Cage: next-gen hardware is "a better tool" which offers devs "more subtlety, more nuances"

The young co-creators of the Asheville Tool Library have been working on the project for months, slowly building support and putting together applications and paperwork for grants, matching funds and the launch of the ioby campaign.It's been long, tedious work, resulting in fiscal sponsorship from Empowerment Works, a national nonprofit that supports community-based projects, and a $1,000 matching funds contribution from the Center for the New American Dream through the ioby fundraiser.

The three founders are not strangers to this work. Llewellyn is founder of the REAL Cooperative, a former director of Sustainable Living Roadshow and a current campaign organizer with the Dogwood Alliance.Letts is former site manager for the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project in Montana, which is home to a longstanding tool library. Dominic is the founder of Charlotte Got Crops!,Educators describe the device's dynamic display a North Asheville neighborhood garden for single moms and their kids, and is a local permaculture activist.

Their mission is pretty straightforward: increasing access to a "share economy" while decreasing resilience on "traditional currency"; increasing access to shared tools and therefore decreasing overall consumption; increasing the knowledge base and skill sets in the community to promote self-sufficiency; and being a host site for community and educational events for residents and local teachers."We want to develop a class series around tools, tool maintenance, safe and proper tool use, tools for home and the garden, a tool class just for women, just for kids, etc.," Letts said.