"Repair & Share" A Lively Community Event Determined to Change Throwaway Consumer Culture

Blog Written by Brandy Davis

With “discard and replace” consumer culture at an all-time high, Repair Cafés are a movement in their own right, leading the way to a more sustainable reality. A reality where people come together to save their broken items from landfill (while saving money), and laddering up to a future state where products are more easily repairable and better-made to begin with. 

As we move towards this more sustainable future we envision for ourselves, volunteer-run spaces are offering their communities more than just a solution for broken possessions and a promise for the future. They also provide a place to come together and connect over a mutual desire for sustainability, skill-sharing, and community. The communal vibe is especially evident at “Repair & Share”, a weekly repair café established by Auckland Library of Tools (ALoT) in collaboration with Repair Café Aotearoa NZ (RCANZ), and funded by Auckland Council’s Waste Minimization and Innovation Fund. 

“We’ve come together every Saturday morning since early May of this year. That’s 5 months of meeting and repairing weekly. We’ve got some regulars!” says Brandy Davis, the coordinator for “Repair & Share”. And it’s true. Become a regular yourself and you will begin to notice some familiar faces, and not just among the core group of talented and generous volunteers, many of whom offer up 50% or more of their Saturday mornings to the cause. Woodwork and general repairer and Hackland member  Alan Worman said, “It's the unknown and the problem solving that causes the excitement for me volunteering at the repair cafe.”

You will notice the frequent appearance of many of the visitors, as well. “It’s a great vibe and a friendly scene.” Brandy continues, “So many different people putting their heads together to save a broken possession. The repairers love the challenge, and the visitors are thrilled by the process… and the results. They keep coming back!” It seems more about the community and the fun than anything else. As  one visitor stated, “This is a generous and warm place. I totally love it!” The fact that “Repair & Share”, and every other repair café, is doing good work for the environment is just icing on a very wholesome cake. 

This good work is done not only by saving items from landfill (to date, “Repair & Share” has completed over 250 repairs, preventing over 400kg of waste from landfill and saving over 3500 CO2 emissions by repairing broken stuff). It is also done by collecting repair data which is pooled into an international database and contributes valuable information to the Right to Repair movement, already a success in Europe and gaining traction here in Aotearoa. The bill is set to be reviewed by Council in the next few months. https://www.repairnetworkaotearoa.org.nz/right-to-repair

The “Repair & Share” Experience

To visit “Repair & Share”, you must first walk through the front door ALoT, where a friendly librarian greets you in a room full of tools well-used, well-organized, and well-taken care of. ALoT is a community treasure in itself, and is proud to finally be offering a repair café on the premises. “ The community building between the Auckland Library of Tools and Hackland members has been amazing. And seeing the public connect over tea and coffee as they wait for their repairs.”

It’s at the back of ALoT where you will find the repair café. A wide hall leads to a well-lit and large open room known as Hackland Makerspace, the silent partner in the “Repair & Share” collaboration. Hackland provides the physical space for the repair café to meet, and many of its resourceful volunteers. Some of the most regular regulars are Hackland members who spend their Saturdays tinkering within the space anyway. “I live just up the block,” says Hackland member and “Repair & Share” volunteer Peter. “This is my garage.” If you don’t see Peter at the repair café, chances are good you will find him downstairs in the woodshop working on a personal project, and almost always available for an impromptu repair. 

Upstairs at Hackland, the repair café is buzzing with activity. The reception triage is in full banter and the couch is warmed by people chatting over a cup of coffee while they wait for their turn with a repairer, often with children playing on the rug in front of them. The repairers are all in the flow of their particular repair challenge, whether they are mending trousers, taking apart a toaster, cleaning the dust out of an old stereo, or carefully gluing a chip back onto an heirloom teapot.  The atmosphere is lively but relaxed and no one is in a rush, as the experience is in the process as much as the outcome. Whether or not an item is successfully repaired, visitors leave with deeper knowledge about the objects they own, and they often leave wondering what else they can find to bring to the repair café next week.

 One visitor stated, “I’m really overwhelmed by the support, effort and patience of everyone who helped. Thank you so much!”

But, why not see for yourself? Have a rustle around in the cupboards, the shed, or the wardrobe, and see what you can find. Bring in your toaster that won’t toast, your pants that have lost their button, and your secateurs that won’t stay closed. We’ll greet you with a smile, get you settled with a cuppa, and see if we can’t help. 

Come join us as we move towards a more community minded, more sustainable future. 

“Repair & Share” is open every Saturday from 11am - 2pm at 21 Newton Rd, Grey Lynn. 

The last “Repair & Share” is currently scheduled to be Saturday December 14th