Volunteer Voices: Repair Heroes ready to rescue your treasures!

Repair Cafes are back for Spring! At these free community events volunteer fixers share their skills and knowledge to help you fix your broken household items - clothes, accessories, appliances, toys, furniture, bikes, etc. - saving them from landfill. Our fixers, aka Repair Heroes, are the heart and soul of these events. To shine a light on them, we interviewed a new addition to our superhero squad, Adrian Nankivell, who works in IT by day, and is a self-taught tinkerer.

SQ: How would you describe your repair superpower, and how did you develop it?
AN: Hmm, probably my left-field problem solving skills, a knack for seeing unique ways to fix something, sometimes even when it might seem irreparable… Gained with time and experience, both with physical problems and in software development. Often it involves stripping a problem right back to its most basic cause or need…sometimes losing minor functions is a trade-off for a much stronger and longer-lasting repair.

SQ: What made you a Repair Revolutionary?
AN: I’ve always been a greenie and dislike the disposable culture. It pains me to bin something just because one part has broken. If I think something could be repaired, or be useful in the future, I keep it! If I had a bigger garage or shed, I’d be in danger of becoming a real hoarder!

SQ: What is the most interesting item you've repaired to date and why?
AN: At my first Repair Cafe, ready to repair computers and electronics with an array of tools, components and spare parts, somehow the first item put in front of me was a simple garden grubber tool with a broken handle which we managed to repair, albeit slightly shorter!

SQ: Your top tip for people who want to be Repair Heroes?
AN: If you’re taking something apart, take reference pics at each step. It may appear obvious what you’re doing and would have to do in reverse, but later on, looking at a table full of parts and screws, you’ll be glad!

SQ: Final thoughts on repair?
AN: Repairing something imbues it with your love for it, it takes something that might be mass-produced and makes it distinctly yours, adding to its story and to yours.

Join the repair and event volunteer crew!

*Written by Neha Gosalia for Sustainable Queenstown, shared with Volunteer South