J’AIME DECEMBER 2021

F E AT U R E
Repair and share alike
DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THESE LOCAL GROUPS AIMING TO HELP US REDUCE UNNECESSARY WASTE
AND REPAIR, REUSE AND RECYCLE AS MUCH AS WE CAN? KATY EDGINGTON FINDS OUT MORE
With the eyes of the world on the UK
last month as world leaders and activists
gathered in Glasgow for the UN Climate
Change Conference (COP26), there’s
never been a more important time for us
all to do our bit for the environment.
We all know the three Rs - reduce,
reuse, recycle - that can help us be more
environmentally friendly: reducing what
we buy and use, reusing what we have or
passing it on to someone else who can use
it, and recycling our waste where possible.
A vital step in that chain is repairing
objects that are faulty or damaged, so
there’s no need to replace them and they
can be used again.
That’s all very well, but not everyone is
comfortable getting out the toolkit and taking a
screwdriver to their vacuum cleaner or threading up
a needle to stitch a ripped seam.
That’s where repair cafés come in. This worldwide
phenomenon is said to have started in the late 2000s
in the Netherlands and since then repair cafés have
AN OLD RECORD PLAYER
GETS A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
THE CAFE IS OPEN ONCE A MONTH
sprung up across continents.
Pam Beale is the driving force behind Lichfield
Repair and Share Café. Set up around three years
ago, it started off under the direction of Kate Gomez
of the popular local history blog Lichfield Lore,
but Pam is now responsible for all the organising
and promoting the monthly café at Curborough
Community Centre.
Lichfield Repair and Share Café is a group of
likeminded people operating under the umbrella
of Transition Lichfield, an organisation that brings
together different elements of the community to
support the local economy and for the good of each
member group. So, how does it work?
The Café’s drop-in sessions are open to all visitors
who can bring an item or items for repair.
There are currently around 12 repairers who are
part of the group, all of whom volunteer their time,
so skills will vary depending on who’s available for
each session.
“We have around six people who can do odd jobs
and repair electricals, a few sewers and crafters who
can do repairs, and someone whose expertise is
marquetry and carpentry who also sharpens tools,”
explains Pam.
“We try to skillshare so that people can learn from
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