11–12 May 2026 marked the beginning of FrugalCircles, an Interreg-funded project focusing on applying frugal innovation and circular economy principles to Central Baltic Sea communities.
The kick-off meeting took place in Tartu, Estonia, and brought together partners from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia. In addition to discussing first steps towards establishing five pilot sites, where communities can repair, swap and share the items they have, the consortium visited Tartu’s Repair Cellar to learn from a local success story of frugality.
The project manager of FrugalCircles, Elis Vollmer, emphasized the benefit of seeing an established repair cellar in action.
“Tartu’s repair cellar has been operating for seven years. We got to hear first-hand what the challenges are, what works well, alongside their hopes and visions. I think that collectively, this visit gave our partners a stronger vision and motivation to implement such repair cellars and community hubs in their own municipalities,” said Vollmer.
Liina Luup, FrugalCircles’ project officer, explained that for Interreg, this initiative is an important step towards saving natural resources and moving towards a more sustainable life.
“Through this project, we want to bring old, time-tested wisdom to the people: if your items and clothes are in good condition, use them as long as possible. If they can be repaired, then repair them. And if you have grown tired of them, swap them with your neighbors,” explained Luup.
The three-year project brings together ten partners across four countries and is co-funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme.