Prince Albert Repair Café seeks location

Nov 30, 2017 | 1:00 PM

An international movement designed to reduce waste is looking for a location in Prince Albert.

Repair cafés are locations designed to promote community building and recycling by encouraging patrons to fix their broken items. While “fixers” usually work with electronics, things like clothing, wooden toys, and tablewares are also accepted.

Lillis Lawrence, the café’s co-ordinator, went before the executive committee at city hall earlier this week seeking a location for a repair café.

“We throw away piles of stuff. Many items have very little wrong with them and could easily be used again after a simple repair,” Lawrence said in a statement. “Unfortunately, many people have forgotten the art of fixing. Repair Café wants to change that.”

In a phone interview with paNOW, Lawrence said the culture has shifted away from fixing what is broken to simply replacing it with something new – creating more waste. Based on reports she’s seen from the city of Prince Albert’s landfill, she feels more items could be removed from the dump by simply repairing them.

In order to make her plans a reality, Lawrence requested the city provide a space to operate the repair café. She said public works is working on her request to which would be suitable for the café’s needs.

“We need space that has good lighting, lots of electrical outlets, a Wi-Fi connection, and an atmosphere that is joyful,” Lawrence said. “We don’t want to just be in a warehouse where you feel like you’re imposing.”

She said she’d like to find a place where people can enjoy a cup of coffee while fixing their broken goods and chatting with new people.

The café would work based on donations of cash or materials and collaboration between the “fixer” and the person bringing in items for repair according to Lawrence.

The café tentatively plans to open its doors for the first time on Saturday, Jan. 13 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the new year. Lawrence said depending on the interest from the community and the availability of “fixers,” the café could operate once a month or even once a week on Saturdays.

“We’re always looking for more people with any skills they might want to share with other people,” Lawrence said.

Repair Cafés first started in the Netherlands in 2009, before spreading through Europe and the rest of the world. In Canada, repair cafes exist in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Red Deer and Victoria.

 – With files from Glenn Hicks.

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas