Joe Ferlazzo is used to people entering the repair cafe he runs with a damaged item and a deflated expression, by the time they leave however, their excitement is often palpable.
Residents can take in items that are broken to the skilled volunteers at Wyndham Repair Cafe.
“What we do is, if are people going to throw something out because it’s broken, we offer a potential life for that item and try and fix it for them,” Mr Ferlazzo said.
The Werribee resident said he was inspired to start the cafe when he noticed there was much conversation about the need to reduce waste, but nobody was saying how.
“We show the people what we’re doing and hope that, when it comes to the sewing, maybe they’ll take up a sewing class or they’ll get themselves a sewing machine,” he said.
“We’re just trying to stimulate that drive, people have got the want [to reduce waste] but they need to know how to do it and then that’s what we offer.
We don’t get 100 per cent success rate, some things can’t be fixed. But the ones that can, people are really appreciative because they see the effort and the dedication that the people have done.”
The Wyndham Repair Cafe runs on the second Saturday of each month, from 10am-1pm.
Details: growwithjoe.org
Fatima Halloum
