Recently, I was able to visit a type of solarpunk event I’ve been trying to get to for many weeks – a Repair Café! Repair Cafés are local events where people bring broken or damaged goods, and a group of volunteers does their best to repair that item! It’s a great way to get together with friends and give back to the community, save a cherished memento, solve an annoying problem, or simply divert something from the landfill. They have been happening all over the world, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to visit one in my region.
But this was not just any Repair Café… this was the Maple Ridge Repair Café! They had a pavilion set up for an Earth Day celebration and I honestly could not imagine a more perfect setting for their 50th event! I was eager to meet this group and hear more about what they had learned over the course of so many events, and what makes for a volunteer organization with that kind of staying power.
The Repair Café was easy to find as they had set up under a large shaded bandstand in the middle of the park. There was great signage and the group even had custom t-shirts!
When they enter, visitors are directed to a clear sign-in table where each item to be repaired is assigned a number and form. I learned that items are only repaired during the event itself. Since I was only able to attend towards the end of the event, many of the repairs had already been completed as community members have learned that they need to attend the start of the event for this reason.
This answered one of my key questions – how on earth do you manage the logistics of broken and semi-repaired objects for an event like this? Restraining it to the time of the event itself was their solution. The form is also clear about the fact that the repair is being conducted by volunteers who may no be able to complete a suitable repair in time. I was told that the volunteers in this case will either do their best to reassemble the item, or agree to responsibly dispose of it. Sometimes the broken object is salvaged for spare parts.
One method of salvage was the “Tinkerbell Table”. I learned that this was one of Maple Ridge’s key ingredients for success. Many people who come for repairs have kids who need to be kept busy while their parent is working with the volunteers to repair the object. Here, kids are encouraged to practice taking apart appliances that are considered beyond repair. This helps to develop a key skillset for those who will seek to repair their own things in the future! PCBs and other small components can also be upcycled into jewelry at the jewelry repair table.
I learned that there is no strict limit on what can be brought in for an attempt at repair, though it must be carried in and the volunteers can refuse an object if it’s too dirty for example. But beyond that, clothes, picture frames, appliances, toys — the volunteers have a wide range of skills that they can employ and they teach each other through the process of repairing. For specialty items, they also partner with local groups like the bike repair center and a woodworking collective.
While the Earth Day event was great for outreach, the event actually started in local Senior Centers, rotating around the region to create easier access to different groups throughout the community. They told me that the most rewarding repairs were the items with sentimental value.
I’m hoping to stop in again at a future event to learn more from this group, but to start I’m so thrilled I got to meet them! You could check out their future events if you are local to Maple Ridge, or look for similar events in your local region. Or if you’re feeling bold, you could even start one of your own…! 👀