To go alongside our Tech Boycott Campaign, Doulas Decolonising have created a Used Tech Bank to help offset our impact as consumers in SCEE+OUK. We want to show solidarity and support for the people and children in the Congo and everywhere else that suffers so that we get access to technology.
For more in-depth information around the cobalt mining and genocide of Congolese people by tech companies, check out our website sections on Doulas For Congo and Tech Boycott Campaign.
What is a Used Tech Bank?
Our Used Tech Bank is a scheme for us to recycle and put the full use the technology that already exists and help to limit the need for us to buy brand new, as buying brand new contributes to and co-signs the capitalist genocide in the Congo and elsewhere.
We will receive donations of working, usable tech that people have spare or are not currently using. Yes, we are coming for that drawer of old phones and laptop sat under a stack of paperwork that we know you have!
The tech has to be in recently checked working condition, but we will accept tech of all ages. The newer tech of course will be most useful however. So we urge you all to learn to part with and donate your newer used tech, not just sell it on. As a community we can cover all of our needs through used tech if we challenge our own personal attachments to capitalism and ideas that people do not deserve free items if we had previously paid for them, we know it can be hard to do so.
Who can access the used tech?
Once we receive your donations, we then will add them to our internal Doulas Decolonising stock sheet, which all of our Doulas Decolonising members will have access to. From there our doula and birthworker members can request the items if they need them, either for themselves or for people they are actively supporting both individually and as a collective through our Doula Time Bank.
Unfortunately, as we are starting without any items and do not expect to have many donations, we cannot yet open this up to any external requesters. However, we will constantly reassess this and if we do get to a time when we have enough donations, we may open requests publicly then.
Any items that we have but are not fully functioning or suitable for our needs, we will donate or recycle accordingly.