We don’t throw away, we repair

A visit to the Repair Café of Eysines inspired us to set up something similar in the South Médoc. The idea of repairing rather than throwing away appealed to us as an ecological initiative that reduces our rubbish while at the same time creating and deepening the links between citizens.

As we are not dedicated DIYers we sought support from the APE/Avensan initiative (an environmentally friendly organisation that works from the premise that that it is better to do something rather than just criticise) and from Repair Café France (https://repaircafe.org//fr/). This organisation offers start-up funding of €70. So that’s how we created Repair Café Médoc Sud which provides a repair service at different venues in Avensan, Listrac or Castelnau.

Later, by direct contact or word of mouth, we brought together a number of repairers (eg for computers, small electrical household items, help with sewing/dressmaking, a clock repairer and keen DIYers for small repair jobs) and we announced the date and place for meeting (eg one Saturday afternoon per month). So far around 50 repair jobs have been carried out at each meeting by a dozen DIYers (both retirees and those still employed, and aged between 30 and 80). 70% of the items brought in have been saved from the dustbin.

Our experience is that these workshops create inter-generational links, that people are keen to communicate and to share (symptoms of the crisis) and sometimes come in as a complete family. The pleasure of passing on one’s knowledge is clear. However, as a result of this success, we find we are now obliged to come up with an organisational structure (creating an association that conforms to the administrative requirements of this kind of structure). There is still work to be done …

2021 Stephane Gabriel / Jerôme Latreille (Avensan), translation: Margaret and Richard Beasley