Repair Cafés Do More Than Just Fix (and They’re Very Green)
Have you heard of Repair Cafés, and do you have one in your neighbourhood?
They’re very green – in fact, they kind of encapsulate green living. The goal behind repair cafés is to reduce waste by keeping mendable items out of landfills and in circulation for as long as possible.
What Are Repair Cafés?
The concept started in Amsterdam in 2009. A repair café is a place where locals can sit back, relax and enjoy a coffee or tea while they have their toaster oven fixed by someone — a friend or neighbour, perhaps — who is skilled at working with small appliances.
You can either take something you’d like repaired – a bicycle, a pair of boots, an appliance or a beloved teddy bear – or you can learn how to fix things yourself.
Are They Only in the Netherlands?
It has taken time for this throwaway-culture-fighting concept to catch on outside the Netherlands. But as the New York Times reports, repair cafés can now be found in abundance. Today, there are roughly 1,100 repair cafés — some pop-up establishments, other more permanent — found in nearly 30 countries.
The Amsterdam-based Repair Café Foundation, a grassroots nonprofit, works to promote and provide guidance to new repair cafés popping up across the globe.
They’re About More Than Just Repairs
Some repair cafés are equipped with reading areas so that you can brush up on new skills by reading repair and home-improvement minded books and magazines.
And some people simply pop into repair cafés just to watch the magic of community-supported revamping, refurbishing and rejuvenating.
In the United States (where in 2013, Americans produced 254 million tons of potentially salvageable rubbish), the Times notes that repair cafés can be found in community centers, church basements, libraries and vacant storefronts in 11 different states, ranging from Nebraska to New Hampshire.
Many are in New York, especially in the Hudson Valley which has a growing population of eco-conscious NYC expats who have fled the city. As one resident says, the area provides a “strong ethos of community.”
Apparently in these particular repair cafés, lamps are the most common items in need of fixing, with vacuum cleaners a close second.
Not all cafés are open all the time, unlike the ones in Europe, but it’s hoped that will change as they become more popular.
“Many items carry deep meaning for the owner, and indeed there are laughter and tears of joy at Repair Café,” reads the New Paltz Repair Café’s profile page. “Feelings of gratitude are strong. And those of us who make the repairs feel equally gratified.”
I think it’s a fabulous concept. We truly need to move away from our current culture of “buy then throw away and buy more”.
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Warm regards,
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Related:
- How to re-use your old fridge
- Top 10 green tips to live by – every day!
