On the 29th of November, Friends of the Earth Malta organised Roots & Reuse, a Repair Café. Between 11am and 3pm, people visited our office in Floriana to repair a wide range of items, from watches and small electronics to clothes and bicycles, all free of charge, thanks to the generous support of our community of volunteers.

The event took place during the 17th edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction, which this year ran from the 22nd to the 30th of November, and it coincided with the day after Black Friday, on the 28th. In contrast to a culture that pushes us toward endless consumption, participants came to our office to repair everyday items: the old boiler that had been broken in their kitchen for months, a pair of cute trousers with a big hole at the knee, or a small clip-on reading lamp that had mysteriously stopped working.

Together, we celebrated the importance that these objects have in our lives. We shared the process of caring and making an effort. Moreover, we did that in a community, by sitting in circle in the comforting November sunshine for a beginner-friendly knitting workshop. This Repair Café highlighted the importance of community: instead of individualism and consumerism, people came together to give their existing items a second life, reducing waste and consumption while strengthening their sense of togetherness. In essence, this is the very purpose of FoEM’s Green Resource Centre, and we are always humbled by the kindness of the community that gathers in our garden and supports our vision.

A big thanks goes to all the volunteers and their amazing skills: Gerald Cutajar, Ziyan Wu, Facundo Gay, Time Square Malta, Franny Nardelli, Stitch Happens, and Miriam.In a throwaway society, repairing is an act of resistance!A sincere thank you to the Kunsill Lokali L-Imsida and Kopin Malta for their support throughout the whole project.

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Repair Café – Roots & Reuse was organised within the framework of the Sublime Project, a European initiative that works across different countries to foster sustainability and social inclusion. In Malta, Sublime focuses on making Msida more sustainable and more integrated, and this event was one step toward that vision. The Sublime project is implemented in Malta by Msida Local Council and Kopin. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Friends of the Earth Malta and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.