For the last two years I've been helping out at the Dairsie Repair Cafe. Repair cafes have been going for some time now, but the general idea is that people can come to a space, get a cup of tea, maybe a cake or two and get their electronics, clothes or other items fixed. Cafes are run by volunteers for the general public. They are a world-wide phenomena - the website repaircafe.org lists a large number around the world.
Dairsie is a small village in Fife, not far from Cupar. We were the first cafe to open up in this part of Scotland. Indeed, there aren't too many in this part of the world, I suspect because Scotland is quite sparely populated outside the central belt. We meet in the memorial hall - a community space I suppose one would say. Certainly not purpose built for our needs, but things like tables, chairs, electrical extension leads and - crucially - a kettle, are available. Our team is just over 12 folks. Some are regulars, popping over once a month, whereas a few others pop in on occasion if they know someone is in need of their skills.
We've so far managed to fix over 300 items. Not too bad, all things considered. I know my personal success rate is around 50%. I suspect the sewing crew score a little higher. I'm told that overall, we fix 80% of what comes through the door. Clearly, I must try harder! ;^_^
Some of the stranger things we've needed to repair include Umbrellas, car window opener, chainsaw, dressmaking dummy, wheelchair, a poncho, a lawnmower and a classic - a garden gnome.
There are roughly three major groups of items we tend to repair: clothes, electronics and larger electricals. We have a team of folks who tend to specialise in one of these, though the electronics and electricals tend to overlap.
In addition, we have a couple of folks who specialise in wood work and bicycles, though demand for these sorts of repairs seems lower than the other categories.
The sewing group do a lot of repairs, including the occasional darning of socks, which seems quite old school, but then everyone needs clothes.
Some of the most important folks though, are these that can be best described - I think - as front of house. One of our members triages the repairs and looks after folk when they come in. Before we had this role, things were a bit chaotic and some visitors got a bit upset. Another member makes tea for folks and talks to them while they wait to be seen by a repairer. This is quite an important role I think, because many of our visitors skew older (so it seems to me at any rate) and I think they just fancy getting out and talking to folk. I wouldn't underestimate the blether value of a repair cafe.
Although we are only a tiny repair cafe in a tiny village, there's a number of other things going on in Scotland. The Edinburgh Remakery does a good turn in refurbing and repairing electronics, computers and laptops, including many initiatives to close the digital divide, such as giving laptops to these who can't afford them.
In a wider sense, there are a number of movements like the Repair and Reuse declaration - a way to get MPs, MSPs or organisations to take action on repair and re-use.
The Restart Project has been active for some time. One of their recent initiatives is the introduction of repair vouchers - pretty much what they sound like. They've been promoting repair events for quite some time.
Recently, Mindy - our fearless leader - and I were asked to speak at the Share and Repair Gathering in Stirling. Share and Repair were instrumental in getting our cafe started as I recall; one of their number came to talk to us in the very early days before we got started officially. Their site has a list of all the repair cafes in Scotland, but also affiliated organisations such as tool libraries.
One of things we've started doing is attending various events throughout Fife. Admittedly, small stuff like the Bee in the Park Festival - part of the Climate Action Fife Organisation. The local school asked us if we'd like to run a repair session for the pupils, which we did.
Soon after we got going, Transition St Andrews, a sort of spin-off charity affair from the University, setup a repair cafe too. Having volunteered at both, it's interesting to see the different approaches and different folks at both cafes. The visitors at Dairsie seem to me to be older, with the exception of parents with young children, whereas St Andrews, being a university town, has a large number of younger students visiting the cafe. Transition used to move their cafe around several different venues which seemed odd to me, though I hear they've now found a permanent place. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep attending both, but I stuck with Dairsie as St Andrews seemed - to me at least - to have a larger number of folks to draw volunteers from.
One of the problems I have in particular, is how difficult it is to fix small electronics. Some things we get are easy, like lamps that just need a replacement fuse or bulb. But things like laptops or tablets? Forget it! You might spend half an hour just taking the thing apart, let alone fixing it. That's if you can find out what's wrong with it once you've opened it. More than once I've had to say, 'sorry, I can't figure it out', then put the item back together for the visitor to take home. All that time, the visitor is sitting there and either asking questions, feeling bored or not knowing what to do.
It's a problem that can't really be escaped. Modern technology is very sophisticated and complex. Even if you know what to do - say, replace a screen - you have to order the right screen, dispose of the old one and you'll probably need some special tools to do it. All of that needs ordering because you likely won't have it with you. Maybe these parts cost more than just buying a replacement. What happens then?
We've managed to slightly alleviate this problem by asking folks to contact the repair cafe before they come along - send a photo of their items before they turn up. This helps by allowing us time to prepare. I can pick the tools I need and sometimes get the parts. But it's a slow process that requires a fair bit of admin and back-and-forth.
One time, I had a chap turn up with a DVD player and the replacement parts to repair it. He'd not contacted us in advance, so we asked him to come back and I'd bring the parts. He duly did and I set to the repair. Took me all night, even though we had all the bits and instructions. Sometimes, these repairs can really take a while and you have to wonder 'is it worth it?'
All of these problems have no doubt been discovered by others. Technology is on the wrong side of repair, to butcher a common phrase. Capitalism and endless improvements, planned obsolescence and low prices mean that consumer technology often isn't worth repairing, which is a real shame.
There's something more though. I think it's rare for folks to develop attachments to such items. I have a couple of computers I'm very fond of - devices that are much more than throwaway tech - but I suspect I'm in the minority. Certainly, not even I would form an emotional bond to a smart blender!. Nothing against blenders mind you. If that went wrong because computer says no would I really miss it? If it suddenly ended up in the bin? I'd certainly feel annoyed at the waste; my opinion of such smart devices is relatively low. This is largely because there's more to go wrong that can't be fixed, in something that performs a simple role. But again, I suspect I'm somewhat rare in this attitude, particularly among technophiles. But that's perhaps another story.
In a nutshell. a lot of consumer technology was never meant to be fixed. We are fighting an uphill battle. No wonder e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams.
Recently, we've made the move to strike out on our own. We've been part of the Community Hall since we started, but we've taken the plunge to become our own organisation. This involves looking around for insurance quotes for public liability - we managed to find what seems to be a pretty good policy. With the committee roles all setup, we are ready to take on... well, all the repairs we can do.
But there's a lot of big questions on the horizon, at least as I see it, and I don't think we have the answers yet. I mentioned a few of them at the Share and Repair Gathering:
I've been trying to gauge things through a questionnaire, but we've only just gotten started. My thinking is that we largely serve our local community and so we should be driven by their needs, but perhaps having an entirely local focus is unnecessarily limiting?
It often feels like what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, and it can be disheartening, but more often than not I find the community aspect of it more than makes up for that. Seeing the looks on people's faces when you get a repair right really brightens up my evening.
