Sharing economy 🔄🤝
Explore sharing economy projects and volunteering opportunities connected with community resource-sharing, lending, reuse, collaborative services and other ways of accessing goods or skills without necessarily owning everything individually.
Opportunities may involve repair cafés, community workshops, shared equipment, cooperatives or local initiatives where people exchange resources and knowledge. Some articles in this archive also explore the wider ideas and practices of collaborative consumption.
What is the sharing economy? 🔄
The sharing economy refers to arrangements in which people or organisations provide access to goods, spaces, services or skills through sharing, lending, renting or exchanging. These activities may be organised through digital platforms, cooperatives or local community networks. Some are commercial, while others operate through volunteering, mutual aid or non-monetary exchange.
Sharing resources and skills
Sharing economy initiatives can include tool libraries, community bicycle schemes, shared workshops, equipment lending, neighbourhood exchanges and repair cafés where people help one another maintain everyday objects.
Volunteers may help organise activities, maintain shared resources, welcome participants, coordinate exchanges or teach practical skills. Sharing arrangements do not automatically reduce environmental impacts or guarantee fair conditions. Their effects depend on how they are organised and used.
Community living and work exchangeA work exchange is an arrangement in which a traveller contributes an agreed amount of help to a host in return for benefits such as accommodation, meals or learning opportunities. Conditions vary by host. can involve sharing, but they are not necessarily sharing economy initiatives. If this subject interests you, check whether the project operates a genuine system for sharing resources, equipment, services or skills.
How to use this page
Check the publication date and confirm current activities, participation conditions, working hours, accommodation, meals, minimum stay and any fees or costs directly with the host or organiser.
For projects involving shared equipment or services, ask about access rules, maintenance responsibilities, supervision, insurance and any payments or deposits required.
Publication on Voluntouring.org does not constitute verification or endorsement of a project, platform or its economic or environmental claims.
Related opportunities: Community · Work exchange · Recycling · Alternative living
Last reviewed: October 2026.
Browse sharing economy projects and articles 🔄🤝
Browse the listings and articles below for initiatives involving resource-sharing, collaborative consumption and community exchange. Some older opportunities may no longer be available, so confirm the current arrangements before applying.
Do you organise a community sharing initiative, repair café, cooperative or other collaborative project where volunteers can take part in practical activities? You can submit your opportunity to Voluntouring.org for editorial review.
