Repair Cafe | this cafe does not sell coffee or refreshments, it sells human feelings!

Professional barista communication, please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style )

I believe everyone has this experience: the hair dryer, vacuum cleaner and other small appliances that are used very conveniently suddenly break down, and also pass the warranty period. Ask the manufacturer about the maintenance cost, which may not be much different from buying a new one. Is it necessary to repair or throw it away and replace it? Or, like a coat, bag wear a long time inevitably have small damage, can not buy the same suitable, but also reluctant to throw away directly has been placed in the wardrobe…

Industrial modular manufacturing, fast and fashionable cheap clothing, convenient online shopping and express delivery, so that the value of daily necessities is getting lower and lower, consumption mode "buy-use-discard" repeated cycle, excessive garbage also causes a significant burden on the environment! Martine Postma, who lives in the Netherlands, sees this problem as well as you and I do, and she started the Repair Café as a reminder to value everything.

Martine Postma, a former environmental journalist who is concerned about sustainable industries and environmental protection, has noticed in particular the increasing amount of domestic waste in recent years. Many furniture, appliances and clothing that seem to be still usable are discarded only because of breakage or small parts failure! She discussed with her friends: Then we can recruit some experts and talents who can repair electrical appliances, furniture, supplies, and also like to repair things, and then find a comfortable coffee shop to try, as long as you bring the items to be repaired, experts will help you check and repair them, and you can eat, drink and chat comfortably!

One weekend in October 2009, Martin teamed up with a cafe next to an Amsterdam theater to launch the first "maintenance cafe" event, a departure from the usual monotonous repair mode (Damage sent for repair, repair to pick up), an additional people-to-people communication, but also because in the comfortable coffee shop, everyone can laugh freely, talk about the story behind the repair items; immediately after the event received a satisfactory response, people kept asking when to do it again, especially retired professionals, skilled grandparents want to work as maintenance volunteers, this is also Martin's looking forward to the picture.

Activities continue to be held throughout the Netherlands, accumulating experience, in 2010 Martin organized the operation of the "maintenance cafe" into a replicable model, set up a foundation, welcome interested friends from all over the world to join, the location is not limited to cafes, but also community activity centers, churches, empty workshops, as long as there are tables and chairs for everyone to repair freely, can be gathered; In the maintenance cafe, in addition to the cost of parts and consumables to pay for themselves, experts do not charge maintenance fees, repair friends as long as feedback a story of their own and items, a drink, or a happy smile is enough.

There was once a grandmother who was sad to repair a necklace that had fallen off. It was a relic left by her grandson who died early. She wore it every day. She didn't expect it to break. The maintenance master carefully repaired the necklace for her grandmother and then helped her put it on. Grandma's happy smile made everyone unforgettable. What was repaired here was not only the item, but also each other's heart!

"The most challenging and interesting part is that you never know what people are going to bring to fix it," Martin said with a laugh. However, there was no need to worry at all, because the maintenance masters were also crouching tigers and hidden dragons. They communicated and assisted each other, trying their best to repair everyone's items."Although we can't guarantee that everything can be repaired, we can guarantee that you will have a pleasant time here!" This is the charm of the maintenance cafe ~

Now, there are more than 1300 "maintenance cafes" around the world. I hope that in the near future, you can see such places in the cities where you and I live, and walk around with stories.