Repair Cafes are a relatively new concept, conceived by a Dutch journalist, and debuted three years ago in Amsterdam. There are now 26 Cafes in the United States, mostly in New York, California, and Massachusetts – and it’s time to bring it to Central Virginia! At a Repair Cafe, volunteer fixers gather at an event with hands and tools at the ready, and the community is invited to bring items in need of repair. An antidote to planned obsolescence, Repair Cafes are coming up with new and creative ways to salvage perfectly usable things. They are not only great events to get your clothing, textiles, appliances, small machinery, and electronic devices fixed — the very nature of their collaborative and community-oriented learning spirit contains the antidote of our modern-day throw-away mentality.
We throw away vast amounts of stuff, even things with almost nothing wrong and, which could get a new lease on life after a simple repair. Society doesn’t always show much appreciation for the people who still have practical knowledge of how to repair, and are often left standing on the sidelines. The Repair Café changes all that. People who might otherwise be sidelined are getting involved again. Valuable practical knowledge is getting passed on. Things have a longer functional life span these days and don’t have to be thrown away. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products. The Repair Café teaches people to see their possessions in a new light and to appreciate their value, which 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.
The Cville TimeBank will partner with local organizations to hold two Repair Cafes between October 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016.
The Cville TimeBank will hold two Repair Cafe events between October 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016. We’ll join forces with community organizations to participate and spread the word. The entire Charlottesville community will be invited to bring broken items to be repaired.
Repair Cafes – as they continue and grow – will encourage a community shift from a discard to a repair/reuse/recycle mentality; they will reduce landfill waste; they will build community by setting the stage for warm, easy, helpful connections with others; and they will share skills and build confidence.