Free exchange of
goods, knowledge, and services.
Who we are:
Flatbush Mutual Aid is a grouping of friends and neighbors who have been active in community-building projects here in Flatbush, including community gardening and composting; food rescue; freecycling; holistic health; community supported agriculture (CSAs); community meals; and sharing of skills and resources.
We come from all walks of life. What brings us together is a “ya!basta, this has to change” feeling and a desire to work towards a sustainable community. We want to help people take responsibility for the stewardship of our planet.
We believe a better world is possible. We believe all of us can have lives that are more satisfying and more interesting, less stressful and less wasteful. We can do this by extricating ourselves, to the extent we can, from this "rat race" and developing our own networks of support and cooperation based on mutual aid. Flatbush Mutual Aid is exploring alternatives aimed at making this possible.
Proponents of mutual aid believe that cooperation and sharing are the basis of human society. Without them we would never have survived. It is what we do every day with friends and family and in times of disaster and hardship. We think mutual aid is the most ‘natural' way human beings can exist and thrive, and the only basis for a happy, just, sustainable world.
What we are doing:
We share services, knowledge, and items like food, clothing, household stuff, and tools freely among ourselves.
We hold regular afternoon potlucks and meet Saturdays for the community meal at Flatbush Reformed Church.
We put on workshops in which we share skills, tools and knowledge. These include:
- bicycle safety, maintenance and repair;
- sewing and mending; altering and revamping clothes;
- growing, rescuing, foraging, preserving and preparing food;
These workshops are free and open to all. These activities take place at Flatbush Reformed Church and in people's homes. Check out the FMA calendar for upcoming events.