On a mission to repair
June 2017
 Team Repair Cafe: Making a positive difference to the urban life |
Indians prefer to repair and recycle old, broken and used household stuff. The repairwallah is mostly a stone’s throw away in local Indian markets. But sadly the culture of using and discarding is slowly creeping in the urban milieu of the country. Especially in smart cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, people often discard old, damaged items, either for want of enough time, or adequate place to have them repaired, leading to the problem of mounting waste.
Before this problem becomes endemic in size thankfully an enterprise called Repair Cafe has come to the rescue. The Repair Cafe Foundation was set up in Netherlands in 2010 with the aim to reuse and recycle objects ranging from furniture to electronic appliances in a collective effort to curb waste production. Over time, the movement has taken a global turn with repair cafes being set up in different countries around the world. In 2015, Antara Mukherji and Purna Sarkar, came up with a repair cafe initiative in Bengaluru. They believe that recycling is an essential component of sustainable living and what’s better than bringing everyone together to achieve this goal?
Anyone who is a specialist in repairing things can volunteer at the cafe and anyone who wants anything to be repaired can avail of help with a pocket friendly amount of 50 rupees. Even if you have nothing that needs repairing or are not a specialist, you can be a part of the cafe just to learn some quick DIY (Do it yourself) tips and enjoy books on recycling with a warm cup of coffee. So next time you find an old broken gadget, think of ways to repair it. And if the Repair Cafe has not made its way in your city yet, it’s always an option to start your own. Repair Cafes are symbols of the positive difference we can make in conserving our environment with some simple quick fixes.