In September GIRR’s Repair Series started up again, with a Small Electrical Appliances repair event on Saturday the 14th at the South Galiano Community Hall. Paul K set up with his tools between 10 am and 1 pm, ready to repair nearly any electrical item that has a plug on it and is small enough for one person to carry. This event will be the last of it’s kind in the Repair series. Stay tuned while we re-envision how best to serve the community by way of small appliance repairs in 2025.
On Saturday, October 5th from 10 am to 1 pm we’ll be hosting an all-ages clothing swap with textile repairs. This is the third event of its kind we have hosted, and it’s a wonder at how many items show up for the swap each time. In this iteration we’re taking it up a notch. Will there be swapping? Yes, there will. Will Melissa R and Hannah K be doing free textile repairs? Indeed, they will. And what else? A DIY project table! We’ll have a spare sewing machine and some basic tools, plus a small and mighty team of volunteers to offer tips and guidance on your projects. Anna Keefer will also be there with her hand sewing demo table. You might want to try your hand at repairing or create a new object by upcycling materials from the swap surplus. Be an activist! And have some fun while tackling the challenge of textile waste! Plan to come to the South Community Hall at 10 and stay until 1 to participate in the movement to keep textiles in use and out of the landfill.
A note about the swap: Our primary goal in hosting swap and repair events is to keep items in circulation. After we’re done swapping, most items that don’t go back into homes on Galiano will be sent to a charity shop. The reality is only saleable clothing (think cleanliness, seasonal relevance, and condition) is of value to thrift stores. And if our donations are of no value, they could be only one stop away from the landfill or from being shipped overseas to become someone else’s problem. Of course this is something we’d all like to avoid! So please bring your lightly worn clothing freshly laundered and in season to give it the best chance of finding a new home.
On Saturday, November 9th we will host our next Knives & Axes Sharpening even with Ian Maday at the ReDirectory from 10 am to 1 pm. This has proven to be a very popular session in the past, so best come before noon to enhance the odds of your tools getting the attention they deserve. No serrated blades will be serviced. A December event is up in the air, we’ll let you know what we settle on. Stay tuned.
This will be the wrap up repair event for fall. Our repair series will recommence in February. Keep an eye for notices to be announced in January for the oncoming repair season.
GIRR’s repair series is funded through the CRD’s Rethink Waste Community Grant program, which we are ever grateful for in helping us to keep useful items out of the waste management system before their time. Thank you to our community for taking part!
