ABOUT
Toolshed gathers and shares tools for living ecologically.
Ecological living means sharing resources, planning in longer time spans, and with deeper awareness of the world in which you are enmeshed. In ecological living there is no outside. This kind of living makes for a very rich experience of the world. As it happens, it is also becoming more necessary as the world changes with a changing climate.
The word ecology consists of two ideas from ancient Greek: oikos, meaning home and logos, meaning language. Combining these concepts in one word we get something like the language of home. So is your home simply your house, or could it also be the city or town where you live? Could it be the ecosystem of which your town is a part? The entire planet?
We place the tools we gather for living ecologically in four bins: Food, Kin, Shelter and Magic. You can read about what we mean by each term by following the links.
Please support our programs through a tax-deductible donation. Out 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor is Media Collective, Inc.
LAND and IDEAS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Toolshed uses the word ecology and explains this concept in terms of its roots in ancient Greek. In doing this we are following the tradition in which many of its organizers and editors were primarily educated. This is our first language and heritage, so to speak. However, we acknowledge that this concept of ecology and even the particular inflections we bring to it, owes a deep debt to indigenous thought and culture.
Further, as our on-the-ground projects are located in and around the city of Hudson, New York, it is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we live and work on the ancestral homelands of the Muhheaconneok (Mohican), who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.
Moreover, recognizing that such symbolic acknowledgements only go so far, we have actively engaged with members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, as consultants for our Ecoptian Collection, as workshop leaders and as advisors to our project. We are committed to sharing tools and resources with a broader public that these communities deem appropriate and to reciprocate whenever possible.
WHAT WE DO
Local Action
There is no ecology without place and Toolshed acts locally in Hudson, New York. Hudson is an interesting place for this project because it is a small city with a diverse population surrounded by rural communities and farms. There is a high density of people striving for ecological living in this area and so a lot to learn from and many case studies. In Hudson we have established:
- Toolshed Exchange, a tool lending library where anybody or any organization in the community can borrow tools for free, building a culture of shared ownership, reducing costs and creating self-reliance.
- The Ecotopian Collection, a circulating collection of books on the topic of ecology, as well as artworks and other objects housed in a public library. The collection is organized around the question of how can you imagine the place where you live in the future? (Eco +Utopia).
- Local workshops, events and projects that share knowledge and build community. These have included an ecological restoration project in a river ecosystem, a mobile solar power station, workshops and a DIY skatepark.
- A team of people researching tools.
Global Distribution
While we are committed to building resilience and serving the community where we live, we are equally committed to gathering and sharing tools as widely as possible. To that end we:
- Maintain this website as an on-line journal with essays and posts that are both commissioned and written by the editors.. The website has essays, tool descriptions and documentation of projects that we have undertaken.
- Share content and ideas on Instagram.
We are engaged in a long-term project to compile this material into a book with the working title, Recipes for Living Ecologically. This book will feed talks and exhibitions in the future.
WHO WE ARE
Concept and Creative Direction:
Toolshed was created by artist duo Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris (Sayler/Morris); and developed in collaboration with Timothy Furstnau.
On-Line Journal and Instagram:
This website is co-developed and edited by: Sayler/Morris and Furstnau. Initial commissions from Imani Jacqueline Brown who also contributed to overall vision and shape, as well as Shannon Mattern.
Kate Warren directs Toolshed’s Instagram. Kate is also the lead photographer for Toolshed.
Advisors and Consultants:
Heather Bruegl, Mary Caulkins, Nathan Elbogen, Jeffrey Lependorf, Sarah Morris, Clay Rockefeller, Scott Manning Stevens, Matt Stinchcomb, Yutaka Sho.
Partners & Funders:
Basilica Hudson helped incubate the project and provided many initial ideas and connections. Toolshed Exchange, our tool lending library, is located on the campus of Basilica and Basilica has also generously hosted numerous Toolshed workshops and events.
Hudson Area Library hosts and maintains Toolshed’s Ecotopian Collection developed with artist Mary Mattingly.
Funding for Toolshed has been provided by: Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley, the People and Planet Fund, the David Rockefeller Foundation, Spark of Hudson, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Berkshire Bank, the Puffin Foundation, CREATE Council for the Arts, as well as many individual donors and supporters.
Design:
Website design by Visual Aid Society and Development by Swarm, Inc.