Welcome Five Cities Repair Café

Ecologistics welcomes another sponsored organization to our fold, Five Cities Repair Café.  Repair Café holds quarterly free events at the Grover Beach Community Center, staffed by volunteers, who will help community members fix anything from small appliances, to clothes, to bikes, to computers.   “Our goal is to support reuse and to keep repairable items out of the landfill,” says organizer Linda Busek. “Our fixers use teachable moments to inspire folks to try making repairs themselves. Volunteers show visitors how to diagnose problems, giving them the knowledge and encouragement to tackle some fixes on their own.”

Linda moved to the Central Coast from the Bay area two years ago.  She had participated in a repair café that took place in Palo Alto and was missing the energy that was generated.  Linda decided to take a crack at starting a repair café in her newly adopted home.  “Our first event was held October 6, 2019, at the Exploration Station with 42 volunteers and quickly expanded to a larger venue, the Grover Beach Community Center, for the January 12th event,” says Linda.

Five Cities Repair Café has a loyal team of volunteer fixers who work with visitors to repair broken items. Other volunteers manage logistics, including registering visitors, supporting the fixers, set-up and take-down and generally doing whatever else needs to get done. “Most of our volunteers are repeat volunteers, but we are always looking for folks who can fix things and teach others how to fix things,” says Linda.

Their April event was canceled due to COVID-19, so the next Repair Café will be held on Sunday, July 19.  For more information or to volunteer go to their web site.  Events are operated on a shoestring budget; funds must be raised to rent the community center for each event and to pay for refreshments, insurance, printing costs and marketing.  If you would like to donate to Five Cities Repair Café, click here.