By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
We\u2019re often quick to replace broken items these days, but a new community service aims to provide an alternative, connecting residents with volunteer repairers.<\/p>\n
The Darley Neighbourhood House & Learning Centre is launching the \u2018Marsh Mender\u2019 repair caf\u00e9 on 26 February, and is asking for local businesses, tradespeople, or anyone with mending skills, to lend a hand.<\/p>\n
The concept aims not just to save people money, but also reduce waste from items unnecessarily being thrown away, and raise awareness on just how many items can be repaired when broken.<\/p>\n
Amber Kennedy is the Neighbourhood House\u2019s Project Coordinator for the Marsh Mender, and said the program would also be a chance for participants to socialise and learn new skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing kind of the Darley take on a repair caf\u00e9, starting off nice and small with our opening day on the 26th of February, with the events happening once a month. You bring in something that is perhaps broken or needs mending, and hopefully we\u2019ll have someone there that will be able to check it out,\u201d Ms Kennedy told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is more than just getting things fixed, it\u2019s also getting people to start thinking about getting things fixed, rather than the first thought being to throw a broken item out and get a new one. And it\u2019s not just that you bring in your shirt missing a button, and leave with a shirt with a new button, it\u2019s that you actually sit down with the person mending it and they show you how to mend the button.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extent of what the Marsh Mender can fix will largely depend on who volunteers and what the take-up is from the community, and Ms Kennedy and the team at the Neighbourhood House are excited to see how the program develops.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can be fixed goes back to who the menders are, and we\u2019ve put the call out to see what skills we have in the area. We\u2019re keeping the commitment from a mender\u2019s perspective as low as we can \u2013 the minimum commitment that they ever have to give would be a couple of hours, ever\u2026but there might be people who enjoy it and come back every month,\u201d Ms Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to think about how many paths it can take and what it can develop into, but it\u2019ll depend on the community and what the community sees the future of it being.\u201d<\/p>\n
For updates on the Marsh Mender program, follow the Darley Neighbourhood House & Learning Centre Facebook page. <\/p>\n
The project is funded by a Sustainability Victoria grant provided to the Neighbourhood House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis We\u2019re often quick to replace broken items these days, but a new community service aims to provide an alternative, connecting residents with volunteer repairers. The Darley Neighbourhood House & Learning Centre is launching the \u2018Marsh Mender\u2019 repair caf\u00e9 on 26 February, and is asking for local businesses, tradespeople, or anyone with mending […]<\/p>\n