quickly,” said Flytographer CEO Nicole Smith. 

3. Swing Education: The best way to substitute

Traditionally, substitute teachers have very little control over their work. They are paid less than full-time teachers, and they are often called into work with a phone call early in the morning, usually with no warning. 

Swing Education is working to change that.  

The platform connects K-12 teachers to schools that need substitutes, and also provides them with better pay and complete flexibility over when and where they sub. 

During the pandemic, Swing Education has also helped teachers find families that are struggling with distance learning, and looking for support for at-home learning pods. 

Swing Education pays weekly, which means that they need a payment solution that’s quick and automated. 

That’s where Tipalti came in. 

“Because of Tipalti, I’m no longer worried about our Accounting and Finance operations—I’m confident that our substitute teachers will get paid on time and be completely satisfied with the process,” said Melanie Reeves, the company’s director of finance. 

4. United Language Group: Found in translation  

United Language Group employs thousands of linguists and translators around the globe to facilitate truly international commerce and cultural exchange. 

ULG’s translators are paid in a variety of currencies and methods — and prior to using Tipalti, it took up to two weeks for ULG to get their translators paid. Managing each translators’ payment preferences and personal information alone took hours of back-office time. 

After switching to Tipalti, ULG’s payments are processed in just a day, and translators can update their personal information themselves. 

5. SmartShoot: Global photo solutions

Photographers around the world who work strictly for businesses are turning to SmartShoot to connect with new corporate clients. 

In order to keep photographers focused on the work they love — creating great content for global brands — Smartshoot needed to pay them equitably, fairly, and quickly. 

Tipalti made this all possible, wherever their photographers are located. 

Supporting sharing economy providers

Especially during a pandemic, contractors of all kinds, all over the world, rely on sharing platforms to find work. 

But this often leaves them vulnerable to poor infrastructure or unscrupulous businesses. 

Tipalti’s automated and intuitive system gives contractors the tools that they need to advocate for themselves and get paid on time. 

It also allows the companies that employ them to continue attracting talented workers. 

Although finance and payables are mostly invisible, when they go wrong, they’re impossible to ignore.

Great payment tools like Tipalti are key components of the future of work — during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

The post Where’s my check?! 5 platforms using Tipalti to skirt the sharing economy’s biggest snag appeared first on Shareable.

Clovis, a small Central Valley city, bundled several innovations together to create an express lane for new housing creation. At the center are accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or secondary dwellings on the same lot as an existing home. To promote them, Clovis leaders drew up pre-approved ADU plans, gave them away for free, connected homeowners for peer support, and guided applicants through the construction process. 

Sometimes called in-law suites, granny units, or tiny houses, ADUs are viewed by housing experts as one part of a multifaceted solution to the housing crisis. However, getting them permitted and built is not always fast or easy. Some cities have zoned against ADUs – but in many places those roadblocks are coming down. 

After a state law loosened restrictions on ADUs in 2017, Los Angeles issued 35 times the number of ADU permits it had approved two years earlier. Adding ADUs got easier in November 2019 when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that allowed every single family homeowner to add up to two additional units. 

“The update to state law that made it easier to bring ADUs onto private properties really made things fall into place for us, and we are so grateful that happened,” said Maria Spera, a planning technician with the city of Clovis.

The Cottage Home Program, as the ADU initiative in Clovis was known, was envisioned as a way to make Clovis’s alleys hospitable and friendly places rather than unused space, but it quickly grew bigger. Originally, the free plans were provided to any property owner with alley-facing property, but those restrictions were lifted and the plans are now available city-wide. Clovis has gone so far as to provide three complete, pre-approved plans for ADUs, free of charge, to its residents through the program.

Interest in the program has been so widespread the city hasn’t had to do much outreach. “It sort of does its own legwork,” Spera said. “We have seen a lot of them interested in putting elderly parents in them, even children attending school. Some rent the units or use them as short-term rentals.” 

So far the program has yielded 11 ADUs – and permits are in place for six more. Nine of the new units have already been rented out. 

Once owners look over the plans and apply, the city provides them with permits and helps walk them through the process to build their ADU. 

“Within 10 to 15 days, we give them a call and let them know they can come pick up the plans and their permits and start building,” said Spera. The plans have been standardized to meet city and state building codes, and include options for homes of three different heights, each measuring 500 square feet or less. 

State support for ADUs

The Cottage Home Program has helped to bring new life to Clovis while providing more housing options for residents and new income streams for property owners. “The vision was revitalization of the old town area, and the ability to have more housing in that area,” Spera said. “We see ADUs as a plus, for the property owner and the community. It helps the owners and it helps people looking for housing.” 

If property owners want to learn about building and renting an ADU, she puts them in touch with those that have been through the process before, and they share information about where to purchase materials, contractors, and other logistics. Spera also regularly visits homes of interested property owners and helps them with measuring out space to determine if an ADU would fit. 

The Cottage Home program has drawn much interest. “I get a lot of inquiries from other cities, either because they are developing similar programs and would like more information, or they would like to start one,” said Spera. “We are more than happy to give them as much information as possible, because we want to see this happening everywhere.”

Advocates point to a number of advantages ADUs bring. Among them:

• Allowing communities like Clovis to bring in revenue for existing residents and welcome new ones,
• Giving cities the ability to create new housing without pushing anyone out through major development or gentrification, 
• Opening the door for people to afford areas that might otherwise be inaccessible to them, 
• Offering residents an opportunity to keep elderly parents or young adults in the community. 

The Cottage Home Program makes building an backyard tiny home as simple and painless as possible, and homeowners have been enthusiastic about being a part of it. As California navigates its housing crisis and the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, creative solutions are more important than ever.

For more tiny house goodness, check these stories out:

• 11 Tiny House Villages Redefining Home
• Interviewed: The World’s First Tiny House Hoteliers
• New Documentary Explores Tiny House Living from the Ground Up

The post How Clovis, CA is fast-tracking backyard tiny homes to create more affordable housing appeared first on Shareable.

In the short film Reclaiming Work: The Cycle Couriers Subverting the Gig Economy, Black and Brown Films explores the development of bike delivery cooperatives across Europe. In Madrid, a group of biker delivery workers have formed a cooperative called La Pajara, one of many that have been formed in the last few years. While in Paris a web developer helped create CoopCycle, which is a federation of European bike delivery co-ops that’s democratically governed by the member co-ops and helps them pool resources and be more successful together. Bike delivery cooperatives are being formed in cities across Europe with one goal: so that workers have direct control of their wages and working conditions. 

When they ride for major companies like Uber, riders do not get sick pay or insurance, and for every delivery they do they are paid pittances (riders are not paid hourly). Riders are responsible for their own equipment and upkeep. “These companies like Uber and Deliveroo have created a really challenging environment to have a well-paid job…” said Cristina Robles, the founder of Pajara in Madrid, “it’s a total disadvantage for the riders.”

The cooperatives are up against major corporations with global brand recognition and near-total market domination. They aren’t as well-funded, as recognized or as supported as big brands, but they’re making progress and becoming more successful by collaborating. “The co-op idea was a lot of people gathered together, wanting to make change, wanting to create new worlds,” said Alexandre Segura, the developer who helped create CoopCycle.

Watch the documentary short here:

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Grubb loved his minimalist lifestyle, but there was still something he couldn’t quite bootstrap: quality climbing and outdoor gear. After years of scouring stores for sales and meeting up with strangers from Craigslist, Grubb decided there had to be a better way to acquire quality used gear.

About a year ago, now living in New Mexico and still a climbing enthusiast, Grubb and a couple of friends founded Rerouted Co-op: a marketplace for used gear, made simple. (Although the company currently operates as an LLC, they are planning to become an employee-owned cooperative.)

To sell gear, owners just send it to Rerouted, and the company handles the rest: storing it in their New Mexico warehouse; finding a buyer; shipping to customers; and pricing. “Nobody has to do anything but get us their gear. We do everything else — the sales, taking the pictures, writing the description, getting it on the website and making it happen,” Grubb says. 

On top of making the process painless, owners have the satisfaction of choosing an environmental nonprofit, to which Rerouted will donate five percent of the sale. When owners decide to donate instead of selling, Grubb takes the opportunity to donate 50 percent to the selected partner organization. Grubb also has a Mobile Gear Unit (MGU) — or “Magoo” as he calls it — which he drives to events and trailheads around the western United States, taking donations and sales, and coordinating gear swaps alongside environmental NGOs and outdoor access groups. So far, he has about 20 nonprofit partners, and the list is growing.  

With the Magoo, Grubb can be anywhere the gear is needed — whether that’s a trailhead, a climbing spot or an urban festival. “All we need is a parking spot and a place to set up our table, and we can do our business,” he says. Because owners can donate or sell their gear on site, the Magoo takes the work out of gear donations, incentivizing outdoor enthusiasts to jump into the sharing and reuse economy.

“I simply wanted to make it easier to buy, sell or donate used outdoor equipment, and to be the reliable, consistent service that enabled that exchange,” says Grubb.

Rerouted’s biggest goal is to get gear out of garages and back on the trail, the mountain, the lake or the river — and into the hands of people who need it and may not be able to afford it. And gearheads with piles of dusty equipment have been excited to help. 

“We have found that donations are the majority of the business,” says Grubb. “Because the guy who has a $5000 mountain bike, he’s going to sell that himself on Craigslist. But the person that has a garage full of equipment — they’re not going to sell that on Craigslist. That’s going to take up two weeks of their time, and people just don’t have the resources to stop and do that, especially if it’s a bunch of stuff that’s worth five, 10, 15 dollars. So that’s why we do so much work with our nonprofit partners.”

Beyond access, companies like Rerouted reduce waste. “Sustainability is the key, right? The Outdoor Industry Association says that $887 billion are spent every year in the industry. Imagine how much of that gear just gets stored because people have upgraded, or people have decided not to participate any more. There are billions of dollars worth of super-usable gear, sitting in garages, storage units and closets. Companies are pushing new products, but there are so many resources already sitting in storage,” says Grubb.

Rerouted has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign because demand is beginning to outpace capacity, and the company needs to scale up. Donors get discounts, “swag” and other incentives. “I would really like us to have brick and mortar stores in most outdoor communities, and facilitate a national used-gear trade. I would like to make it so gear is never stored,” says Grubb.

While he still makes plenty of  time to play outside, Grubb says, these days he rides in the Magoo rather than the Vanagon.

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Casey O’Brien: Can you tell me a bit about your role with Tipalti?

Paul Henderson: I’m the global controller; I oversee the accounting operations for the company on a global basis. That includes everything from your normal monthly close and accounts receivable, accounts payable, all the way through to financial and external reporting. We have a four-person team here in the U.S. and then we have another four-person team in Israel. 

How has the coronavirus crisis impacted your work specifically?

It has in the sense that with the U.S. team I was used to being in the office together. There’s a lot of daily interaction that you would normally have, just being able to talk across the desk about accounting issues or processes or something. You could fix it there on the fly, so that’s definitely changed with everybody working remote. 

There are a lot of companies that normally — even if other folks might be working from home part-time — keep finance in the office. With this crisis, what advice might you have for other companies that are in this same boat of trying to navigate doing something remotely that has never been done that way before?

I think first and foremost, it’s making sure that you’re having frequent, regularly scheduled communication with your team. So, for example, we have a team call every morning, 9am. It’s usually pretty quick. It’s really about just making sure we’re all on the same page of what we’re going to take care of that day and really focusing on the important things. I make sure that the team knows that they can have access to me any time throughout the day.

I think the other thing is making sure that you’re utilizing cloud technologies for your ERP [enterprise resource management software]— your employee expenses — using a lot of the collaboration tools like Google Drive and Zoom and Slack. Those are all tools that we use to make sure that we’ve got regular, constant communication. We use NetSuite as our cloud ERP, so we can access it as long as we have internet access. We can work together and collaborate on things as we’re trying to get our daily work done. 

And you haven’t had any concerns around security with those collaboration tools?

No, all the tools that we use — including our own tool Tipalti, which we use for our accounts payable part of our process — all have appropriate controls reviews around their service that are performed by consultants and accounting firms to validate that the security is appropriate. 

If companies were not using financial platforms like Tipalti before, but now might be interested in switching during the crisis, do you think that your tool is something that could be implemented and learned remotely?

Absolutely. When we did our own implementation of it and integrated it with NetSuite, a lot of us were not in the same room together. In fact, with our team in Israel, we did all of that training remotely as we were working through the implementation, and continued to provide that feedback on an ongoing basis. It’s definitely helpful and it doesn’t require everybody to be in the same place. That’s the beauty of the tool. Somebody in one location can get the invoice process started, and then different people that have to approve it are all in different locations, but because we have the tool in place, it’s all fairly seamless. 

And it also allows folks to still get paid during this crisis, even if there’s no one in the office to be dispersing checks?

Yes, exactly. There has really been no slowdown in our ability to pay our vendors, and I think that’s the same with our customers. They’re still able to keep paying their vendors through our tool as long as they’ve got the capital coming in on the other side.

Great. I wanted to hear a little bit from you as well about your initiative to try to support COVID-19 response from nonprofits and mutual aid groups.

It’s pretty exciting for us to be able to contribute. We have a program right now where we’re waiving our platform fees for guilds, nonprofits, and trade associations and trade groups. This will enable them to be able to quickly and efficiently make payments out to their members using our tool. And again, they can do it all from home — they don’t have to have their employees in the same place to be able to work. They can use our tool to do that.

For folks that have not used the tool before, are there some resources for them to learn how to use it?

Yes! Part of the implementation includes our team working with them to train them on how to use it, especially tailored to their use case. So, different companies may have different ways they want to use the system and make those payments. Our implementation team works with them to design it the right way. When they go live, they have the knowledge and the understanding of how the system works within the context of their processes to make those payments fairly easily.

Have you seen some interest in that already? It seems like it was just recently announced, but I was curious what the response has been from folks.

I know of at least one trade organization that we’ve been working with to help them use our tool to make payments to their members. [They are now] able to provide some relief funds to their members.

That’s great news. How do you think payment platforms like Tipalti can serve as leaders in this time when folks are really trying to navigate doing things in a different way?

If you think about a company that is impacted fairly significantly by the shutdown, but they still want to be able to keep good relations with their vendors and make payments where they can, there’s a lot of data within Tipalti that they can be using to schedule out their payments and plan cash flows based on what’s coming in. I think that’s something that companies will find helpful. There’s also a lot of traditional companies out there that are still in the mode of physically writing checks, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t be doing most every payment electronically.

Right. In a way, Tipalti is better-prepared for a shutdown than a lot of other companies because you’re pretty used to doing a lot of things remotely anyway.

Absolutely. I think when we get to the other side of this, you’ll find a lot of companies really taking advantage of what they learned to be able to be more nimble in case of future issues like that.

I think it’ll be interesting to see how the work environment changes after this is all done. Do we find that maybe we don’t need to have everybody in a single office? Maybe we can be just as efficient and effective remotely with the new tools that are out there now.

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