While avoiding the environmental impact of republishing new copies of books it was the beginning of „El Club de los Raros“, an online bookstore project dedicated to the sale of used books, with an inherently charitable purpose.
With the help of the ongoing Goteo microfinance, social entrepreneurs Ginés Haro and María Gómez are realizing one of their dreams: combining culture, sustainability and solidarity. It's not just about rescuing books that were forgotten somewhere in the house. Or worse, they end up in the trash. But they also hope that this new life for books will generate economic resources for (non-profit organization) NGOs and social projects.
To do this, they collaborate with other organizations. The first is the Andalusian Non-Governmental Development Organization (NGDO) Madre Coraje. „El Club de los Raros“ deposits books donated by third parties at the organization's physical facilities. In return, a percentage of each book sold goes to support the social actions of NGOs. Solidarity and circular economy projects „El Club de los Raros” is a circular economy project. In other words, they promote the reuse, reduction and recycling of products to limit the impact on the environment. "A literary work can be read by many people during its lifetime. In this way, we help reduce tree sacrifice, carbon and water footprints, and many other impacts that often occur when a new book is published," explains Ginés Haro Say.
Furthermore, as María Gómez explains, this commitment to protecting the environment goes beyond saving books. “We also want to protect and restore our forests. In fact, part of the price of every book saved will go towards creating a forest in the Spanish state Extremadura through „Retree“, a company dedicated to planting trees to help capture carbon , companies that create rural employment and combat desertification”. A steadfast and inspiring project. The team for this inspiring project has already received its first batch of over 10,000 copies of all kinds of books: crime fiction, autobiographies, classic literature, bestsellers and more.
As Garrison Keilor said, "A book is a gift that can be opened again and again". If this gift can be shared, it will have a double impact on society and the environment.
Nowadays there are many possibilities to reuse especially used items and give them a second life. There are also many online platforms where people offer their items for sale or as gifts. It doesn't always have to be the latest product. If you buy second hand, you not only save money, but also choose a more sustainable alternative, which in the world of abundance, in which we already live, sets a sign against overproduction and towards recycling and also helps to achieve certain Sustainable Development Goals.
More information: https://www.elclubdelosraros.com