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Monday 9am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm Thursday 9am - 4:30pm Friday 9am - 4:30pm

Tools For Solidarity

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Tools For Solidarity

We establish partnerships that enable practical support to the artisan and training sectors in some of the poorest countries in the world.

In the age of consumerism repairing is an act of rebellion
🛠 Collecting tools and sewing machines since 1984 to repair them and help Africa communities
🌍 Education for sustainability in schools and community groups
Based in Northern Ireland, UK “Tools are very much an enabler when it comes to development and throughout poorer countries there remains a high demand for them.”

Tools For Solidarity (

TFS) is a small development Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Our organisation grew out of the Belfast Tools Group, which was established in 1984 by dedicated volunteers. We opened our workshops in Belfast in 1994 and in Downpatrick in 2002. Volunteer placements are provided in our workshops, particularly to people with fewer opportunities and/or extra support needs. We also raise awareness and organise workshops and work camps on sustainable development. TFS collects unused and unwanted tools and machinery, repairs them and sends them out for reuse overseas. We have a large stock of high-quality tools and machines that people across the country have donated to us! TFS has been working in Tanzania and Uganda for over 20 years with the main focus on an integrated development model to support vulnerable people. We coordinate sending programmes with other sister organisations and send over 3, 000 sewing machines and 30, 000 tools. We successfully established partnerships in Africa and now these projects are self-funded and provide training to local people.

29/05/2026

Join Sue next Wednesday or Friday for an afternoon of craic during REUSE & REPAIR week !! Be in touch if you have any question ✨

26/05/2026

✨ A little throwback in time! ✨

Back in March, while our amazing volunteers were busy filling up the container, Sue (Educational Support Officer) was also recognised as “Member of the Month” by UCRF (Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion), an organisation focused on sustainability in the fashion industry 👏

Please take a moment to read her incredible interview and learn more about UCRF via the link below!

We are very proud of Sue and so grateful to have her as part of our team! Her interview responses were inspiring, meaningful and engaging. Sue is really dedicated to everything she does 💚

Thank you Sue for everything you do for the community!

https://concernedresearchers.org/blog/30-sue-bamford-mom-march-2026-xdmxm-caghl-xdxh2-p29xb-6csjg-25st8-2tn43-tefmd-kkmej-aynbh-jplt9

20/05/2026

🎉IT HAS ARRIVED!!!🎉

The container we sent back in December has finally reached the projects in Tanzania! ✨

First stop was in Njombe (NASTC project) and the last stop was Iringa (IASTC project).

A quick reminder of what was inside this shipment:

🧵 346 sewing machines
🪢 8 knitting machines
🛠️ 3552 hand tools
🏭 9 pieces of machinery

A HUGE thank you to the staff for sharing these wonderful pictures with us! Seeing the container arrive and the tools and sewing machines ready to be used makes all the hard work worth it!

And of course thank you to EVERYONE who contributed through donations, support, time and effort to help fill this container!

With Solidarity 🌟

16/04/2026

A couple of weeks ago our fabulous team of volunteers filled up another container! just a few months after the last one we sent in December !

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came along to help. We couldn’t do this without you.

This container is heading to an exciting new project that we are setting up alongside other organisations: Tools With A Mission (TWAM), Tanzania Development Trust (DTD) and the Diocese of Dodoma. It will be based in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania!

We will be supplying:
• 270 sewing machines
• 12 knitting machines
• 3000 hand tools
• 12 boxes of machinery and electrical tools

The container is expected to arrive in around 12 weeks and we will definitely keep you updated 😁

Thank you again for your support, donations and kindness 🌍

23/03/2026

A couple of weeks ago
the 4th Repair Café took place at Queen’s University!

It was an incredibly busy time for our wonderful Sue with people queuing for over an hour to get their things mended. It’s amazing to see so many people choosing to repair and reuse 💚

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and supported the event and of course to the Repair Café team for making it all happen ✨️

08/03/2026

🎤 Save the date!

Looking for something fun to do on Friday the 20th March? Grab your mates and join us in Downpatrick for a brilliant *Pub Quiz Night*!

Expect a relaxed night of trivia, laughs, and a bit of friendly competition !🔥

Booking at [email protected] or [email protected]

20/02/2026

Exciting news! 🌍✨

In early February, TFS prepared a small shipment for the Helen Masuwa Foundation in Zambia, scheduled to leave this month!

This shipment includes:
🧵 15 sewing machines
🛠 170 hand tools
⚡ 10 electric tools
🧶 Materials and sewing supplies

Colin and his wife, Debra, came to collect the items. A big thank you to our volunteers for their help!!

09/02/2026

Back at the end of January, John and some brilliant volunteers ran a full day in sewing machine repair training in Dublin with the amazing folks from "Change Clothes" 🧵

It was a practical day full of learning, skill-sharing and good vibes.

Huge thanks to NIRN for funding the event! It genuinely wouldn’t have been possible without your support!

Thanks everyone! 🔧 🔨

05/02/2026

🎓 Celebrating graduates

In late 2025, NASTC celebrated 5 People With Disabilities (PWD) graduating from a Vocational Training Colleges (VTC) in Njombe.

The graduates successfully completed a one-year training in either carpentry or tailoring. The training was free of charge, with all costs fully covered by the project.

📸 Please see the photos with their names — TFS and NASTC wish them all the very best and the project will continue to follow up and offer support in their futur.

We are also happy to share more good news!
Our workshop coordinator in Njombe, Janeth, has informed us that 5 more PWD will begin training at the VTC from February 2026. Again we wish them the best during this year and we know they will receive the support needed from NASTC !

12/01/2026

✨ Happy New Year & Thank You! ✨

Apologies for being a little quiet and late but from everyone at TFS we would like to wish everyone a very happy new year and all the best for 2026!

Earlier this year TFS launched a crowdfunding campaign to help us buy a new van and we are absolutely delighted to share that we reached our goal 🚐💙 The van is already on the road, collecting tools and sewing machines! A huge thank you to everyone who donated and supported us !! We truly couldn’t have done it without you!

The end of the year was also extremely busy as we filled a container heading to our projects in Tanzania 🇹🇿. Thanks to the incredible volunteers who came to help, the container was packed with:
🧵 346 sewing machines
🪢 8 knitting machines
🛠️ 3552 hand tools
🏭 9 pieces of machinery

The container should arrive in a few weeks and we’ll be sure to share updates!!

Thank you all again for your continued support and solidarity!!!

Tools for Solidarity 💚

Address

55a Sunnyside Street
Belfast
BT73EX

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9am - 4:30pm
Friday	9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+442895435972

Website

https://linktr.ee/toolsforsolidarity

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