Give sharing economy and 'sharing culture' a chance

Turkey has been home to some inspiring projects, organizations and communities in the recent years that offer alternatives to today's market-based, monetized economy. Gift economy, sharing economy, crowdfunding, collaborative consumption and mesh economy are some of these alternative systems gaining more followers each day.

E?ya Kütüphanesi, "The Library of Stuff," is one of them. Started in late 2012 by two young entrepreneurs, after taking first place in the Startup Weekend ?stanbul competition, the Library of Stuff is a sharing platform that matches lenders and borrowers through their website, esyakutuphanesi.com, and social media. 

Aysu Erdo?du Miskbay and Ay?e Gökçe Bor are both graduates of Ankara's Middle East Technical University, who were introduced to social entrepreneurship through their graduate studies and willing to use entrepreneurship for social benefit. A third name, Didem Yeni, a software developer and entrepreneur, joined the team in 2014, along with six volunteers. 

Hürriyet Daily News talked to the trio about the alternative systems they have been designing and running, as well as the higher platform they have established, Ortak Yarat?m (Creating Together), and the crowdfunding website, Fongogo.

'Another world is possible'

E?ya Kütüphanesi was established as an online platform that supported sharing, "to remind people of the sharing culture and to contribute in reducing the consumption of resources." Now with more than 3,500 members of the platform, E?ya Kütüphanesi offers a chance to lend and borrow, not only "stuff" but hobbies and interests as well, to foster a connection among its members.

The team recently started another alternative platform, DönmeDolap (Ferris wheel) at donmedolap.org,...