Favourite sweaters, kitchen appliances and laptops were among the goods that recently got a new lease on life following a series of repair workshops in Toronto.
But that's not all, a diverse mix of people left feeling empowered and with a renewed sense of community.
And that's why the workshop series, a collaboration between the Ralph Thornton Community Centre in the city's east end neighbourhood of Riverdale, and Seneca Polytechnic, was such a success.
Wai Chu Cheng, Principal Investigator, oversaw the project, which developed free workshops in the spring to teach people how to repair household items and provided an assessment outlining the impact and reach of the program.
"It was an important project for Seneca because we like to support our communities and to demonstrate that we can have a sustainable way of life," said Ms. Cheng, who is also a sustainability manager at Seneca.
The team, made up of Ralph Thornton staff, Ms. Cheng and research assistants Teresa Tsui, who graduated from the eight-month Sustainable Business Management graduate certificate program in April, and Ray Chan, a student in the three-year Computer Engineering Technology advanced diploma program, worked on the project. They developed and held three sessions, one in which people brought in goods to get them repaired, and two where they learned how to fix small appliances and laptops.
Wai Chu Cheng, Principal Investigator, Applied Research
The idea of holding such workshops originated in Amsterdam, where a so-called Repair Café movement began in 2009. Since then, it has expanded globally and Ms. Cheng is the co-founder of Repair Café Toronto, which started up in 2013.
Ravi Yee Joshi, Executive Director, Ralph Thornton Community Centre, said some of the repair cafes were held at the centre in the past, but that there hadn't been any since the pandemic started. Issues such as the rising cost of living, social isolation and sustainability have become more predominant in recent years, making these events even more important for the community.
"We view our role as bringing community together, especially around skills development and lowering the waste footprint," Mr. Yee Joshi said. "One of the most important things for us was how much people got to know each other and how diverse the participant group was.
Ravi Yee Joshi, Executive Director, Ralph Thornton Community Centre
"This really excelled at creating an attractive, enticing draw to the centre that crossed age boundaries, cultures and socio-economic status," he said.
Of the participants, 93 per cent wanted to learn repair skills, 82 per cent wanted to get broken items fixed and 48 per cent were concerned about the environment. In addition, the analysis showed that most people were between the ages of 16 and over 70 and from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
"The fact that this was a research study alongside a program really helped to add momentum and weight to the findings," Mr. Yee Joshi said. "Our community-run board really took it to heart."
It also provided the centre with a template for future programs and studies, he said.
The research assistants said the project was an excellent experience.
Teresa Tsui, Research Assistant
"Organizing a repair café and workshops provided practical solutions to reduce waste and promote sustainability," Ms. Tsui said, adding it was an opportunity to apply her studies to a real-world situation.
"It highlighted the importance of community engagement in environmental efforts and demonstrated how small initiatives can lead to significant changes," she said. "Seeing people actively participating, collaborating and leaving with a sense of accomplishment was incredibly rewarding."
Mr. Chan agreed. In addition, he said it was great to get experience as an event co-ordinator, researcher and to work with passionate people.
Ms. Cheng said everyone loved the project.
Ray Chan, Research Assistant
"These skills are important," she said. "It speaks to your relationship to your own things, to caring about them and caring about people ... There are so many benefits."
