It's Time to Get Workin' with Hammer Time!

TGP is thrilled to start collaboration and join forces with an AWESOME Fort Collins organization called Hammer Time!.  Hammer Time! works under the DIY principle, empowering people to help themselves by sharing resources and working and learning together.  Their mission is right in line with TGP's belief that if we teach a person to fish, they'll eat (build, make clothes, garden) forever!

Hammer Time! has many programs and resources that empower people, including:

• An extensive "infoshop" that has  invaluable literary references in the form of books, zines, magazines, journals, videos, and newspapers; all for either borrowing or use on-site.
• A Free Store, which is based on the barter system, allowing anyone who is willing to donate items of their own and sort them, to take whatever they want of what others have donated.  Is that the coolest idea or what!?  What a way to halt the production of more "things".
  
• Their "Seams" Fabrication Station, where for a small suggested donation per hour, fibercraftpersons (yes, I'm going to use that word) can use all supplies for sewing, knitting, crocheting, or embroidering; including patterns and fabric.
  
• A Tool Co-op, which is basically a fully stocked workshop, where people can bring things that need fixing and use the tools there to get the job done, or perhaps build something new right on site. 
• And finally, TGP's favorite...their Community Garden! Similarly to TGP's UFO Giving Gardens, gardeners work together volunteering, and in this way increase their self-sufficiency and learn more than they ever could from a book!  It is a collaborative process, where everyone not only learns together through seeing what works and what doesn't, but also gains the fruit of their labor once harvest comes! 

Discussions are still in the works regarding how close or extensive the collaboration will be between TGP and Hammer Time! But as we all see it, the sky is the limit, and we all agree that by working together, our two organizations can provide an incredible resource for building community, sharing knowledge, and helping our FC residents become empowered...all while having fun and getting more connected!

A huge kudos to all the folks at Hammer Time!, who have grown it from a dream to a thriving reality and sustainable model, in just two short years.

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