Today’s Repair Café Tervuren on Saturday 9 March marks almost ten years or fifteen Repair Cafés being held, mostly in spring and autumn. Sharpening blunt knives, repairing vacuum cleaners, and coffee machines has become a philosophy again in Tervuren.
“The original idea behind the Repair Café movement was that people could learn these repair skills. More people used to have those skills before,” says Repair Café’s Mylène De Scheemaecker. “Unfortunately, we’ve all lost them a bit. And at a Repair Café, you can actually teach some people to repair certain things — like fixing a flat tire or sewing on a button.”
“But there are also many more complex electrical repairs. It’s a bit much to expect everyone to handle those,” Mylène tells Tervuren+.
“The idea actually originated in the Netherlands, in 2009 in Amsterdam to be exact. And since then, Repair Cafés have spread everywhere. We’ve become a global movement,” says Mylène.
“At Repair Café, we’re also strongly opposed to manufacturers’ tricks where products break after a certain time. Think of a printer programmed to only last for a limited number of prints, after which the software stops the machine.”
“In the beginning, in 2015, we only had one electrical repairer, and now we have eight or nine. Our team of repairers and other volunteers has grown to almost 25 people over the years. At the Repair Café in November 2023, it was the first time we didn’t have to turn anyone away for electrical repairs,” says Mylène. The Repair Café was then extended from three to six hours, and today it runs from 11 am to 5 pm.
“In the beginning, in 2015, we only had one electrical repairer, and now we have eight or nine.,” says Mylène.
“But we’re all volunteers. And most repairers are actually self-taught. But for example, we also have engineers in the team of electrical repairers who enjoy fixing things. The group has also become somewhat more international, although most speak Dutch.”
“Entry to the Repair Café is free. But if people are satisfied with the service, we invite them to make a voluntary contribution to a good cause. We have collection boxes at our various stands.”
Where: Town Hall De Zevenster, rooms De Wilg & De Berk, Markt Tervuren.
When: 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2024. And the Workshop Consuming (in Dutch) from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
Repair Café : https://wordpress.repaircafedruivenstreek.be/tervuren/
Workshop : https://repaircafedruivenstreek.be/workshop-consumptie-maar-dan-zo-klimaatvriendelijk-als-mogelijk/
Toch liever in het Nederlands ? Or need to comment? Et pour les francophones, la même chose ? Klicken Sie bitte auf www.facebook.com/tervurenplus
Photos by Frauke Vandenbroeck (except for the photo by Mylène De Scheemaecker).
