When something is broken, is your instinct to throw it away and replace it ? In fact, three quarters of people have the mindset to want to repair it first if possible. The Repair Café embraces this idea – and there is now one in Ashford, right next to the Singleton Environment Centre, which is well worth a visit in its own right.
The original Repair Café was started by Martine Postma in the Netherlands, and now they are springing up all over the place, with more than 2,000 world-wide, including 138 in the UK.
At a Repair Café there are the people, tools and materials to help make any repairs you may need: on clothes, furniture, electrical and mechanical appliances, crockery, toys, etc. The volunteers there are makers and repairers, some with specialised skills including electrics, electronics, carpentry, sewing and mechanics.
Visitors bring their broken items from home. If the repair is straightforward, it can be carried out there and then. If not, you can return for the mended item at a later date. A donation is welcome to contribute to the materials and running costs. If you wish, you can attempt the repair yourself with the support of the volunteers.
Part of the idea behind Repair Café is not just to prevent things from being thrown away unnecessarily, but to enable people to acquire the skills and confidence needed to fix things themselves. It also plays a useful role in social cohesion and making communities more resilient.
We visited the Ashford Repair Café on Saturday, February 15 as part of the nationwide special event “The Big Fix”. We had previously dropped off two standing lamps for repair. Both had been fixed. One was easy, the other a nightmare, as there was concrete in the base which kept on disintegrating. My impression though is that the volunteers enjoy a challenge.
The scheme in Ashford has been running for about a year, they have taken on more than 100 repairs in that time, with a decent success rate of about 80-90%. Often the reason the repair cannot be effected is the lack of the right replacement component, especially to electric or electronic items, often originating in East Asia.
I talked to Len Chittenden, who was instrumental in setting up the café. He and other like-minded individuals, including a couple of local parish councillors, wanted to react to our throw away society by repairing and re-using more.
They used the Repair Café template to initiate the project and set up in the workshop next to the Singleton Environment Centre, supported by Ashford Borough Council.
Since then, Great Chart with Singleton parish council has taken the project under its wing, meaning that there is no rent to pay, the electricity is free and the premises are secure. It is currently a shared space, but soon the workshop will be fully dedicated to the Repair Café, which will enable it to function more efficiently.
There are about ten volunteers at present. They also make some things to sell, such as bird boxes. Bicycles are not repaired, not because they cannot be, but because of liability issues, they recommend http://cyclecircle.co.uk/ instead. Often, the repairs carried out are to items of personal value which their owners feel attached to.
There is certainly capacity to carry out more repairs – perhaps readers might want to give this service a try, before deciding to throw something away? The Repair Café Ashford operates on the first and third Wednesday of each month, from 1pm to 4pm.
The Repair Café teaches people to see their possessions in a new light. And, once again, to appreciate their value. It helps change people’s mindset. This is essential to kindle people’s enthusiasm for a sustainable society. But most of all, the Repair Café just wants to show how much fun repairing things can be, and how easy it often is. Why don’t you give it a go?
Also, dare I ask, is there any appetite locally to initiate a similar scheme? Maybe you are retired, have practical skills and are frustrated by things being thrown away which could easily be repaired? There are currently no other schemes nearby, other than in Brighton and Tunbridge Wells.
One thing Rye does have to reduce waste that we can be proud of is the Swap Shop. The next one is at 9:30am at Tilling Green Community Centre, this Saturday, February 22. The idea is to bring items not wanted any more and leave with useful items to take home – everyone is welcome.
Image Credits: Dominic Manning .