Busy Summer for Elmpt's Repair Shop: No Vacation in Sight
In the heart of Yangon, Myanmar, the city's first Repair Café stands as a beacon of sustainability and social inclusiveness. This unique community-driven initiative, modelled after the world's first Repair Café in Amsterdam, brings together people from all walks of life to repair broken items, rather than discarding them.
The Repair Café has successfully accepted its 500th case in July, a testament to its growing popularity. The initiative is staffed by a volunteer team of over 20 dedicated individuals, including Marianne Janssen, Tobias Magon, Peter Witte, and Michael Dege. Marianne directs customers to the appropriate repair specialist based on their needs, while Peter handles the finances for the Repair Café within the Kolping family.
Michael, a graduate engineer in electrical engineering, enjoys working on older devices, often using his precision tools to diagnose and solve problems with the devices. Meanwhile, Sonja Müller, Kerstin Tigges, and Karin Witte form the "café" team, taking care of the guests, encouraging conversations, making connections, and providing a small buffet with coffee, tea, mineral water, and homemade cakes.
The Repair Café offers a free service, but a pink donation pig is available at the exit for those who wish to contribute. The donations received exceed the costs of the Repair Café, ensuring its sustainability. The donation pig is usually filled well, allowing the Repair Café to cover its costs and continue its operations.
The Repair Café expresses gratitude to all donors for their generous contributions. The repairs are not always straightforward. Sometimes, repairs require replacing a resistor or resoldering a contact. In other cases, parts need to be sourced to continue the repair later. However, even when repairs are unsuccessful, customers often leave satisfied because they can dispose of the device guilt-free.
The Repair Café is part of the Kolping family, a Catholic-inspired international association dedicated to promoting human dignity, social justice, and the common good. The Repair Café's mission aligns perfectly with these values, fostering a sense of community, promoting repair skills, and supporting circular economy principles.
The Repair Café aims to provide an inclusive, community-based event that helps address solid waste problems amid Myanmar’s political and social challenges. By encouraging repair skills and local peer-to-peer learning, it promotes sustainability and supports the circular economy. Participants bring broken appliances, clothing, furniture, and other items to be fixed, fostering a convivial atmosphere of cooperation and mutual support while raising environmental awareness.
The Repair Café is a shining example of how community-driven initiatives can make a significant impact on sustainability and waste reduction. It serves as a model for other cities to follow, demonstrating that with a little effort and a lot of cooperation, we can all contribute to a cleaner, greener future.
- The Repair Café, with its focus on repairing items instead of discarding them, has expanded beyond appliances and clothing to include home-and-garden items, such as broken lawnmowers or damaged garden tools, reflecting the diverse needs of its growing community.
- At the Repair Café, participants not only share knowledge about repairing various items but also exchange tips on maintaining a sustainable and eco-friendly home-and-garden lifestyle, promoting a holistic approach towards sustainability within the community.
