Somers Town Pop-Up

Somers Town Pop-Up, Ossulston TRA Hall, September 2021

So, what other community spaces, aside from empty high street shops, could be the focus of the next Think&Do pop-up? With the easing of lockdown, Think&Do began wondering if tenants and residents halls across the borough could be opened up to become vibrant hubs of community? What if under-used TRA halls could be hubs for residents to join together to share ideas, clothes, surplus food, learn new skills, repair, save money, and up-cycle stuff?

In September 2021, we demonstrated how this could be done when we hosted a pilot two week pop-up, with other local partners, up at the Ossulston Estate, Somers Town. During the pop-up, the hall was transformed. We welcomed over 1,200 participants. 500 servings of surplus Refugee Community Kitchen meals were created, shared and enjoyed. 250 clothes were swapped, hundreds of Camden local apples were pressed and juiced. There were eight days packed with events. We were particularly proud of resident feedback which informed us that this pop-up was considered to be a safe space which had achieved social integration.

At this pop-up, residents shared skills, hosted workshops and events. This included eco-storytelling, crocheting and mending and sharing food.
Highlights from our partners included:
• Surplus food from Refugee Community Kitchen
• Co-hosting with Hopscotch and STCA
• Toy swaps and childrens clothes swaps with Little Village
• History themed walks & screen printing from A Space For Us Now
• Bike Maintenance from Camden Cyclists
• Sewing workshops from Little Hands Design
• How can you save money and energy at home from Power Up North London and Green Doctors
• CO2, What can I do? From Mike Jenn and the Climateers
• Exploration of setting up a food coop with cooperation.town

Sharing Space

Building on the success of this, Think&Do is proud to announce the launch of a new Sharing Space at the Ossulston TRA hall. The first two sessions will take place on Wednesday 1st and 8th December. (link to sharing space project page in circular economy)