TEACHING HOW TO REPAIR RATHER THAN REPLACE

Through this group's workshops, volunteers help community members fix household items.

- EMMA PATCH

DAN HETTINGER Lead organizer of WNC Repair Cafe Asheville, N.C.

What does WNC Repair Cafe do? During our free pop-up workshops, which are open to the public, we pair volunteers who know how to fix things with folks who bring their broken stuff. They usually work together to fix whatever it is—it could be furniture, small appliances, electronics or other household items. We do a lot of sewing repairs and a lot of small-engine work with lawn mowers and chainsaws. We even do some welding. Really, we repair just about anything; if it comes from your house and fits in your car, we'll try to fix it.