J’AIME DECEMBER 2021
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others how to mend things or learn<br />
a craft. It could be crochet, or how<br />
to darn your socks, or how to wire a<br />
lamp. We open the doors from 2pm<br />
until 5pm and people show up with<br />
things - there’s no need to book in.<br />
And we serve refreshments when we<br />
can, too - that’s where the café part<br />
comes in.”<br />
There are no restrictions on the<br />
items you can bring along, so if in<br />
doubt, bring it in. If the volunteers<br />
think your item is beyond repair<br />
they will always say so. People have<br />
brought in all sorts of objects over<br />
the last three years.<br />
“We’ve had a few old clocks that<br />
people really value, but mostly it’s kettles, hairdryers<br />
and other electricals,” says Pam. “We’ve had vacuum<br />
cleaners, lawnmowers, a pushchair where the brake<br />
was getting stuck. A few laptops and tablets. Our<br />
repairers are sensible people and if you want some<br />
advice as to whether to fix something or take it to the<br />
recycling centre, we can do that type of check.”<br />
This really important service is provided free of<br />
charge, but you can make donations in exchange<br />
for repairs which are put back into the Café to pay<br />
for room hire, refreshments and so on. Pam believes<br />
repeating, sharing and living by the ‘repair and reuse’<br />
mantra is critical if we are to stop replacing goods<br />
unnecessarily and reduce our waste problem.<br />
“We’re living in a throwaway age when people just<br />
get rid and get another if something isn’t working,”<br />
she says. “That attitude needs to change - we all<br />
know that. When we can repair an item for someone<br />
that they thought was broken, it’s a great joy when<br />
they can take it home and they don’t need to buy<br />
another one.”<br />
Most of us, when we take broken or obsolete items<br />
to the recycling centre, think we’re taking it there to<br />
be dealt with properly and recycled. Some of it is,<br />
but by no means all. Electrical recycling waste is a<br />
massive problem. Pam thinks manufacturers should<br />
be playing a bigger role in preventing items ending<br />
up in the recycling centre at all, by making spare<br />
parts available or taking items back for repair.<br />
“Manufacturers do pay into a central fund that’s<br />
used by local authorities to recycle electrical waste,<br />
but that’s the wrong way around,” she insists. “There<br />
is Right to Repair legislation coming in, which will<br />
mean for certain new products the manufacturer<br />
has to have affordable spares available, but it’s very<br />
LICHFIELD REPAIR AND SHARE<br />
CAFE CAN BRING BROKEN<br />
GOODS BACK TO LIFE<br />
limited. They have got to make things last longer.”<br />
Lichfield Repair and Share Café takes place on the<br />
third Saturday of every month (except December<br />
and August) at Curborough, but Pam and the other<br />
volunteers are always looking for ways to get the<br />
message out and reach more people. They hosted<br />
a pop-up in The Nest space in Lichfield city centre,<br />
organised by Nurture Network in the former Marks<br />
and Spencer. They’ve done repair sessions at the<br />
Methodist church’s eco-festival in September as<br />
part of The Great Big Green Week, and at the Fuse<br />
Festival.<br />
There’s also a new repair and share café that recently<br />
started up in Burntwood. Local councillor Sue<br />
Woodward was instrumental in getting it set up and a<br />
few repairers who live locally offered their help. The<br />
first session took place in early December.<br />
They have looked into creating a ‘Library of<br />
Things’, where members borrow useful items without<br />
having to buy their own, but that’s still a little beyond<br />
reach for now. However, Pam recommends the food<br />
sharing app Olio, which has a borrow section for<br />
other items, and Streetbank, another app where you<br />
can share items with the community. So if you’ve got<br />
a pressure washer, for example, and you’re happy to<br />
loan it out you can do it that way.<br />
The next Repair and Share Café at Curborough<br />
Community Centre will take place between 2-5pm<br />
on January 15, 2022. Follow Lichfield Repair<br />
& Share Café on Facebook, @lichrepaircafe<br />
on Instagram or @lichfieldshare on Twitter for<br />
updates.<br />
If you or someone you know has repair skills you’re<br />
happy to volunteer, you can get in touch with Pam<br />
and the team on lichfieldshare@gmail.com.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
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