Repairing our planet together, one object at a time
Working with local volunteers to repair household items, learn new skills and meet other local residents.
Name of project: Restart Project
The challenge
The Biblioteca Comunale di Concesio in Brescia, Northern Italy and the library’s users want to address a need they see as a common challenge around the world: learning repair skills to help fight waste, pollution and over consumption.
In these times of climate and economic crisis, they fear we are losing the ability to examine, understand and repair the tools and things we use on a daily basis.
The initiative
Together with its users, Concesio’s library is addressing this challenge by establishing a regular repair café, believed to be the first of its kind within a library.
Local library users can bring small household appliances that they repair together with volunteers every second Saturday of the month at free events organised and managed by the Kakapo.lab Association.
There are six main repair specialisms – ranging from small appliances, computers and smart phones to wooden objects, toys and clothing items, as well as bicycles.
As well as saving around 600 kg of CO2 emissions and 60 kg of landfill waste at every event, the plan is to share valuable skills and to create a community based on mutual support, with the library at the centre.
What’s next?
The challenge team said: “The initiative reflects the way we see and experience the library: the home of knowledge, whether theoretical or practical, but also everyone’s home, where everyone can meet and do well together.”
The next step is to make the repair café an integral and permanent part of the library’s offering for many years to come. The challenge team would also like to export their model to other libraries in the area as well, working together with like-minded partner organisations.
Relevant links
https://therestartproject.org/groups/biblioteca-di-concesio/
Social media
Instagram: @biblioconcesio
Contact
info@biblioteca.concesio.bs.it
