Watch Bolton and Maynard Virtual Repair Cafe, June 2020

Posted by Ray Pfau on Jun 22, 2020
Bolton Environment Maynard Nashoba Valley Repair Cafe
What do you do with a broken toaster or lamp? Or, a shirt or blouse with a ripped-out seam? Toss it? No way! On June 20, 2020, attendees were able to get them - and any other household items in need of repair - during the first-ever virtual Bolton and Maynard Repair Café.
The Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley, with support from Bolton Local and the Repair Cafe Foundation, hosted this Repair Café via Zoom. Residents of Bolton, Maynard and surrounding towns - as well as people around the world - were invited to find out what a Repair Café is all about.
 
Here are four videos of Repair Cafe volunteers seeking to resolve problems:
The purpose of this virtual Repair Cafe was to offer free online advice to the public about the repair of household goods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees who wanted to fix items during the Zoom session needed to supply only the parts and tools required to make the repairs. Attendees who wanted only advice needed only the broken item and possibly a few tools to open the items.
 
This Bolton and Maynard Repair Cafe began with a quick introduction of several broken items by the guests. Fixers then offered advice or provided help to the guests, to make the repairs. After that, the process was repeated with the next group of guests with broken items. When fixers could not help guests repair items that are repairable, they may have been able to help guests search online for nearby repair shops.
 
Until this virtual event, all Bolton Repair Cafes had been in-person events where volunteer fixers worked with owners of broken items to make repairs. With the current coronavirus situation, we cannot safely do in-person repairs. Therefore, we offered help in a Zoom meeting. This means owners of broken items had to do the actual repairs, with guidance from the fixers. Our fixers were unable to either handle or work on those items.
 
Reduce mountains of trash
 
At a Repair Café, everything centers on making repairs. Knowledgeable volunteers offer advice on repairing items such as clean and mendable clothing, knitted and crocheted items, lamps, small appliances, computers and other electronics, bikes, toys, and jewelry. Promoting repairs helps reduce mountains of waste.  According to Ray Pfau, a member of the Nashoba Valley club, "We throw away lots of things that often have almost nothing wrong with them, things that could easily be used again after a simple repair. Unfortunately, many people have forgotten that they can fix things. Repair Café wants to change all that."
 
The Repair Café is also meant to put neighbors in touch with each other in a new way. Neighbors may discover that a lot of know-how and practical skills can be found close to home. "When you repair a bike, a CD player, or a pair of trousers with previously unfamiliar neighbors, you look at them in a different light the next time you see them," Pfau notes. "Jointly making repairs can lead to connections in the community. Making repairs can also save money and resources."
 
The Repair Café Foundation has been organizing Repair Cafés since 2009 in the Netherlands, and has provided support since 2011 to local groups in and outside the Netherlands wanting to start their own Repair Cafés. Bolton has been holding in-person Repair Cafés since 2013.
 
For more information on Repair Cafes, contact Ray Pfau, of the Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley, at 978-779-5545 or ray.pfau@alum.mit.edu.

 

 

 
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