How about trying to fix our broken things? - La Libre Back to lalibre.be Back to LibreEco Back to LibreEco Back to La Source

ReportValentine Van Vyve

You have to be a little curious to find it: arrived at the See U site, in the former Fritz Toussaint barracks in Etterbeek, you have to push open the door of the Le Kinograph cinema, go up to the first floor and walk through a maze of corridors... C his is where the Repair Lab has – temporarily, like all the initiatives present on the site – taken up residence.

The room is not yet full but the 3D printer is already (or still) working at full speed, shaping a brand new gear to replace the motor of a microwave plate whose teeth are broken. On the shelves, a series of coffee machines seem to stand at attention. Lamps are leaning over small tables. Tools hang on the wall.

Supported by Repair Together – an association that develops sustainable initiatives in the context of repair and the circular economy, the best known being probably the network of Repair Cafés -, this unique place to date offers people who wish to come repair their faulty objects themselves (small appliances, mechanical devices or clothing).

The participants in the workshops, organized several times a week, sit around the large central table which facilitates exchanges or at the various workstations dedicated to specific practices and equipped with specific repair tools: sewing, micro-welding, electronic precision, IT, 3D printing… "We have also set up a repair tutorial studio which enriches a large database to be shared with participants", explains Jonathan Vigne, project manager at Repair Together.

Develop repair in the city

Although it has somewhat taken the lead (a subsidy was granted to it by Brussels Environment), the Repair Lab is part of the European "Sharepair" project. This intends to "put digital tools at the service of repair and its appropriation by the general public", explains Simon Fremineur, project manager for the project within Repair Together. "It intends to develop Urban Repair Centers and thus help cities to repair better", specifies Jonathan Vigne.

The Repair Lab tries to reconcile two models: that of the FabLab – which gives pride of place to research, manufacturing and innovation – and the Repair Café in which we co-repair with a professional, to make it a unique hybrid model. : here, we come to repair above all, and to manufacture if necessary. But above all, we repair ourselves. "It's a place to learn how to repair and to test the repair", summarizes Jonathan Vigne. Everyone comes there with an object and has access to the specific tools made available to them. "There is a major barrier to repair: the fear of doing it wrong and not knowing how to do it. However, the device is already broken so the risk is not very high!", He continues. "Today, when an object breaks, we replace it, he laments. The Repair Lab allows you to experiment, to get started, to dare, to quibble!" And in this way, to "reclaim lost and undervalued technical skills. It's a bit like reintroducing the culture of resourcefulness!", smiles Mr. Vigne. In addition, "experimenting allows us to understand how the devices we use every day work".

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If he repairs himself, the apprentice repairer can however count on managers who guide him in a sometimes complex process. "That said, most of the time, the defective device is because of a stupid breakdown, comments Jonathan Vigne. You can be a novice and get there!"

four hands

This is the case of Damien. The young man comes to repair a smartphone that "was lying around in the cupboard". "I keep everything, until I find a solution", he comments. During his research, he came across the Repair Lab and saw it – finally! – the opportunity to bring your old mobile phone back to life. Try in any case, because the task seems difficult. After inspecting the machine, Jonathan Vigne concludes that the screen and the touch keyboard have failed. They will have to be removed and replaced. "We work in Reverse Engineering, he explains. Without a plan, we have to understand how the device was created and how it works... It's a stimulating challenge!"

Damien then settles down at a small table with the appropriate equipment: a hot air machine, a plastic miter and a fine metal blade chosen with care. "It's been a long time since I tinkered!", he concedes, grabbing the tools. With four hands, under the neon of a directed light, Jonathan and Damien try to melt the glue and carefully remove the thin layer of plastic. "Replace a hot shot, if you feel that it sticks", advises the first. “It sticks everywhere: on the edges and in the middle!”, answers the second. “You have to be persistent!”, he slips. Finally, the first layer gives way. The second will be shattered a few minutes later. "The glue makes the repair complicated", raises Jonathan Vigne. Ideally, it should be possible to dismantle each part and replace those that are defective. The manufacturing model is unfortunately far from being that currently, whether for smartphones or other household appliances.

The right to repair

"We plead - and this is our militant side - for the right to repair, explains Jonathan Vigne. We start from the principle that the object belongs to us and that it must be easily removable and repairable." A way to counter the well-known mechanisms of planned obsolescence… In a circular economy, repair "is one of the first solutions to extend the life of objects", he continues. Much more than recycling, which comes at the end of the chain. In 2020, Recupel also collected 123,840 tonnes of electrical appliances.

Unlike the Repair Cafés, the Repair Lab has made a small reserve of spare parts, allowing us to leave with functional objects. Unfortunately for Damien, he will have to search the Internet for the new screen he needs. In this vast market, "we help them find exactly the right part, underlines Jonathan Vigne, however. We take the time it takes." The time factor is also a "limiting element" to the repair. "In doing so, we push the limits of repair as far as possible," he rejoices. Until the complete autonomy of the citizen. Alongside its obvious environmental and educational objectives, the Repair Lab is part of a social dynamic since the place is "open to all and aims to be a space for meeting and exchange".

An hour after his arrival, Damien leaves with his dismantled smartphone, driven by a feeling of pride specific to those who "repair themselves". “I think I got the basics figured out,” he says. And to leave as discreetly as he came, promising to return with other objects to be repaired.