J’AIME DECEMBER 2021

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