Through circular economy ideas, applications and practices we try to see in practice how a neighborhood can become “circular”, utilizing all its available resources, natural and non-natural, as well as the potential of the people who make it up.
kyklos circularity lab in Thessaloniki
kyklos
circularity lab in Thessaloniki
Kyklos, incommon’s lab, is the first space in Greece that tests the application of the circular economy at the neighborhood and city level.
Events of the month
Neighborhood, the cell of the city
At the historic Koule Cafe square of the Old Town of Thessaloniki (north of the city center), Kyklos – the lab of incommon is trying to inspire the neighborhood to adopt a more circular way of living. Through a wide range of activities and applications of participatory character, we are trying to discover how we can change our everyday habits in order to use the resources of the neighborhood more wisely – from food and organic waste to water and various materials and objects – closing this way the circle together!
What do we do in particular?
- we organize weekly activities for all ages, such as reuse workshops, food workshops, and film screenings.
- we develop ongoing circular applications in the neighborhood, such as a Repair Cafe, the Library of Things, and our community composting, where everyone can freely participate.
- we conduct educational programmes around the circular economy for schools
- we establish partnerships and synergies with actors and groups of the neighborhood and the city.
- we conduct field research and participatory activities on how we can apply circularity into everyday life.
Applications of Circularity in the neighborhood
Neighborhood composting
In collaboration with the neighborhood, since October 2022, a composter has been installed at the Koule Cafe Square. We utilise our food waste to make valuable compost and to change our perception and attitude towards organic waste.
Library of Things
Since March 2023, we have operated the first Library of Things in the neighborhood, which is open and accessible to all. We become members of the Library of Things, borrow tools, and repair our objects instead of replacing them.
Fabric loop
In 2026 we set up a corner in Kyklos where fabrics get a second life. We swap clothes and textile items we no longer use, repair what's worn out, and learn to take care of what we already own. We free up space in our wardrobes, save money, and close the fabric loop, right here in the neighbourhood.
A lab for all
At Romphei Square, otherwise known as Koule Cafe of Old Town of Thessaloniki, we investigate both bibliographically and in the field, the model of the circular neighborhood. We then test it in practice through innovative, participatory pilot applications along with the residents of the neighborhood, thereby reducing its overall environmental impact.
At the same time, in trying to apply the circular economy in our daily life, we are developing a recurring schedule of open actions, including creative material reuse workshops, educational programs for schools, open discussions, screenings with environmental and social topics, participatory resource mapping and thematic walks. Also, we conduct information and awareness-raising campaigns that promote circularity and the way it can be part of the urban reality.
Starting at the small, neighborhood scale, we seek to bring long-term changes in the habits of the local community and to gradually shape a new mindset. Through the dynamic participation, interaction and inclusion of all members of the neighborhood, we “close the circle together” to make our cities healthier, cleaner and more sustainable.