The feedback we got was: “really happy to have it fixed”, “great vibe, very friendly”, “lovely electrical expert helped me”, “careful repair”, “excellent people”, “very helpful, friendly advice”.
In terms of electrical appliances, people came in with radios, toasters, blenders, a lamp, a hair dryer, a landline phone and so on, but there were some really interesting ones. There was a 1930s valve radio. Its owner had no idea where to go to have it fixed and who would have the talent to solve its problems but our electrician did! He went away delighted and only too happy to put a goodly sum in the koha jar. The young woman who had a vintage portable vinyl record player had a similar story and she went away with a delighted smile on her face too.
Then there were the clothing repairs. One young man had a favourite jacket that he really couldn’t wear any more because it was torn in several places. Our clever seamstress invisibly mended it and was he ecstatic! His girlfriend got the hole in her jumper mended by the other lady at the same time. “So easy and quick,” someone commented.
Another person had the sole on his expensive Allbirds sneakers re-glued by our DIY guy. Our other DIY guy, together with our electronics woman puzzled over the remote controlled car that didn’t want to go properly. They checked it all out from every angle and then realised that it was the batteries that were the problem – they all needed to be replaced – both in the car and in the remote controller. Meanwhile the carpenter fixed the wobbly leg on the wooden chair someone brought in and the bike repairer worked out why the chain was falling off the bike all the time.
All in all, including the woman who had her necklace fixed and the guy who was advised to go down the road to get a new fuse for his CD/DVD player, which was then put in for him (but I won’t go on and on), 65 percent of the items brought in were fixed, and another 10 percent of the people got good advice on what to do or where to go to get their item fixed. All that was valued at $3,500. Not bad for three hours at your local café!
So once again the Repair Café movement has saved items from going to landfill, has added a little to the happiness quotient in these uncertain times, and brought people together in a sense of community.
This Repair Café was supported by the volunteers who gave their time, Une-Deux Café which provided the premises for free, a Waitemat-a Local Board grant, and importantly Doughnut Economics Advocacy New Zealand (DEANZ), who put it all together as part of their vision to revitalise the Repair Café movement around New Zealand and encourage social and environmental balance.
For more information on DEANZ go to doughnuteconomicsnz.com
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