Paranduskelder - popularising repair culture by doing
Paranduskelder is a public repair space
Local
Estonia
Tartu Linnavalitsus
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
ERASMUS
{Empty}
No
Yes
2018-12-31
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Paranduskelder Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Jiri Last name of representative: Krejci Gender: Male Nationality: Czechia Function: Head of develompent Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Kastani 42 Town: Tartu Postal code: 53 400 Country: Estonia Direct Tel:+372 5381 8701 E-mail:jirka@paranda.ee Website:http://www.paranda.ee
Paranduskelder is an NGO operating in Tartu, Estonia. The overarching goal of our organisation is to establish repair culture as the new norm. This goal is being met via several means. On a daily basis we function as a public repair space. Citizens can visit our workspace with their broken items (everyday objects - electronics, fabrics, bicycles etc.) and our repair experts will guide them through the repairing process. The visitor (owner of the broken item) is thus involved, either actively (step by step guidance by the present expert repairer) or passively (repair expert repairs the object while explaining the processes taken to repair it to the visitor) in the repair of their broken thing. Visitors are thus involved as much as possible to repair the object themselves.
The entire public repair space aspect is donation based. Repair experts salary is provided via governmental funding. With our 3 years experience we have identified that due to the repair vs consume price paradox, ( nowadays, in many cases it’s cheaper, faster, more convenient to buy new object then repair it) repair doesnt seem financially reasonable. Unfortunately, constant preferring of consuming over repairing contributes to mass consumption mass production that contribute to current climate crisis. With our project we bypass the price paradox and provide citizens financially viable option for repair of everyday things while educating them (and serving our goal - popularising repair culture) on how to be a repairer rather then ‘’just’’ a consumer. Paranduskelder functions also as an open workspace for citizens to realize their DIY projects. We pursue our goals also via educational programs for schools on topics of consumerism and circular economy, by organizing regular workshops on DIY topics (how to use sewing machine, 3D printing, soldering etc.), YouTube videos and community events.
Do-it-together
Circularity
Repair
Community
resilience
Transitioning to an economic model that can sustain global ecological balance is crucial in the current climate crisis. Circular economy models offer solutions and one of its key aspects is "Repair". As mentioned above - popularising repair culture is the main objective of our NGO. By creting an environment for citizens to develop their DIY and repairing skills in a hands-on manner we message that repairing is a crucial part of new economic models. Additionally we educate youth (11. - 16. Years of age) via 4 different educational programms for schools on following topics - fashion industries and sustainability, repair culture, enviromental challenges and environmentally friendly behiouvors and product design.
To appeal to the international audiences and to bring the aim of popularising repair culture into the broader environmental/social/urbanistic context Jiri (myself - the sumbiter of this application) produces YouTube content that covers topics such as DIY Culture, human-centered urbanism via activism, urban sustainability and more.
How we are being an example to others?
Clearly, most of the current economic systems do not support Paranduskelders vision - everyday objects aren't designed to last and their low prices, conditioned by underpaid labor, usage of low quality materials and planned obsolescence, empower consumerism.
Nonetheless, we have chosen the path of transforming the system by doing - here some could say that we are merely fighting windmills.
Yet, by clear communication (in media, social networks and public appearances) we not only openly recognize the seemful paradox of our actions but use it as an indicator for the need for change - with our work we act out the ideal version of the potentially circularily functioning society. Thus providing an example on how future consumption models could be orginzed so that there are more circular.
The aesthetics - the rooms of Paranduskelder are situated on the ground floor of the cultural center - Aparaaditehas (Widget Factory). They occupy two large, open, and lightful spaces that face the street Riia, which is daily by thousands of commuters, which fits well our goals as the looks of the space communicate well Paranduskelders message. The room is filled with examples of re-use, up-cycling and repair projects. Its nifty little elements remind the visitors and passersby how efficient one can be with using ‘’waste materials’’ to repair or make when being creative. Thus, rooms themselves have demonstrated the effect of ,,being inspired to create’’ and this has been done by design - see attached document with video links. For me personally (the submitter) the biggest benefit of our space is the community aspect - the format in which we operate (repair experts' guidance) encourages visitors to mingle via talks that firstly may start as technical consulting that then develop into conversations, find new meaningful friendships. This aspect is truly noteworthy as it has proved itself over the years to repeatedly happen.
Regarding the cultural benefits of our space - it’s spaciousness and multifunctionality (most tables are on wheels and other features) we are able to transform it into a venue or an interactive classroom withing minutes - this way we have hosted a conferences, community events, thinkathons and students of local art school use it periodically for their design thinking classes.
The vision for Paranduskelder is to always function as a public facility, similarly to a public library. Idea for the concept is based on understanding, that thanks to nowadays digital manufacturing technologies (cnc milling, 3Dprinters) and abundance of online resources on ,,how to do almost anything yourself’’, open workspaces (also known as makerspaces) are the libraries of 21. Century. Citizens are empowered to make, repair and tweak everyday objects themselves thus being more of a co-creators then merely consumers. Our model is aligned with this idea - the yearly membership fee is symbolic 30€, that allows one to come and use the space and its tools 3 times a week. Yet, even if this fee is a barrier for someone we offer a barter solutions (via volunteering). The main project (repair experts guidance) is also affordable-wise available for everyone - it is simply donation based as explained above. In addition to the affordability, the format in which we operate comumincates clearly that we believe that anyone can do it - (repair or make) regardless of their previous experiences. We offer each visitor a tailored experience that we hope to empower them to become a repairer.
Establishing circular economy systems in a world where linear economy is predominant can be challenging. In the repair / lifespan of products aspect of economy we arrive at this paradox, where the linear model does not allow the certain repair services (repairing of toys, dishes, clothes, shoes, small electronics and more) to be financially sustainable. Yet, if we face the necessity to educate public on the importance of repair (to smoothen transition to circular models) then we need environments where this can happen in an affordable fashion - in sense Paranduskelder may be example for other maker spaces, libraries and other public workshops - figure out ways to enable the public to have access to affordable repair service that simultaneously educates.
As mentioned previously, the main benefit for citizens is the affordability/accessibility of the services that our project provides - donation-based repair aid and affordable DIY space. We try to include our community in the development of the space as much as possible. This is done by community build days and by public thinkatons that are public and promoted. For community build day we invite members of our community as well as the public for a working day where we get to develop some part of the workspace together (building furniture, workspaces, organizing, painting, etc.) this strengthens the bonds between community members and also provides an opportunity for newcomers to join. The public thinkatons are a way to get feedback from outside on how we as an organization function as well generate and gather ideas on how to tackle our NGOs current challenges. Both formats of events are organized with the tummies of the participants in mind - that is there is always a joint dinner/lunch provided by us that is also a very efficient social glue.
In its core Paranduskelder is a grassroots project yet, nonetheless, throughout the last 3 years we have benefited from collaboration with local, municipal and national actors. Firstly, the space itself is provided by an NGO that runs the cultural center - Aparaaditehas. Aparaaditehas organization members have helped to establish Paranduskelder's success via help with negotiations with the municipality, rent discounts, arranging the workspace to fit our needs and co-organizing several community and cultural events. Secondly, financial and developmental support comes from Tartu municipality itself. Tartu’s climate action plan, waste management plan, as well as circularity roadmap for the entire region (that is currently being updated also with help of our team), has several objectives that Paranduskelder’s services solve or partially mitigate (raising of climate awareness, popularisation of reuse, decreasing amounts of waste from waste management centers). For the upcoming year Tartu municipality has designated a portion of a TREASource project funding for a community repair centers case study during which, among other objectives, we will be unitedly developing Paranduskelder’s scaling opportunities and more financially sustainable business models.
Since the beginning of the project, the core team members had to take on, try and experiment with different roles that are required to start an organization / project of such sort. 4 key members were (are) engaged in disciplines such as: Community management (frequent event organizing for members/potential members of the community to bond, designing an environment for the community to thrive), grant applications, PR/marketing, lobby/negotiations skills (persuading municipality to secure funding and support), design thinking and strategy implementation (planning the design of experience users (visitors) defining target groups and problems and brainstorming, rating, developing and implementing solutions accordingly), leadership (vision/mission definition, effective meeting management, financial risk mitigations and planning, HR), webdesign.
As core team members we have worked closely since the beginning of the project, thus we have been interacting on daily basis either in the physical space of the workshop or virtually via slack and other tools (especially during lockdowns throughout which we kept daily contact to organize our online activities). The disciplines mentioned above were divided into specific tasks/roles that have been divided among the members according to their personal preferences and/or skill sets. Our proximity has proved to be valuable as many skills and experiences have been gained for the first time for all of us, thus we could reflect on them collectively and understand what we have actually learned individually and together as a team.
The current long-term goal of Paranduskelder is to be developed into a circularity hub. This hub consists of a small-scale waste management center, a high-end public workshop and second-hand shopping center. This combination creates a beta version of how might future circular cities function, where most of the ‘waste’ is being reused, recycled and refabricated locally. This would then change the way we manufacture and consume. The circular flow of such hub (the beta version) could be described as followingly - citizens bring their unwanted/broken objects that are evaluated according to repairability, function, and aesthetics and then repaired/refurbished and sent to the shop. If on the other hand, there is no point fixing them, they are deconstructed to as many base materials (plastics, wood, metals, glass, rubber) as possible that are then (according to the technical competence of the hub) shredded, melted and refabricated into workable raw materials. Raw materials are then, with help of digital fabrication (3D printers, CNC, lasers) reused to manufacture new objects. Perfect, and thanks to national funding we secured last year soon executable, an example is plastic. Shredder, sheet press and an injector together with 3D printers and CNC will allow us to take plastic corpuses of unrepaired objects and then turn them into to new products. Surely, in such a small scale and supported by the rest of the systems it is not sustainable, yet it is a demonstration of the idea of how might future circular urban industries function. The most notable results of Paranduskelder in this field are the following - securing funding for plastic recycling capabilities, which has been pitched to the governmental agency with this very vision in mind - it is a beta of a circular hub. Secondly, Tartu’s municipality's own interest to develop such a center has initiated conjoined efforts between us and the city - the first common step is being taken via TREASource project case study
Paranduskelder’s concept could be compared to a repair service or to a maker space. In comparison to these there are several ways in which we differ, thus could be called ‘’innovative’’. Firstly the public/community aspect of the repair service - as described above visitors are expected, encouraged and empowered to participate in the process of repair as much as they can. We know from experience that the repair experience is when the ‘’click’’ happens - a change in one's perception about everyday consumption objects, their design, and repairability but mainly, the visitor's own potential to be able to tinker, better, repair or re-use them. The main idea is that by being able to experience the,, repair moment’’, one might have a then higher tendency to repair (or at least try to repair)
Secondly, when comparing to other maker space - or open workshops we differ (or are innovative) in following manner; We focus on do-it-together rather then do-it-yourself. Clearly, this is a bon mot, as we understand that the phrase do-it-yourself refers - making something rather then consume, yet in everyday work we wish to encourage the do-it-together aspect of DIY culture - create enviroment where transgenerational and crossdisciplinal types of work can thrive
The essence of Paranduskelder comes from bottom-up or a grassroots-based approach. We understand that,,it is always easier to ask for forgiveness than is to ask for permission’’. To clarify - we see that due to it’s complexity and sometimes political reasons - the climate crisis and circular economy topics may cause counterproductive cautiousness in policymakers. Where solutons are required immediately (especially in the case of local challenges) bureaucracy and political quarrel may get in the way. As with our approach to repair - we dare to try, fail, tinker, adapt and try again - due to the lack of our political affiliation, bottom-up approach (or sometimes guerilla approach yt.com/paranda) and volunteer-based work (simply, nobody can get fired) we can afford to experiment and adapt accordingly. Regardless of our current and tight collaboration with the municipality, we plan to go on leaning to this advantage of the bottom-up approach - in my opinion (the submitter) in this way we also become a flexible tool for the municipality to implement ideas and solutions that might seem too risky for the local policymakers to make, through us.
We see that the biggest values that Paranduskelder can offer to others - elements that are worth of replicating - are; the approach - everyone can do it, and the concept of the project itself - affordable public repair service.
The ,, everyone can do it’’ approach has two main benefits. Firstly, it brings people with different backgrounds together (age, culture, social groups) in our case often happens that a 70year old lady holds a screwdriver for the very first time being guided by a 22-year-old. Secondly, broadening the skill set of the public leads to higher resilience of communities in the case of crisis.
Affordable public repair is worth replicating clearly from the viewpoint of the applied category (Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking). What is not so obvious is the way how to fund it - as in itself is not financially sustainable - what others could borrow from our project is the way we have successfully ‘defended’ our case (the logic we used to persuade government agencies to provide funding regardless of financial unsustainability). That is that - linear models don't support repair culture to flourish, yet according to EU, national and local action plans there are most probably objectives in place that aim for circularity, repair is a crucial aspect of a circular economy, by funding projects that help to enroot repair as a new norm we serve these objectives by nudging/reshaping consumers behavior - making repair available and affordable.
Global mass consumption and the mass-production self-perpetuating cycle is contributing to the climate crisis. Transitioning to models where global resources are used in a manner that enables sustaining ecological balance is necessary. By popularizing repair culture locally we foster a change in behavior and offer an antidote to the global trend of seamlessly neverending economic growth.
