All Saints’ church hall in Harpenden was a hive of activity last Saturday (12 February 2022) when the church hosted the first Repair Fair organised by the recently formed St Albans District Fixers. Some 40 attendees brought all manner of electrical and electronic goods including toasters, lamps, audio equipment, kitchen items and laptops on which a skilled band of 8 amateur fixers worked their magic. A good number of items were fixed, to the delight of their owners, or declared fixable with a little more work.
The results were fed into the “Fixometer” maintained by The Restart Project. This indicates that 21kg of e-waste may have been averted as well as 225kg of CO2-equivalent emissions in the manufacture of replacement items. The equivalent of driving from Harpenden, through France to Madrid!
Bike repairs and servicing, and clothing and fabric repairs were also undertaken by other volunteers, skilled in their own fields. Meanwhile two members of the All Saints’ Catering Committee plied fixers and those awaiting a fix with teas, coffees and delicious home-made cakes.
Revd James Brown, Associate Vicar at All Saints’ commented “I was delighted that the church could host the Repair Fair. All Saints’ is committed to its EcoChurch programme and to care for God’s world, and so to bring people together for this was a real joy. Huge thanks to all the fixers, hosts, and those providing refreshments.”
If the highly appreciative response of all attending on Saturday is any indicator, the success of future events organised by St Albans District Fixers is in no doubt. Plans are already underway for two events during SustFest22, one in St Albans and another in Harpenden. Meanwhile, if anyone reading this would like to share or develop their electrical and electronic fixing skills; the St Albans District Fixers would be delighted to hear from you. To know more, look at the fixers pages on the Sustainable St Albans Website or get in touch at fixers@sustainablestalbans.org