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What is a Repair Café?

CHRISTOPHER KELLEY
Posted 1/15/25

NEDERLAND - Though many residents of the mountains pride themselves on being adept at many self-sufficient practices, there are often quirky repairs that can escape our areas of expertise. Thankfully, there is a community-driven effort organized...

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What is a Repair Café?

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NEDERLAND - Though many residents of the mountains pride themselves on being pretty self-sufficient, there are often quirky repairs that can escape our areas of expertise. Thankfully, there is a community-driven effort organized for just these instances: when the specific know-how on the innards of a kitchen gadget, computer, or musical instrument eludes us. 

On Saturday, January 25, 2025, the very first Nederland Repair Café (NRC) will be hosted from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center. This free event, organized by local Anne De Jager, features the priceless knowledge of local volunteer experts, ready to coach owners of broken artifacts through fixing their beloved appliances, fabrics, and electronics. 

“The (NRC) aims to repair broken items that have life left in them, to prevent them from ending up on a landfill,” a post on the official NRC Facebook page reads. “In the process, we hope to learn, share knowledge and help people overcome their fear of the unknown.”

Those with a treasure in need of repair can apply online in advance at https://repair.nerder.land

Walk-ins will also be accepted, though table space and access to certain tools may already be claimed, and a repair coach may not be immediately available to assist.  

“From the perspective of a visitor, a receptionist will receive you with your broken items, and tell you when and where to go,” the NRC organizers explained. “In the space we have tables set up with tools. You are encouraged to do yourself what you feel comfortable with, and discuss with your coach how to proceed when it gets tricky.

“All coaches are volunteers, with a wild variety of experience in very different fields, not associated with any sort of body and working on their own responsibility.”

Those who wish to volunteer and who have a particular skill set, including in textiles, electronics, appliances, musical instruments, audio equipment, computers, and iPads, can sign up via the NRC website or Facebook page.

Any member of the community interested in assisting with marketing, acting as receptionist at the event, setting up and breaking down the event, or keeping inventory of the available tools, can also volunteer.

“The idea for a Repair Café is not new,” the NRC post continues. “There is a very successful repair group in Boulder, which has provided invaluable info about the organization of such an event, and they offered their support and tools to borrow!”

Repair Café’s became popularized in 2007 by Dutch journalist Martine Postma, who introduced the first café in Amsterdam in 2009. Postma created the Repair Café International Foundation in 2011, and by 2016 had helped to register more than 1,000 cafés across the Netherlands, Germany, and in the U.S. 

“There was overwhelming positive response to the idea, so we’re giving this a go,” NRC wrote. 

So if you have a household appliance that isn’t doing the job anymore, a power tool that no longer feels powerful, or a favorite toy that needs some emergency surgery, NRC urges you not to throw those items away and instead bring them to Nederland Community Center. 

 “Come to the Repair Café, we will try our very best to help you fix it. It is a great feeling to have the power over your stuff instead of the other way around.”