Don’t throw it out. Fix it. That’s the philosophy in the”Repair” Café movement, which I learned about through the Christian Science Monitor, which highlights articles on people who “make a difference.”
It points to Kelly McCartney at Shareable.net, who writes: “In the Netherlands, mom and former journalist Martine Postma stumbled onto an idea that tacks the word ‘repair’ onto the familiar green mantra, ‘reduce, re-use, recycle.’ The result is community-based Repair Cafés where folks come together to fix their broken items. What started as a few neighbors in Amsterdam helping each other out has, two years later, become a much bigger deal, with 30 groups springing up around the country. …
“As Ms. Postma surmised, ‘Sustainability discussions are often about ideals, about what could be. After a certain number of workshops on how to grow your own mushrooms, people get tired. This is very hands on, very concrete. It’s about doing something together, in the here and now. …
“Similar endeavors have begun to crop up in the United States, as well. Sidling up alongside tool-lending libraries in a nice way, groups like the West Seattle Fixers Collective and the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project host do-it-yourself fix-it events and classes to help community members make needed repairs on broken items.” Read more here.
This reminds me of resilience circles, another people-helping-people movement that seems to be taking hold in the United States. Check out the word on resilience circles here.
Photograph: Jerry Lampen/Reuters/File
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