In this article we would like to present you our idea of sharing. Our goal with this app is to show people that you do not have to buy everything new, but that you can reuse it if the item is still usable. Especially with this app our – the younger – generation is addressed. With sharing, we can ensure that our planet can recover from the exploitation (=Ausbeutung) of raw materials by humans. For young people who do not have a lot of money is this app a good opportunity to borrow things which they prefer and for free. We can imagine that this app can bring about great changes in the world. For example, water consumption [1] can be reduced by sharing. Just if only car consumption in Switzerland could be reduced by half, this would result in water savings of 4,800,000,000 litres (12,000 cars x 400,000 litres) [4]. Moreover, there is even the possibility that by sharing, CO2 consumption could be minimized. The industry does not have to produce so many goods anymore and therefore the planet has a good chance to recover. Nevertheless, sharing is not a solution for everything!
All about the app
If it is your first time that you use our app then please listen to our Audio with the instructions. With these instructions it would be much easier to use our SHARE-it app.
On this PowerPoint File you are able to test our product. To see all features download the file and open it as a PowerPoint presentation. If you have done this, you can click on every application except of all these thing, where you have to fill in something, and can see what it is all about.
Energy saving thanks to SHARE-it
With this example we want to show you how much energy you can save with our app. For that we have prepared a calculation with a washing machine:
If we accept, on holiday we are in Australia. We extend (=verlängern) the stay by one month. Hence, we must wash compelling (=zwingend) our clothes. However, it makes no sense to buy a washing machine. We go on the application “Sharing” and borrow a washing machine for one wash cycle.
We count on the following figures:
Washing machine with production: 5 kWh
Wash cycles: 1100 times
One wash cycle: 1 kWh
Device achievement: 2000 watt
2 kWh + (5 kWh / 1100) = 2.0045 kWh
If she had bought, nevertheless, a washing machine to herself, there would be one energy consumption from: 5 kWh + 1 kWh = 6 kWh
Now we can see that if one bought a washing machine for just one wash cycle, one would use the 3-fold of energy!
Business Model Canvas
In the following we have considered how we can use the app as a business model. On the picture you can find more detailed information:
Feedback
We could already get feedback from different people. The majority of this feedback was good. We asked them several questions:
What is your first impression of the app?
Are you satisfied with the number of functions?
How easy is it to use the app?
blue = very simple
green = feasible to use with good knowledge of IT
Would you recommend the app to others?
Reflection
We tend to consider it a given that sharing is a good thing. As children, we’re taught (and made) to share our toys, our crayons, and our rooms. As we age, our toys and our personal space become larger and more expensive, and we share them less and less, but we still value the idea of sharing. There are lots of ways to share resources as adults, including shared gardens, food, meals, jobs and many more.
The benefits of sharing are many. Sharing can benefit us personally and financially, and it can make the world a much better place. Here are some of the benefits of sharing:
- find resources more easily
- increase resources and opportunities for low-income households
- reduces consumption
- reduces waste
- shrinks your carbon footprint
- reduces energy use
- save money through collective buying
We are really happy that we managed to create something how we imagined. In the beginning, we worried about how we will find the correct tool to create this app. But finally, we did it with PowerPoint even it wasn’t that easy. This project needed a lot of time investment but in the end, it was worth it. We would say this project was a full success and we are really happy what we achieved.
Further steps
Since our apprenticeship is over now and we officially don’t have a school anymore, we decided not to realize the app. We lack the time and the necessary resources to do so. Since we will both be 100 percent working, we have to put the project on hold with a heavy heart. But if there is another group in the future that would like to finish our project, we would be very happy. You can find all information on The horse under the category “Team Share it app” [3]. Let us know if you need any additional information.
Sources
[1] Water supply in agriculture, (dontwastemy.energy), Team from India and team from Switzerland, January 17, 2020
[2] source not mentioned
[3] the-horse.education, (the-horse), Team Switzerland, various
[4] Wieviel Wasser verbrauchen wir? (Infografik, zeit.de)
☷ See the project teams here »
☵ Some words about the contributions »
Hi Lars and Dharany. I just simply loved your project and how much effort you guys have put into it. I was actually overwhelmed by the amount of energy we can save if we reuse things which you demonstrated through your example and actually it’s an eye-opener to all especially youngsters. And it’s happy to know that your project went well.