Why a Repair Café?
We throw away vast amounts of stuff. The trouble is, lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves or they no longer know how. Society doesn’t always show much appreciation for the people who still have this practical knowledge.
The Repair Café changes all that! People who might otherwise be sidelined are getting involved again. Valuable practical knowledge is getting passed on. Things are being used for longer and don’t have to be thrown away. The Repair Café teaches people to see their possessions in a new light. The Repair Café helps change people’s mindset. This is essential to kindle people’s enthusiasm for a sustainable society.
This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products. It cuts CO2 emissions, for example, because manufacturing new products and recycling old ones causes CO2 to be released.
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?
The term Repair Café was established by Martine Postma, who coordinated the very first Repair Café in Amsterdam, on October 18, 2009. Learn more at www.repaircafe.org
