Repairing the throw-away culture: A techno-anthropological study of the Danish repair cafés’ practices
Authors
Wagner, Mie Hedegaard ; Agger, Felix Emil Keiding ; Clausen, Nicolai Bohl
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-06-06
Pages
108
Abstract
Denne teknoantropologiske kandidatafhandling undersøger de danske repair caféer under Repair Café Denmark, hvor frivillige gratis hjælper besøgende med at reparere ødelagte genstande. Repair caféerne er en del af en global reparationsbevægelse, der arbejder for cirkulær økonomi og mindre affald og udfordrer brug-og-smid-væk-kulturen. Afhandlingens empiriske grundlag er et omfattende etnografisk feltarbejde i seks repair caféer i hovedstadsområdet med deltagerobservationer og løst strukturerede interviews. Derudover er der gennemført otte semistrukturerede interviews med personer tilknyttet repair caféer, samt interviews med en repræsentant fra Environmental Center Amager, en ekspert i frivillighed og en ekspert i cirkulær økonomi. Analysen tager udgangspunkt i social praksisteori, som ser på, hvordan praksisser udføres gennem samspillet mellem kompetencer, materialer og betydninger. På tværs af de seks caféer identificeres både ligheder og forskelle, bl.a. i reparationskompetencer, fysiske rammer og værdier omkring frivillighed. Disse indsigter blev præsenteret og drøftet ved videndelingsworkshoppen 'Den gode repair café', hvilket pegede på muligheder for at styrke repair café-konceptet på tværs af de enkelte caféer i Repair Café Denmark. Med udgangspunkt i aktør-netværk-teori diskuteres det også, hvordan Repair Café Denmark kan styrkes i netværk for reparation, cirkulær økonomi og affaldsminimering gennem strategisk brug af statistiske reparationsdata som et middel til at engagere aktører. Afhandlingen munder ud i et konkret forslag til et værktøj, som Repair Café Denmark kan bruge til at samle reparationsdata på tværs af de enkelte caféer.
This techno-anthropological master’s thesis examines Danish repair cafés within Repair Café Denmark, where volunteers help visitors fix broken items for free. These cafés are part of a global repair movement that supports a circular economy and reduces waste, challenging the throw-away culture. The study is based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork at six repair cafés in the Greater Copenhagen area, using participant observation and loosely structured interviews. In addition, it includes eight semi-structured interviews with people affiliated with repair cafés, plus interviews with a representative from Environmental Center Amager, an expert on voluntarism, and an expert on the circular economy. The analysis applies Social Practice Theory, which looks at how practices emerge from the interplay of competences, materials, and meanings. Across the six cafés, the study identifies similarities and differences in repair skills, physical spaces, and values related to volunteering. These insights were presented and discussed at a knowledge exchange workshop called 'The Good Repair Café', which highlighted opportunities to strengthen the repair café concept across the individual cafés in Repair Café Denmark. Using Actor-Network Theory, the thesis also discusses how Repair Café Denmark could be strengthened within broader networks of repair, circular economy, and waste minimization through the strategic use of statistical repair data as an interessement device (a way to attract and enroll actors). It concludes with a concrete proposal for a tool that Repair Café Denmark can use to collect repair data across individual cafés.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
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