By Etienne Baqué
If you are in or past your mid-thirties, you may have owned a Nokia mobile phone. Namely the “indestructible” 33-series Nokia (pre-smartphone-era phone) which could withstand so many drops. The back of this device was also very easy to open and its battery could be replaced in a matter of seconds.
20 years forward, unfortunately, we can’t take for granted that ability to fix items with the same level of repairability or durability. Planned obsolescence – a deliberate manufacturing practice that shortens a product lifespan – has made its way into pretty much everything we own. This situation that gets us into the habit of readily disposing of broken belongings is fueled by the ever-growing availability of all consumables, each item being just one “Buy it!” click away. This is a great practice for our capitalist-based economy, but not so much for our wallets, our well-being and the planet. The good news is that groups of people around the world decided to act against that pretty bleak situation by organizing repair cafes.
A repair cafe is a kind of community event where a group of volunteers (the “specialists”) help guests to fix their belongings. These specialists are usually hobbyists or people who have been developing their skills through the course of their career, and they are willing to spend a few hours applying their knowledge to help their community.
On Nov. 15, Bridgewater held its first repair cafe, which was organized by me, Etienne Baqué, and two friends. This was a very successful event: over the course of three hours, specialists able to repair small appliances, clothes & purses, bikes, computers, furniture, guitars and sewing machines helped to fix about 32 items. I’m very grateful for their contribution.
This was a joyful community event where people also met and chatted around a free cup of coffee or tea. The feedback guests left was overwhelmingly positive. Even those who didn’t get their item fixed left a positive note. Finally, those who could not attend the event sent us an email asking us when the next repair cafe would be.
More repair cafes are in the works, and hopefully we can host them in various locations around Lunenburg County.
In addition to seeing our community come together to help each other, I will also remember stories around specific items that were brought in for repair, especially one of them. Someone brought an old broken toaster that used to belong to their grandmother. It was manufactured in the 1930’s! Our specialists at the small appliance table gave a shot at repairing it… and they succeeded! We definitely didn’t expect to see someone leaving this repair cafe with a functioning 90-year-old toaster. We can’t wait to see what else will be brought in and fixed over the future events.
If you’re curious about future Repair Cafes and are wondering about how you could help (whether as a repair specialist, or as a member to help run the event), you’re most welcome to reach out to us at contact@nsrepairs.ca. For more info about upcoming events, please keep an eye on https://nsrepairs.ca or follow us on our “Repair Cafe Lunenburg County” FB page.
