A broken butterfly made its way a mall in Salmon Arm last Saturday, where it underwent a long-awaited metamorphosis.
This small miracle took place at a Repair Cafe held Aug. 27 in the mall, where people could bring in broken items such as small electrical appliances, lamps, clothing and textiles, bicycles and wooden items.
For a donation, they would watch as volunteers with skills in certain types of repairs would take a look at their broken item and, if possible, repair it.
The repair person might recommend the purchase of a certain part and suggest they come back to the next Repair Cafe to have the part installed for them.
Maria Otting, Salmon Arm Economic Development鈥檚 program coordinator for the Shuswap Makerspace, organized the event, the first for the community. She was bubbling with excitement Saturday, thanks to the response from the public.
In the case of the broken butterfly, she recounts how a woman, probably in her late sixties or seventies, brought in a broken china or ceramic butterfly.
Her father had given it to her mother, and then her mother gave it to her, Otting said.
The woman had tried fixing the broken ornament with glue, but it didn鈥檛 hold. The butterfly had lain in a drawer, broken, for more than 50 years, Otting explained.
Then it was brought to the Repair Cafe, where it was epoxied and fixed.
鈥淪he was over the moon,鈥� Otting smiled.
Lamps, both antique and modern, were the most common item brought in, but other repairs included a jewelry box, a mirror, a remote control toy, a vacuum cleaner, a DVD player and more.
鈥淭he whole day was so great 鈥� people were excited, so interested鈥he whole reason we鈥檙e doing it is to get people thinking in a different way,鈥� Otting said about encouraging residents to repair rather than resorting to the landfill.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about changing the mindset to have a more sustainable community.鈥�
She said people are asked to stay and watch the repair as a way of passing on valuable practical knowledge.
鈥淎nd showing people how much fun it can be to fix鈥ometimes, the items are just full of dust and hair.鈥�
Even a person with a sewing machine was there, ready to repair fabric items, including tents.
Otting said the Repair Cafe gets people out volunteering in the community, as well as visiting and connecting after the isolation of the past two years. They get to know who to call or where to go for repairs.
She plans to hold six Repair Cafes in total, one per month.
martha.wickett@saobserver.net
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