A value-sharing, decentralized library of open, replicable social projects.
The Commons Library is a decentralized library of community projects and open social business models.
Our goal is to make it easy for anyone, anywhere, to start meaningful local projects that strengthen their communities — from food co-ops and repair cafés to community currencies or local learning hubs.
Each project in the library comes with:
- 🧩 A clear description of how the project works
- ⚙️ Open-source tech tools (when relevant)
- 📖 Guides for onboarding people, communicating, and running operations
- 💰 Advice on funding, donations, and long-term sustainability
Everything is open and reusable — so a local group can simply fork a project, adapt it to their context, and begin.
Our goal isn’t just to share blueprints, but to help every project be financially sustainable.
Each local initiative can receive its own donations or funding, while a small portion of those funds can flow back to the Commons Library to maintain this shared infrastructure — keeping the whole ecosystem alive and self-sustaining.
Right now, we’re in the early phase — building the library together.
The most valuable contribution at this stage is to help us gather and document replicable social projects:
- Describe how an existing project works
- Show real-life examples
- Write a guide on how to start and run this project locally
- Add notes on communication, community-building, funding, and operations
You don’t need to be technical to contribute — this is about sharing practical knowledge and making it reusable.
If you’d like to contribute, see 👉 contribute.md
The Commons Library aims to become a global peer-to-peer knowledge commons, where:
- Projects are distributed and hosted by the people who use them
- Communities can replicate and adapt what works
- Funding circulates fairly to support both local action and shared infrastructure
Explore. Fork. Rebuild your community.
| Project | Description | Location | Replicable |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Thingery | A community “library of things” where people borrow tools, equipment, and gear instead of buying. | Ilkley, UK (and global model) | ✅ |
| NE Swap & Play | A community-run space where families share clothes, toys, and time — reducing waste and building neighborhood ties. | Portland, Oregon, USA | ✅ |
| Little Free Library | A global grassroots movement of book-sharing boxes that inspire reading and connection. | Global | ✅ |
| Repair Café | Volunteer-run events where people fix broken items together, share repair skills, and prevent waste. | Global | ✅ |
| Template Project | A starting point for adding new projects to the Commons Library — follow its structure to contribute your own. | — | ✅ |
We’re continuously expanding the Commons Library with new examples of open, replicable social projects.
If you know a project that belongs here, or if you’ve built one yourself, please see contribute.md to learn how to add it.