District of Munich: Repair cafes are in trend – District of Munich

The not-yet-old vacuum cleaner gives up the ghost, the radio suddenly stops making a sound and the heating wires on the toaster stay cold. The frustration is usually great when technical devices break down. And the question that follows is whether you really have to throw the thing away now. Everyone is talking about sustainability and scarce resources. But because manufacturers and specialist stores hardly ever repair anymore, a good ten years ago people resorted to self-help: the first repair cafés opened in Amsterdam in 2010, where skilled workers with screwdrivers and soldering irons gave broken devices a second life. The model made school. Today there are hundreds of repair cafés, repair bars or similar establishments across Germany. There are currently ten in the district of Munich. And two new ones are being added in Aying and Putzbrunn.

It’s not just about getting things up and running again. The first initiatives in the Netherlands also focused on people reduced to consumers. People should come together when repairing, exchange ideas and social cohesion should be strengthened in the workshops with attached café or bar. In 2015, Lisa Zimmermann helped set up a repair café for the Volkshochschule-Südost in Ottobrunn. Since then she has accompanied such initiatives. Next Saturday, January 21st, the first such meeting will take place in Aying under the motto “Repair instead of throwing away”. There is a premiere in Putzbrunn on Saturday, February 11th. “They will also bake cakes,” said the repair-crazy inventor Lisa Zimmermann.

Lisa Zimmermann from the Southeast Adult Education Center doesn’t do the repairs herself, but she does ensure that the meetings run smoothly.

(Photo: Adult Education Center Southeast)

Today, many technically gifted people in many places regularly bend over broken toasters and usually repair the devices in a short time. Registrations are not common, and there is no guarantee that you will get a turn or that something will be repaired again. Very different groups are behind the initiatives. In Unterschleissheim the Agenda group does this, in Unterföhring the “Future Unterfairing” group, which brings together people who see themselves as part of the “transition movement”. They believe in a better world through change in many areas. This also includes urban gardening projects. In Haar and Taufkirchen, as in Ottobrunn, Aying and Putzbrunn, the adult education center is behind the project with partners from Agenda 21, for example, in Grünwald the neighborhood help, in Pullach the Bund Naturschutz. In Graefelfing the community gave the impetus and the community workshop helped and in Garching the group “Lebendiges Garching” supports the repair café, in Schäftlarn the children’s network in the family center.

Sustainability: For some connoisseurs with the right tools, a bike repair is a piece of cake.

For some connoisseurs with the right tools, a bike repair is a piece of cake.

(Photo: Adult Education Center Southeast)

In the next few weeks there are many appointments that you can come to with your vacuum cleaner, radio or toaster. After the forced break caused by the corona pandemic, things are starting up again, although the workshop café that has since been established in Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn has fallen asleep due to the corona problems. In 2015, Lisa Zimmermann was inspired by the VHS Taufkirchen and the activities there. The recycling depot of the Zweckverband Südwest with its attached café and second-hand store “Trödel und Tratsch”, which would also make a good name for a repair café, was only a few houses away from the VHS. What could be more obvious than to regularly invite people there with their broken devices to the repair meeting?

Sustainability: In the past, the hobbyists were often in the trade themselves or studied something technical.  Of course, you have the right tool at hand.

In the past, hobbyists were often in the craft themselves or studied something technical. Of course, you have the right tool at hand.

(Photo: Adult Education Center Southeast)

The demand is great. Even now a few years later. You just come by, without registering, it doesn’t cost anything either. Donations are welcome. According to Zimmermann, around 80 visitors came to the Repair Café, which she also attributes to the fact that the meeting in Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn is no longer taking place. Once every six months there is now an appointment in Ottobrunn. The average is 50 or 60 visitors, says Zimmermann. Some would come straight to the ratchet. “It’s a social story.” And some people go home satisfied even if something is irreparable. “Many people are also relieved when they know that they can throw something away.”

So the resonance is right. However, the VHS coordinator sees a need to catch up in getting younger people more enthusiastic about the idea, which should actually be well received by the Fridays-for-future generation. But actually, says Zimmermann, the majority of hobbyists and customers are older people. Young people are rare. “Maybe because we’re not that active on social media,” says Zimmermann.

The first Repair Café in Aying will take place on Saturday, January 21, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the community center. Thomas Wiedemann is the local organizer. Anyone who still wants to help with the repairs can contact [email protected]. The premiere in Putzbrunn is scheduled for Saturday, February 11; then in the Tennisstüberl, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More dates can be found below https://www.awm-muenchen.de/avoiding/reparieren-statt-wegwerfen/repair-cafes and with the network repair initiatives at https://www.REPAIR-INITIATIVES.DE/.

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