Germany is a country with a strong tradition of craftsmanship. Well over 100 trades have shaped life both in the countryside and in the city. The many craft businesses “next door” bear eloquent witness to this. Not least the enormous willingness of craft businesses to provide training and the idea of do it yourself has meant that the use and possession of tools is commonplace in almost every household in our country: tools can be found in kitchen cupboards, basements and barns in vast quantities.
But what to do with them when they are no longer needed? Even in craft businesses, this question arises when there is no successor. We have been collecting these tools via a network of supporters for 22 years and have not yet noticed that the quantities donated to us are decreasing. On the contrary.
These tools – some of which are rusty – are cleaned and refurbished in our workshops and can then be used again. This is much more effective than throwing them into the scrap heap and melting them down. It is more effective because these tools are still needed and can be used to generate income – e.g. in Africa.
