{"id":358,"date":"2021-05-03T16:44:56","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T14:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/repaircafe.org\/about\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T14:26:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T13:26:03","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row el_id=”zijbalk”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gVjU1ydAUlQ”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620049234805{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\n

What is a Repair Caf\u00e9?<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1668519769171{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Repair Caf\u00e9s are free meeting places and they\u2019re all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Caf\u00e9 is located, you\u2019ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. On clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You\u2019ll also find\u00a0expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields.<\/p>\n

Visitors bring their broken items from home. Together with the specialists they start making their repairs in the Repair Caf\u00e9. It\u2019s an ongoing learning process. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can lend a hand with someone else\u2019s repair job. You can also get inspired at the reading table \u2013 by leafing through books on repairs and DIY.<\/p>\n

There are over 2,500 Repair Caf\u00e9s worldwide.\u00a0Visit\u00a0<\/a>one in your area or\u00a0start<\/a>\u00a0one yourself! See also the\u00a0house rules<\/a>\u00a0we use at the Repair Caf\u00e9.[\/vc_column_text]

\"\"<\/div><\/figure>[vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620050106934{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\n

Why a Repair Caf\u00e9?<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We throw away vast amounts of stuff. Even things with almost nothing wrong, and which could get a new lease on life after a simple repair. The trouble is, lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves. Especially younger generations no longer know how to do that. <\/span>Knowing how to make repairs is a skill quickly lost. This is a threat to a sustainable future and to the circular economy, in which raw materials can be reused again and again. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s why there’s a Repair Caf\u00e9! People with repair skills get the appreciation they deserve. Invaluable practical skills are passed on.\u00a0<\/span>Things are being used for longer and don\u2019t have to be thrown away. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products. It cuts CO2 emissions, for example, because manufacturing new products and recycling old ones causes CO2 to be released.<\/p>\n

The Repair Caf\u00e9 teaches people to see their possessions in a new light. And, once again, to appreciate their value. Repair Caf\u00e9 volunteers also visit schools to give repair lessons<\/a>. In both these ways, the Repair Caf\u00e9\u00a0<\/span>helps change people\u2019s mindset. This is essential to kindle people\u2019s enthusiasm for a sustainable society.<\/p>\n

But most of all, the Repair Caf\u00e9 just wants to show how much fun repairing things can be, and how easy it often is. Why don\u2019t you give it a go?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620051697370{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\n

Who thought up the idea?<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text]
\"\"<\/div><\/figure>[vc_column_text]The Repair Caf\u00e9 was initiated by Martine Postma<\/a>. Since 2007, she has been striving for sustainability at a local level in many ways. Martine organised the very first Repair Caf\u00e9 in Amsterdam, on October 18, 2009. It was a great success.<\/p>\n

This prompted Martine to start Repair Caf\u00e9 International Foundation. Since 2011, this non-profit organisation has provided professional support to local groups in the Netherlands and other countries wishing to start their own Repair Caf\u00e9. Do you want to know more about the origins of Repair Caf\u00e9? Read the\u00a0book<\/a>\u00a0that Martine wrote (in Dutch). Or invite Martine for a\u00a0lecture<\/a>\u00a0at your company or organisation.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1636449986648{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\n

Worldwide movement<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Repair Caf\u00e9s, meanwhile, form a worldwide movement that strives to preserve repair skills in society and to promote more repairable products. Besides the Netherlands, there are Repair Caf\u00e9s in Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and in dozens of other countries around the world. Repair Caf\u00e9 has even made its way to India and Japan!<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620051710402{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]\n

Not competing with professional repair specialists<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1668519213706{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Repair Caf\u00e9 International Foundation sometimes gets asked whether access to free repair get-togethers is competing with professional repair specialists. The answer is; quite the opposite. Repair Caf\u00e9s focus attention on the possibility of getting things repaired. Visitors are frequently advised to go to the few professionals still around.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, people who visit Repair Caf\u00e9s are not usually customers of repair specialists. They say that they normally throw broken items away because they find a professional repair too expensive. At the Repair Caf\u00e9 they learn that you don\u2019t have to throw things away; there are alternatives.<\/p>\n

Experience Repair Caf\u00e9 yourself<\/h2>\n

Here are two wonderful videos to let you experience Repair Caf\u00e9 yourself. Brett Nicoletti filmed at Pasadena Repair Caf\u00e9 (US) in the spring of 2020:[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ur2DH7wG6BY” css=”.vc_custom_1634287573412{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620121127226{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]And this is how media company ATTN promoted the Repair Caf\u00e9 idea via Facebook in November 2016:[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dX2Rc7OEGdY”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]

\"\"<\/div>

Starter kit Repair Caf\u00e9 in the classroom<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row el_id=”zijbalk”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gVjU1ydAUlQ”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1620049234805{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”] What is a Repair Caf\u00e9? [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1668519769171{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Repair Caf\u00e9s are free meeting places and they\u2019re all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Caf\u00e9 is located, you\u2019ll find tools…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-358","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout Repair Caf\u00e9 - Repairing for a Sustainable Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about Repair Caf\u00e9, our mission, and how we contribute to a more sustainable future by promoting repair and reducing waste.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About Repair Caf\u00e9 - Repairing for a Sustainable Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about Repair Caf\u00e9, our mission, and how we contribute to a more sustainable future by promoting repair and reducing waste.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Repaircafe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-19T13:26:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/\",\"name\":\"About Repair Caf\u00e9 - Repairing for a Sustainable Future\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-03T14:44:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-19T13:26:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn about Repair Caf\u00e9, our mission, and how we contribute to a more sustainable future by promoting repair and reducing waste.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/about\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"About\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.repaircafe.org\/\",\"name\":\"Repaircafe\",\"description\":\"Weggooien? 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