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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHave old broken stuff? These people will fix it for you - for free
A little more than a decade ago, Martine Postma, a journalist in the Netherlands, noticed something had changed since her childhood in the 1970s. When a household item a clock, a vacuum cleaner, a chair broke, people used to try to fix it. Now, their first impulse was to throw it away. As a writer focused on sustainability issues, she was disturbed by that.
Why do we make so much waste on a daily basis? she recalls asking herself. Because we no longer do repairs. So I had this idea to reintroduce repairs as a normal and attractive activity in daily life.
She came up with a solution that led to a career change and inspired an international grass-roots movement: a regular gathering at which people with broken items can bring them to a place where other people can try to fix them. In 2009, she did a trial run in Amsterdam and it drew many more people than she expected. Word spread, and soon a network of what became known as Repair Cafés began to spread across the Netherlands and beyond.
Turning her attention to it full time, Postma started the Repair Café International Foundation. She wrote a manual on how to organize the cafes and put together a starter kit. There are now nearly 1,700 cafes in 35 countries, including 75 in the United States, 30 in Canada and 450 in the Netherlands.
Why do we make so much waste on a daily basis? she recalls asking herself. Because we no longer do repairs. So I had this idea to reintroduce repairs as a normal and attractive activity in daily life.
She came up with a solution that led to a career change and inspired an international grass-roots movement: a regular gathering at which people with broken items can bring them to a place where other people can try to fix them. In 2009, she did a trial run in Amsterdam and it drew many more people than she expected. Word spread, and soon a network of what became known as Repair Cafés began to spread across the Netherlands and beyond.
Turning her attention to it full time, Postma started the Repair Café International Foundation. She wrote a manual on how to organize the cafes and put together a starter kit. There are now nearly 1,700 cafes in 35 countries, including 75 in the United States, 30 in Canada and 450 in the Netherlands.
More by Tara Bahrampour at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/01/15/dont-throw-out-that-old-clock-these-folks-want-keep-it-ticking/?utm_term=.7a861ebb343b&wpisrc=nl_optimist&wpmm=1
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Have old broken stuff? These people will fix it for you - for free (Original Post)
FSogol
Jan 2019
OP
cwydro
(51,308 posts)1. This is great!
K and r.
FSogol
(45,526 posts)2. I agree. My sons and I fix everything. We'll try to find one nearby or start one. n/t
3_Limes
(363 posts)3. Good idea!
Thanks.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)4. K&R
Snarkoleptic
(6,001 posts)5. Here's a good DIY repair site for houshold appliances.
https://www.appliancepartspros.com/
Enter the model # of your appliance and it will show you parts diagrams.
Plus there are plenty of videos showing how to do repairs.
I've used it for dishwasher and clothes dryer parts.
Enter the model # of your appliance and it will show you parts diagrams.
Plus there are plenty of videos showing how to do repairs.
I've used it for dishwasher and clothes dryer parts.