When I was young, I remember watching my grandfather’s tinker in theirs sheds; things went in not working or broken, after some maintenance or repairs they often would come out ready to go again. Both of my Nan’s had sewing boxes with buttons, zips, and cottons ready for darning, a quick mend or alteration. Not much was discarded before someone had at least tried to give it a second chance.
Now days many things end up in landfill, even though with a little know how they may be easily repaired. Many of us just lack the knowledge to fix, mend or repair things independently.
This has sparked a new movement of Repair Cafés. First, starting in the Netherlands in 2007, the idea is taking off and there are now over 1500 Repair Café’s globally.
The photo was taken at Melbourne Repair Café 3rd birthday in March 2019. It shows Karen from Mend It Australia and her husband Danny in the background, who attend many Repair Cafes as volunteers.
So what is a Repair Café? It is a place visitors can bring their broken item from home and sit down with a volunteer fixer. It provides an opportunity for valuable knowledge to be passed on, connections to be made and of course reduce our ever-increasing landfill. Repair cafés are a free service with donations welcome and often held on a Saturday or Sunday monthly.
Milpara is interested to gauge if this is something our community would get behind. Would you be interested in attending a Repair Café? Would you be interested in being a volunteer fixer? I would love your feedback! You can give me, Belinda a call at Milpara on 56552524 or milpara@outlook.com.