Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need the AT Collective?
There are many reasons for this. One is to cut down on the huge waste of
resources and finances that outdoor events cause. We estimate that due to the ad hoc nature of many of our events that in the last four years the radical social change movements have squandered over £100,000 through having no long term resources such as storage of equipment and having to hire much of their material.

The AT Collective plans to deal with this in several ways:
a) Acquiring and maintaining equipment which can be effective re-used, and
cutting down on our dependency on having to hire equipment again and again at commercial rates which strip money from the movement.
b) Setting up storage for equipment and a profession management system which cuts down on wastage of materials and increases the use of what we already have.
c) Effective networking of the large amount of equipment already in the movement which is currently being underused as it is mostly known about by word-of-mouth only.
d) Providing skills shares and training in all areas, eg electrics, plumbing, toilets/greywater systems, etc.
e) Provide a security net for those who have equipment and are concerned about lending it out to grassroot groups by being a trusted middle-person with a legal structure and professional attitude, and effective management systems with deposits.

Putting on large scale events is a high pressure situation that takes its toll on campaigners. One of the reasons AT has come into existence is to ease the pressure on the people putting on events, thus protecting our welfare and releasing time for actual campaigning.

Who are the AT Collective?
The AT Collective is a collective of individuals who have many years experience in putting on large and small scale out door events. Many of us will be familiar faces from EF! Gatherings, Climate Camp, Stirling Eco-Village, AR Gathering and other events. There is a large range of experience and skills and we all recognise the need for a change in approach to how we put on events - AT is that change.

What do we want from you?
We want your equipment and skills. We want to effectively network the materials and equipment that you have among grassroots campaigns and events. We want to organise publication and training days which transfer knowledge and skills among people so that as many as possible are empowered to put on large and small scale events and actions.

Who owns the equipment?
This is up to what the owners want. There are several options:
(a) It is donated outright

(b) Long term loan with the ATC storing/maintaining it in return for the right to provide it to other groups (with charges to cover storage/ maintenance/ future purchase which benefit the movements as a whole).

(c) Owners keep it, but it is entered into the ATC database with conditions noted so we can put others who may need to use it in contact with them, or we help sort it out. If done through ATC then there will be deposits/expenses required.

Will people have to pay to get it back?
No. Those who are giving it as a long term loan to AT to store/use/maintain get to have it back when they need it for their own events. Though we may not be able to deliver it for free.

Will lenders have to pay for maintenance?
Nothing to those giving us equipment in long-term loan. Maintenance costs are to be covered by renting it out to other groups. This is a good reason why providing material to the AT Collective benefits the owners of equipment.

Will we charge for storage?
This is the same as for maintenance - costs will be covered by those renting it.

Is it all stored centrally?
This has not been decided yet. The chances are that it will not be, and we will be taking into consideration various aspects such as proximity to people able to carry out maintenance, space to do it, and how to reduce carrying materials around the country. Much of this will depend on what is
available in an region already.

What is your legal structure?
We are in a process of setting up a workers cooperative to carry the legal structure. This will be registered as an Industrial and Provident Society. Equipment shall be registered in our name if necessary but we will provide formal agreements with those providing us material on long term loan or through us. Likewise with those we are providing service/equipment to.

Aside from the cooperative, we will be working as part of a larger collective, pulling in knowledge and experience in the areas we are seeking cover.

How will you protect our equipment at controversial events?
It will be registered in the name of AT, which will help us reclaim materials in the event of being sealed. The use of contracts will create a formal basis for this.

Who gets priority?
Priority for equipment on long term loan goes to the groups/individuals who have provided it to us, providing they are not requiring it more than a couple of times a year (if it is required regularly it may not be worth us handling it and should simply be registered on our database).

With all our equipment we will be prioritizing grassroots events, with particular emphasis on those organised by non-hierachical, anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist nature. We expect to work with groups focusing on radical social change, grassroot environmental activism and animal rights.

Will my equipment be loaned to commercial ventures?
It may be that some equipment will be loaned to commercial ventures though we will be very choosy who this is. The reason for this is to raise funds that allow us to purchase equipment that is lacking in availability to the movement as a whole and which is normally out of the price range of groups - eg marquees, vehicles. This in turn helps reduces the costs of events to grassroots groups in the long terms as we extend the range of materials it we can provide to grassroot events. It will also help us raise funds to cover storage and maintenance costs which mean we can offer
equipment at even cheaper rates to grassroot groups.

Where we do loan to commercial ventures we will prioritise on those promoting messages in line without our own libertarian, pro-environmental values.

Will our details ever be given out?
Not if you don’t want them to be. Information relating to who owns what will be securely stored on our computers. We will not be publicising anybodies details, and will only give out contact details if we have your permission. One of the functions of the AT Collectiveis to form a central point to put people in contact with each other, but we are aiming to be flexible and facilitate privacy needs of those loaning out materials by being a trustworthy go-between.

For more information see our privacy policy .

If we have still not answered your question, please get in touch.