Another winter morning and you trudge out to the corral to feed the livestock, and you notice the water tank has frozen over. After muttering a few choice words, you wonder, did the breaker get flipped? But after checking, you find the power is fine, but the cord to the heater is damaged. Just great, now what am I going to do? Never fear, the Repair Cafe is here – for you.

The Repair Cafe is a group of volunteers that meets once a month to make simple fixes to a wide variety of devices and clothing, keeping your favorite items working and out of the landfill. To date, we have repaired dozens of items from stock tank heaters and timers to battery-operated toys. Clothing alterations and mending have been very popular, along with help with your cell phone or computer. We can’t guarantee that your item can be repaired; but we at least give you an honest assessment of possible outcomes.

Volunteers are the heart of the Repair Cafe, and we can always use more help. If you enjoy helping people and have an interest, we would be delighted to have you join us. Repair skills are helpful but not necessary. We can always use folks to help register items and keep track of paperwork. There are also opportunities for volunteers to learn repair skills and become part of the repair team. We always have electronic devices that need to be taken apart which can be done by anyone of any age, so you can bring your kids along too. The valuable components are separated and sold to help provide funding for the Repair Cafe. We also accept donations of aluminum cans, brass and copper. We find that almost everyone loves the idea of the Repair Cafe, but we cannot sustain it without the continued support of the community and especially our volunteers.

Colorado’s Right to Repair law took effect at the beginning of January. This law expands the rights of consumers and independent repair providers by requiring manufacturers of digital electronic equipment to provide necessary resources for repairs. Hopefully this will give us even more access to the information we seek to effect successful repairs at the Cafe. Colorado is again leading the nation with these right to repair actions, and Ignacio Community Library is active in the effort to help our patrons reduce cost and keep Colorado green by supporting sustainability.

Repair Cafe is held on the first Saturday of each month starting at 1 p.m. Folks with items to repair should bring them in before 2 p.m. so we have sufficient time to work on them. It is expected that you will stay and be involved with the repair of your item so that you can assist with decisions and possibly learn how to fix it yourself if it becomes necessary. We usually have light snacks and drinks and are always happy to receive help in this area also. The Cafe in the name points to the social aspect of these events – you don’t have to have something to repair to join us if you would like to see what’s going on.