Alan said that when he joined The Bower’s Repair Cafe, he was keen to give back to the community.
“I was familiar with The Bower as I’d often donated household items I no longer needed, and The Bower’s community Repair Café was the perfect fit; I could contribute my skills as an electrical engineer and handyman and help solve a pressing environmental problem,” he said.
“We come across such an amazing variety of appliances and household items; some we can repair and some we can’t. But we always give it our best shot.”
Alan said it was getting a lot trickier than it used to be as manufacturers go to extreme lengths to make their products as ‘unrepairable’ as possible.
“A lot of appliances are put together with unique screws with unusual screwheads,” he said.
“Sometimes at the Repair Café, we have to modify or make up a special screw driver to fit the screw we’re trying to undo.”
Alan said that for most people that’s way too hard, of course.
“Throwing the item away and buying a new one has become the first thing we think of doing, rather than the last,” he said.
“That’s why the Bower’s Right to Repair Campaign and services like the Repair Café are so vital. So many components are non-recyclable and just end up in landfill.”
Support the Right to Repair campaign by making a tax deductible donation today at bower.org.au.
Revive lost art of repair bid
CALLING on the community to support its work, The Bower has launched the Right to Repair Campaign to help grow a network of community repair cafes and revive the lost art of repair.