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https://apnews.com/article/repair-cafes-economy-anticonsumerism-affordability-buy-nothing-d3acac3ec2aae5e85294b34f0f4764b8>
"NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (
AP) — On a drizzly Saturday morning late last month, the
basement of the New Paltz United Methodist Church filled with old lamps, blunt
knives, malfunctioning sound mixers and balky zippers.
About a dozen volunteers welcomed the broken goods and their owners to a
worldwide movement that’s evangelizing new relationships between people and
their things.
Repair Cafes — free events where volunteers with technical know-how help
neighbors fix myriad household items — are part of a new brand of
anticonsumerism that’s trying to offer an alternative to the mass-produced
disposable goods that have dominated the global economy for the last
half-century. Helping fuel that move to repairing, not buying, are U.S.
consumer prices, which climbed sharply again last month as the war with Iran
delivered higher gasoline prices and more pain for Americans.
After starting in the Netherlands with a single event in 2009, Repair Cafe has
grown into a global nonprofit with more than 59,000 members, some 4,000 cafes
and close to 850,000 items fixed a year.
“We need to change our mindset. We need to change the economy,” Repair Cafe
founder Martine Postma said. “Even if Repair Cafes can’t solve the problem
alone, then still they are a very clear sign that change is needed on a much
higher level.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
