Soaring prices encourage people to fix broken belongings

A fast-growing organisation that helps people repair broken items, saving waste and money, is behind a movement towards a circular economy.

Starting with a single pop-up near Lyttelton, Repair Cafe Aotearoa now has more than 40 cafes nationwide, where locals can bring in their toys, toasters, vacuum cleaners and devices for a free repair.

Co-founder Brigitte Sistig said between 63% and 98% of all the items were repaired , and that with inflation putting increasing pressure on Kiwi households, buying new wasn’t always an option.

Repair Cafe Aotearoa is a champion of the Right to Repair movement and the shift to a circular economy.

A petition delivered by the organisation to Environment Minister David Parker in July had about 13,000 signatures, and Repair Cafe Aotearoa also made a written submission on how laws could be changed to require items to be repairable.

The charity is looking for a longterm supporter to help pay coordinators and facilitate the opening of more cafes.

Any household device that can be carried in will be looked at in the cafes, and volunteers also make sewing repairs. Sistig said when visitors arrived, they could have a coffee or some baking, and they were involved in the repair process.

‘‘It’s a practical way to get involved, feel empowered, and feel you can do something.’’

There were usually a mix of ages in attendance, with the older generation often passing down repair techniques to the young.

Repair Cafe Aotearoa began with a cafe run by the Lyttelton Harbour Timebank at Diamond Harbour school in 2013 as part of the Kura Festival of Learning.

A second was organised in 2016, and shortly after Repair Cafe Auckland was established through a grant from Auckland Council.

It wasn’t always an easy road.

The grant allowed for the purchase and kitting out of a mobile repair trailer and for supporting events in the Auckland region, but all the specialist tools were stolen.

In September 2020 the steering committee decided to take the project nationwide, and last year Foundation North Pūtea Hāpai Oranga provided funding to pay a co-ordinator for six months and to build the organisation’s website.

It also co-ordinates with Para Kore to introduce cafes to marae and Māori organisations.

In 2020 Repair Cafe Aotearoa NZ was established. The organisation comes under the umbrella of the Zero Waste Network of NZ, but Sistig said there were plans to become an independent entity.