Repair Café
Megan in front of some of the repair stands
Written by Megan Blakie.
We all know the frustration of not being able to fix something that breaks. Why not let people share their fix-it knowledge and expertise, and run a Repair Café?
Don’t you find it absolutely annoying, for example, when you can’t even open a broken appliance to tinker around and find the problem? (Just who did design those screws that need a special square-headed screwdriver?) Or maybe you find the fault – often some silly little (plastic) part – that makes the whole product redundant because no stockists have the spare part you need! Silliest of all: we find and buy the spare part but, with freight, the replacement part costs nearly as much as buying a whole new item. Silly, isn’t it?!
Lou fixing clothing
So in October last year, The Village Presbyterian Church in Ōtautahi-Christchurch decided to tandem up a Repair Café event with our usual monthly Community Market Day. The idea was to have volunteers on hand to help fix broken items that members of the public brought along, thereby stopping stuff going to landfill.
We also had information boards and material to raise awareness of the ‘right to fix’ movement, which is all about manufacturers designing stuff that is able to be fixed. This gave us the opportunity to highlight local tech recyclers/end of life and fix-it businesses.
Barbara fixing a stuffed toy
About 10 men and women offered practical help: small sewing alterations and hemming, home maintenance advice, wood working tips, glueing with specialist glues, gardening tips - and a takeaway pumpkin seed in its very own compostable pottle. Two Menzsheds provide helpers, who enjoyed the interaction with the public and sharing their expertise.
Together, the Repair Café helped 'rescue' a table, a kitchen whizz, earrings and other items from being thrown away; we repaired clothing items and soft toys; we advised on how to repair an old family Bible; we inspired people to plant their own vege garden; and we made connections with two migrant families, a Canterbury researcher on repair-style events, and other members of the community.
Of course, a cafe wouldn’t be a café without proper coffee: café style refreshment and some baking was our ‘thank you’ to volunteers for their two-hour stint.
Keith, a greenfingered Menzshed helper
It was a small event, especially when compared to a repair event held in the North Canterbury town of Amberley just weeks before – which was apparently a huge success. There are challenges for those considering such events: for example, electrical items can only be repaired by a registered electrician; I was unable to recruit one for our event, although we got moral support from one business. We thought a knife sharpener would be popular but all were booked out months ahead! However, these are all learnings if we run another Repair Café in future.
The following prayer was written for the event and printed on a wall poster:
A Repair Prayer – by Megan Blakie
Hey, Creator of blackholes and vast universes
Sometimes this planet looks broken:
Damaged beyond all our attempts at repairing it
We see nations in conflict
And people arguing, separating out and dividing ‘us’ from ‘them’
Greed seems to triumph over kindness and common sense
But then somewhere deep within us -
If we still ourselves long enough to hear it -
You whisper to us...call us into hope
You transform us, by and into grace and kindness and aroha
Astronauts say this planet looks fragile, from the moon
If we could see our one and only home - this planet - from space
(because do we ever really want to live on Mars?)
Then what would we do differently?
What would we let go of?
And what ways of living would we grasp with both hands?
Would we let your hope-filled whisper turn into a roar?
Beloved, help us to repair damaged people and this damaged planet.
Amine. Amen. We agree. Let’s do it!
