Repair Heroes ready to rescue your treasures!
by Neha Gosalia
Repair Cafes are back for spring! These are free community events where volunteer fixers, our superheroes, share their skills and knowledge to help you fix your broken household items – whether it’s clothes, accessories, small appliances, toys, furniture, bikes, etc. our volunteer fixers have got you covered and together we’re saving them from landfill.
The idea is to sit with your repairer and learn simple, handy repair skills while getting your items fixed. It’s a great opportunity to connect, learn, and give your belongings a new lease of life and along the way often the item goes from being something that might be mass-produced and makes it distinctly yours, adding to its story and to yours.
Our fixers, aka Repair Heroes, are the heart and soul of these events. We’re always on the lookout for talented fixers and event helpers! If you can darn, sew, stitch, fix bikes, electricals, any repair skills at all, or just love helping at community events, we’d love to hear from you!
If you are not sure whether this is you, here are some classic signs to recognise in yourself that marks you as a repair hero and someone we’d love to have on board.
You might have what we call a left-field problem solving skill, a knack for seeing unique ways to fix something, sometimes even when it might seem irreparable … often this is gained over time as you are a bit of problem solver. You may enjoy taking a problem and stripping it right back to its most basic cause or need … sometimes losing minor functions is a trade-off for a much stronger and longer-lasting repair.
Perhaps you are described, or you see yourself as a bit of a greenie and dislike the disposable culture. It may pain you to bin something just because one part has broken. If you think you are someone who sees something could be repaired or be useful in the future, you are one of our kind of people.
If this sounds like you, even a little bit, and you’d like some more information contact scott@sustainablequeenstown.org.nz or sign up to volunteer using this form: https://forms.gle/zWyvs8oqJ5G32wg1A
Come along, bring your friends and whānau, and get stuck into some good old repair therapy.
Repair Revolution is created by Wastebusters and delivered in the Whakatipu by Sustainable Queenstown.
This event is proudly supported by the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s Zero Waste District Programme.
Saturday, 28 September, 10am-2pm, at Salvation Army, Frankton.
