Hello Alamo!
On May 1st, the Otero County Labor Hub officially opened as one of the only free hubs in the country providing tools, materials, and safety classes to the community.
If you did not make it out to the ribbon cutting or if you haven’t used the labor hub yet, the system used to check out supplies is very similar to a library, according to Jacob Justus.
Evan Lambert created the intake system over the course of a week. All inventory is input into the system, so when someone checks out a tool, it updates to the new amount available. They also set up any heavy duty power tools to require taking a safety class with Lambert (for now; hopefully Community Power New Mexico can partner up with Lowe’s or Home Depot in the future) prior to being able to check it out. Certain materials are expected to simply be used up during a project, and they’ll only go back into the inventory if a community member decides to donate whatever’s left over.
Lambert is hoping that this system and this hub can be replicated in other counties throughout New Mexico.
In the middle room of the labor hub, the community has provided books that help instruct on how to complete common jobs, like fixing a hole in drywall or repairing a fence. These might be helpful in planning out what tools and materials you need for a specific job.
In the back room, the hub has provided a work space where you can take your classes or start up a project, potentially surrounded by other people who may have knowledge you don’t and might help with said project.
One function of the system Lambert built keeps track of standard pricing in the area. Basically CPNM can show how much money all these tools and materials would cost an individual to buy. At the end of a quarter, the non profit can show solid numbers as to how much our fairly low-income community saves by having access to the labor hub.
Just as a library, all you need to do to check out tools is to scan your Labor Hub card, scan the barcode on the tools, and fix whatever you need to. All for free.
This is a great step up for Alamogordo, and I sincerely hope you take advantage of it.
The Otero County Labor Hub is located in the south wing at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 1114 Indiana Ave.
Until Wednesday,
Salud!
No responses yet