On Sunday 3rd March at the East Oxford Community Centre, there was the bi-monthly Oxford repair cafe. I decided to go along as part of research to understand how it works and what the space is like.
The Repair Cafe has been running since June 2018, and this was the first time that it was held in the community centre. It has previously been hosted at the MakerSpace in Oxford. I managed to meet Alexandra, who organises the repair cafe, and spoke to her about the space and how the experience has been so far.
The Space
A permanent space would be ideal for the functioning of the repair cafe. But for a variety of reasons (cost, availability of space, volunteer-run, no guarantee of repairers etc.) there is not one. Therefore, they have alternated between the MakerSpace and other community centres. Below is a diagram showing the layout of the hall that was used on the 3rd:
Alexandra would have ideally liked to have had more time to set up the space, but she was satisfied with the layout as it allowed for good circulation. Ideally she would've had the bike repairs happening outside, but due to the bad weather all the activities were done indoors. It would be great to have a space where they can store tools, although a lot of the tools are brought in by the volunteers themselves, so this would need to be accounted for in the set-up and set-down time. There were 19 volunteers, each of whom were either sat behind a table fixing or standing up in the central area. Time and money are the two main limiting factors when it comes to space. Time, with respects to set up and pack-down, but also money in terms of the sorts of spaces they can hire out and finances to actually run the event. Everything is volunteer-run and most people have full-time jobs that they usually do in the week.
The Format
You sign up online at the Repair Cafe website and select a time-slot and a description of what you would like to do. (Previously they had a ticketed system, but they realised that people were waiting for a long time to get things repaired - they have now had to estimate how long each repair would take and create time slots accordingly to avoid this issue).
Arrive at the Repair Cafe, provide your name and details and sign a consent form. (When you agree to have something repaired, you accept that it is your own responsibility for the item, and not the fixer, and that there is no guarantee that your item will be repaired)
Observe the repair, and assist if you will. You can also relax and take a break at the refreshments area. Having a cup of tea / coffee and cake or biscuits.
Collect your item, and revisit the desk, to let them know how the repair went, and if it was fixed. A feedback form is also given.
I really enjoyed being at the Repair Cafe. There was a real sense of community. The people that I talked to came from all sorts of works of life, from children to retired people. There were plenty of conversations going on and observations as people were repairing. I had a realisation that this is also a good place to meet others if you're new to the area, or may want to connect with other like-minded people on issues of sustainability and repairs. Most people also volunteered for other organisations or similar initiatives in similar areas. I took a few things away from this visit:
Don't underestimate the fact that people would be driven to do this voluntarily
People come as observers as much as they come to repair. Coming just to understand how things are fixed.
The range of items - from headphones and paper shredders to lamp shades and jackets.
A time system is important to keeping things running smoothly
Most of the repairs were geared towards mechanical / electrical objects
There was a really strong collective community environment, and people were more than happy to talk.
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