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Fixing things together

On the first Thursday of every month, the hall behind a small town library fills with broken things. People arrive carrying lamps that no longer switch on, chairs with loose legs, jackets with broken zips and radios that have gone silent. They have come to a repair evening, an event where volunteers help visitors to mend their belongings instead of throwing them away.

The idea began four years ago with a retired electrician called Tomás Ferreira. He had noticed that his neighbours often asked him to look at small faults, and that most of these problems took only a few minutes to solve. 'A lot of things are thrown away because one cheap part has stopped working,' he explains. 'People assume that a repair will cost more than a new item, but very often that is not the case.' He put up a notice in the library asking for helpers, and six people came to the first meeting.

Today the group has around twenty volunteers, although not all of them come every month. Some are skilled in electronics, while others are good at sewing, woodwork or fixing bicycles. Visitors do not pay for repairs, but there is a box by the door for donations, and this money is used to buy tools and spare parts. The library lets the group use the hall free of charge.

The volunteers are clear that a repair evening is not simply a free repair shop. Visitors are expected to sit with a volunteer and take part in the work. 'We want people to go home with a working toaster, but also with the confidence to try the next repair themselves,' says Aiko Mori, who runs the sewing table. In her view, many adults were never taught basic skills such as replacing a button, and they are often surprised by how easy these jobs turn out to be.

Not every item can be saved, however. Some modern devices are sealed in a way that makes them difficult to open without causing damage, and spare parts for older machines can be hard to find. The volunteers keep a simple record of every item they look at, and they estimate that about two in every three leave the hall in working order.

For many visitors, the social side of the evening matters as much as the repairs. People chat while they wait, and several regular visitors have gone on to become volunteers themselves. Mr Ferreira hopes that other towns will set up similar groups. 'You don't need a big budget,' he says. 'You need a room, a few tables and people who are happy to share what they know.'