“Two new volunteers have just joined the team of fourteen handymen”, rejoices Sabrina Chouteau, facilitator at the Chloro'fil socio-cultural center. This Saturday morning, the tables for the monthly Repair café are set up in the new, brighter premises, in the old driving school on Place Hubert-Cassin, in Trémentines.
Other advantages, “the ample parking nearby, and the visibility afforded by the central location” of this shared space, readapted and renovated. The day before, a youth center evening took place there. “No worries, the room was perfect, the place ready to welcome us. It’s up to us to make it clean too. »
“Regular demand”
The Repair café activity started in January 2024, to avoid systematically throwing away. “Even if the value of the device is low, we have a better conscience about trying to repair it. » It concerns the seven municipalities covered by Chloro'fil. “The volunteers come from there. But for repairs, people even travel from Cholet. We don't have to live in one of our municipalities.” underlines Sabrina Chouteau.
Small sewing repairs are possible at the Chloro'fil Repair café, the last Saturday of the month at the youth center in Trémentines. West France
After ten months, “ we observe a regular demand for fifteen to twenty repairs every last Saturday of the month, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. What are we repairing? “Small household appliances, robots, computers, bicycles”, and small sewing jobs too. “The offer is very wide, even if it excludes large household appliances such as a washing machine. »
The other advantage is the sharing of knowledge: “The volunteers pair up and exchange procedures. » And training times are provided between them to optimize. Learning is an attractive aspect.
We give what we can
As for financing the necessary tools, “We initially had an envelope provided by the Eolys wind farm association in Chanteloup-Vezins, which subsidizes environmental actions”. A compressor for example. However, “each volunteer prefers to bring their own toolbox, out of habit of use”.
Finally, the purchase of consumables is done with a prize pool. “When we come to get repairs done, we can participate freely. »
