The Repair Revolution
Its 2019, electronics and other consumer goods are expensive and some would argue designed to break eventually so you have to buy the next new phone or the next new laptop or the next new whatever. Sometimes it does seem that way and sometimes bringing your broken phone for example to the shop to fix it can be just as expensive as buying a new one so economically it makes as much sense to just buy a new one. But there is another way thankfully that’s becoming more and more popular and you can even grab a cup of coffee while you wait for your things to be repaired.
Whats it all about?
Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Café is located, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. On clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You’ll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields.
So its actually a pretty straight forward concept that doesn’t require as much work as you may think. When I first read about these I thought that’s a great idea but its a pricey en-devour if you’re going to open a cafe for repairs.
But then I thought about it some more and realised it doesn’t have to be like that. A repair cafe isn’t necessarily a cafe, it could be an event which is what many do. Rather than opening a cafe you take an existing cafe and ask to hold a repair cafe event there. Don’t get me wrong a cafe completely focused on repairs would be the dream but if that’s daunting don’t let it stop you because the idea still has huge merit as a weekly/monthly event. Then you just have to find some volunteers who are experts in repair which in my opinion is probably the most challenging aspect of this but its still possible.
My point is that for an idea that could have huge upside, the barriers to entry are rather low for someone looking to take advantage of it.
Benefits of a Repair Cafe
Community
I think community is a common benefit in all of this series but again community comes out on top as one of the main benefits to these cafes. It brings back the old tradition of going to someone for help, going to someone with the expertise that may not be common in your community. For some people it may be nothing to do with repairs but more about getting out of the house and socialising in the community and that could be huge for someone.
The thing is when communities come together they grow stronger, that’s just how it works and cafes like these or events like these act as a catalyst for this growth.
Reversing Throwaway Culture
Throwaway culture is defined as :
The throw-away society is a human society strongly influenced by consumerism. The term describes a critical view of over consumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items over durable goods that can be repaired. (Wiki)
The truth is a lot of consumer goods are easily disposed of if they break or if the next upgrade comes, and that creates an enormous amount of waste. The issue is even if goods can be repaired people just tend not to bother mostly because of convenience but this is a solution because these cafes are convenient, they’re accessible and they work.
Learning New Skills
Although there may be experts there to help fix your broken stuff, there no reason not to learn some of those skills yourself while you’re there. Some fixes may be easier than you think and the skills you learn from others at an event like this might just give things in you're house a longer life.
The ability to empower people through education and learning should always be looked at because it is that empowerment that leads to incredible change.
Could this work in Ireland?
This ones easy, yes they could because they already are. These are popping up all around the country and there are even resources to help you set up your own.
For example ChangeX is a platform of proven ideas for anyone who wants to strengthen their community. ChangeX allows you to discover proven ideas and provides all the information and support you need to get these ideas up and running in your local community and Repair Cafes are listed as a project on their site ( https://www.changex.org/ie)
According to their stats on Repair Cafes they have 1450 Cafes in 33 countries so if you’re wondering if these cafes work that should be evidence enough that they do.
But remember when I say Repair Cafe I don’t necessarily mean opening a cafe. You could rent a space a hold repair Cafe events so don’t be intimidated by this idea and remember there are plenty of resources online that can help.
