DDATT looking into 2015 ‘Tightwad Fair’

By Sam Brown
Special to the Observer

    DEXTER — One of the main aims of the Transition Towns movement is to encourage people to learn and share useful personal and community skills which will increase an area’s self-sufficiency.

    Taking this concept one step further, the Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) recognizes that many simple manual skills, which our grandparents took for granted but we haven’t had to cultivate in ourselves, can also save a bunch of cash.
    The more we can produce, repair and trade for ourselves in our own communities – keeping more wealth and capital local – the less cash we need to generate and then send out of the area to buy services or products.
    A “Tightwad Fair” is in the planning stages for the Dexter-Dover area. “Learn stuff, save money” is the motto. DDATT wants to identify and connect people of all ages in the community who want to learn skills of more-independent living (such as food preparation, tool maintenance, heating with wood, fixing appliances, etc.) with people who can teach those skills.
    With that connection in mind, DDATT is sponsoring a sharpening small tools workshop at the Abbott Memorial Library in Dexter on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m.
    Scissors, knives, chisels, planes, scythes, handsaws and so forth all require a keen edge to function properly, but few of us have been trained to do this simple skill.
    The idea for the workshop is to provide an inviting space for people to teach and to learn how to sharpen.
    People who know how to sharpen are invited to bring their simple sharpening tools, and people who want to learn are invited to bring their dull implements but inquisitive minds. The goal is for this essential household skill to be successfully and rewardingly shared.
    As we find out how much interest this “re-skilling” idea has in the area, DDATT plans to organize more such single events on a monthly basis, leading perhaps to a “Tightwad Fair” next summer on a larger scale somewhere in town.
    If you are interested in helping in some fashion with this community building venture, contact DDATT via Sam Brown (277-4221) or Ed Hummel (924-3836.