Material Bank
a student-run Material Bank at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Here, students can trade an assortment of materials, tools and exhibition furnitures they no longer need for the left-over materials of other students. The initiative set out to reimagine the flow of material and help reduce the unnecessary waste produced each year at the Academy.
The material selection of the B-zar ranges from large planks of wood, sheets of scrap metal, textiles, plastics, papers, to a wide range of paints, tools, and equipment, as well as many odd items such as vases, containers, toys and gadgets. There are also a variety of podiums for rent that can be used for student presentations and exhibitions.
ZARBS ARE…
The local currency used within the B-ZAR. When you sign up as a new member, you automatically receive ZARBs, which you can use to buy materials. To earn more ZARBs, simply bring your unwanted materials (in usable condition, of course!), or work for the Material Bank. Working at the desk during opening hours is always needed, or helping out with clean-up days or events. You can also be part of the core team, earning you a salary of one hundred ZARBs a month.
The BZAR is part of the Federation of Material Banks. What that means is that our Material Bank uses their model, as well as guidance and collaboration with other initiatives at other institutions.
Currently there are more than 20 schools in the Federation, which was founded in 2017.
History
The initiative was first launched in September 2021, with a handful of BA and MA students taking the lead to self-organise, build, and shape the system of pricing and ways of collaborating. The B-zar is register as part of The Federation of Recuperatheques, a Belgian organization which exists in 22 creative institutions internationally. According to their website:
“The goals are to promote sustainability (by providing re-use materials and rewarding waste), solidarity (by reducing the purchase costs) and to create a social link (by a local currency, by knowledge exchanges, being a learning place).”
