Data Collection¶

In order to keep records of the items that come in and out of our Repair Cafes, we have clients fill out a Project Status Form for each of the items they want to be repaired. This form allows us to follow the progress of each broken item as it is inspected and fixed by our fixers and apprentices. In addition, clients sign away our liability in the case that fixers are unable to repair the item and cause more damage—of course, we do everything we can to ensure that every item gets repaired. After the client checks in, they take this form with them to the fixer. After the fixer has completed their work on the item, they document the results (either Fixed, Partially Fixed, or Not Fixed) and return all their forms to the organizers. At the end of the event, we go through all of these forms and tally up all the items that we have seen. We divide them into the four categories of fixers—Bikes, Electronics and Appliances, Clothing, and Jewelry. For each category, we record how many items we have been able to fix, partially fix, and not fix.

In the four repair cafes we have hosted over the past two years, we have seen over 280 items and have been able to completely fix over 200 of them. Of course, some of the Project Status Forms get misplaced during the day, and it is likely that we have processed and repaired more! We are very proud to have eliminated so much waste from our local community. As mentioned, we keep records of the items fixed at each repair cafe in the four categories of items and the three degrees of repair success. The data collected at each Repair Cafe event has been similar across all events. For example, note the similar numbers in both our Fall 2018 Repair Cafe and our Winter 2018 Repair Cafe:

Fall 2018 Repair Cafe Winter

2019 Repair Café