|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Ending is not better than mending, the Repair Festival Aotearoa is set to prove.
With more than 50 events, including in Waiuku, the festival will help Kiwis keep items our landfills and cash in our wallets, organiser Brigitte Sistig confirms.
“We want New Zealanders to think twice about replacing an item if it can be repaired. Every successful repair reduces demand for new, often carbon-heavy, goods,” she says.
“Repair Festival Aotearoa gives people access to repair and aims to shift consumer habits by encouraging repair over replacement. This is especially important at a time of rising economic pressures.”
Run by local volunteers – including craftspeople – the events are covering repairs to everything from clothing to electronics.
In addition, repairing is beneficial for mental health, Sistig says.
“An often-overlooked benefit of a repair culture is that it is incredibly rewarding and confidence building, thereby contributing to our wellbeing. Engaging in hands-on fixing provides people with a sense of purpose, mental agility and a wish to help others, which builds a sense of belonging and more resilient communities,” she adds.
“By slowing down to fix what we own and love, we aren’t just saving money or preventing environmental waste, we are actively lowering our stress levels, boosting our personal happiness, and building stronger communities.”
Locally, the festival involves the Waiuku UFO Crafting Circle (September 21) and Waiuku Repair Café (September 26). Click here for a full list of events.
